It May Never Be Easy, But It Can Always Be Good – A Lesson from Joe

Yesterday was a day filled with numerous peaks and valleys. The day felt as if it embodied the opening line of Dicken’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities, that starts with “It was the best of the times, it was the worst of times.”

One one hand, it was beautiful day of developing stronger networks for The Idea Camp. I was in awe of the various people and companies that called or email about partnering with us on future endeavors. It was also a productive day of developing ideas for our church, New Hope. Most importantly, it was a great of celebrating my son’s 6th birthday!

Then it happened…

I was driving down a street near our church when a few cars in front of me came to a abrupt stop. I put on my brakes but it was too late. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the accident. My truck has a guard rail that covers the front bumper so I didn’t think too much of it. I reported a claim to my insurance company and didn’t think much of it until later that evening.

While driving back home from picking up some furniture from my friend’s house, I noticed that the car wasn’t feeling right. I just couldn’t tell what it was. As I was making a left turn, I heard a thump. I came out of the car to find out that the left side of my bumper dropped making it immobile…of course, in the middle of the street.

Fortunately, there was a generous man named Joe who ran over to help me push the car into a shopping center. I was so appreciative of Joe. As it turns out, Joe recently became homeless and ended up living in an alley in my neighborhood (just 3 blocks away). While waiting for the tow truck, I was able to hear Joe’s story of his life changing moments these past few months. What was so amazing was that he kept mentioning that he had not lost his heart. He still had the drive to get off the streets. In fact, he kept encouraging me to keep my head up and appreciate the fact that I had a car to tow and a house to get back to.

Joe was so right! No matter what life brings, you have to remain positive and thankful for things you have. Also, it’s important to guard your heart. You can’t let life take away life.

I told my new friend and neighbor that I really appreciated his insights. I gave him some information on local places he could turn to for some help as well as some cash to help him along.

I finally got home past midnight. Although I was emotionally and physically drained, I was deeply energized by interacting with Joe. He gave me perspective… It may never be easy, but it can always be good.

After I got home, I took some time to build a lego set that my wife and I purchased for Jonathan’s birthday. I promised him it would be down by morning time. I didn’t mind staying up because I knew it was a gift to be able to live the life that I now live.

Thanks Joe!