Noon on Tuesday

I realize some of my reader-ship may be a bit scandelized by this post--but bear with me.

As I visited many of you in Texas I talked about how one of my greatest personal needs right now is friendship. And to some I probably related that I had by chance (and you know I don't believe in chance per-se) run into and befriended a member of my old 3rd grade elementary class from Princeton, NJ.
This friend is a a bartender in Eastern Market, a "hip" section of town that's actually close to where I live! We've begun to spend time together quite frequently.

I joke that with the hours in my job I need friends that are "free at noon on a Tuesday,"--only we odd-job types, the ministers and restaurant folk seem to fit the bill. Working nights and weekends can do a toll on your social life.
Little did I remember that this "noon on a Tuesday" is a friendly reference to a Sheryl Crow song "I just wanna have some Fun"--"We are drinking beer at noon on Tuesday," where she talks about watching the working folk wash their cars and do socially acceptable things while she and her friend sit by. I sometimes feel that way about the scheduling and off-nature of my life.

But back to this friend. I'm very thankful for having him in my life. I think we both can suffer from a little loneliness--so it's nice to have someone who lives close--and is likely free. Even this weekend, I went with one of my girlfriends from college to his bar Friday night--and this afternoon I skated at the Sculpture Garden where his second job is a rink guard.
Most of my friends live in suburban Virginia--this aftenoon I took all of 2 hours out to see him and back--whereas getting out to my other friends might take that time alone.

I've been thinking about this friend also in relation to my ministry at Georgetown. We encourage the students we spend time with to think about how they can share Jesus with their friends and love their friends who aren't Christians (some call it evangelism, touchy subject and I have a hard time articulating--so hope I don't offend with my language).

But at a leadership meeting on Saturday I asked each member of the team to think of one friend in their life who didn't know God--who they'd like to see know God. We did this exercise then called "Glimpses of the Gospel" where we thought about our friend, prayed for them and considered how God was already working in their lives---considering what kind of gospel values and pieces of Jesus we saw in them.
As the staff person, of course I participated and talked about my elementary school friend. I talked about his generosity and inclusivity--he's very friendly, of course and sharing as a bartender. He's befriended a local homeless man---who now I've met as well who comes in during happy hour. He listens to his stories and treats him with dignity and respect. Christ did that---he treated the poor as people worthy of love and consideration.
We finished by praying for each other's friends--and considering how we can continue to be praying for each other's friends.

It was exciting for me even today, skating around the Mall on a Sunday afternoon, watching my friend then attending someone who'd fallen and had a serious injury on the ice, to be able to pray for him and watch God work in his life. Pray for my friend!