The moment

Week one of Waiting for Water focuses on the theme of meeting Jesus. Throughout this journey, we are looking at Peter's own relationship with Jesus and what it can teach us about ourselves.

Ancient fishing boat discovered on the Sea of Galilee, courtesy of Christianity Today.

Luke 5 describes one of Peter's first encounters with Jesus. Jesus was talking to a crowd of people at the seashore, and they were a true crowd--crowding him to the very edge of the water. Jesus looked around, spied Peter's boat, and asked to borrow it. From the boat, Jesus could talk without being squashed, and his voice would carry nicely across the water.

Let's stop and think about this for a second. Peter had just finished work for the day; he was probably exhausted and hungry and in a hurry to get home. Perhaps he was ruminating over his poor catch or wondering what his wife had cooked for lunch. I doubt he was glad to be interrupted, detained by this odd man, and asked for the use of his boat.

So here is my question to myself, and to you: Do I recognize these moments when they come?

One late night many years ago, I flung open the side door of the restaurant where I waitressed, legs aching from a double shift, and headed straight for my car. But the light spilling out the door illuminated someone in my way: Gary. He was a dishwasher, a big middle-aged guy who always cracked jokes and said hello when I passed through the kitchen. Sitting in his old junker, Gary was cranking and cranking the ignition, but the car just coughed and fell silent.

He caught sight of me and waved me over to ask for a ride. "Sure," I squeaked out, regret and anxiety coursing through my veins. So Gary folded himself into my tiny car and began directing me to his house. We drove and drove, finally taking an unfamiliar exit into a poor neighborhood a good thirty minutes away.

Funny thing about that night: It was the first time I'd ever gotten off the freeway that sailed over Gary's neighborhood. It was the first time I'd ever driven through those streets and seen actual people's faces. Soon we pulled into an alley where I dropped him off. Gary thanked me and said he'd see me at work the next day before disappearing into a dark house.

As I drove back down the alley, something began squeezing my heart. For the first time, I knew--really knew--that poor people are real people with names, and that poverty is wrong, and that God cares about this.

Most of the time I miss my "Gary" moments. When confronted with Jesus' request, maybe Peter thought, "This is random, but I'll go with it." Maybe he had no faith at all, but nonetheless, he didn't miss his moment. The events that followed changed his life forever and reshaped history.

My hope is that you and I can also be alert and respond to those moments--the ones where God bends near and beckons us into his story--when they come. Because I think they happen all the time.