Dog-like Exuberance

Have you ever read something that you can't get out of your mind? Something that both haunts you and you know is going to stick around in your conscience a while? Something you didn't want to read, but you know it's right?

I have. I read this passage recently. As a warning, only read further with the understanding that it will most likely haunt you as well.

Bam, there it is, answer the phone, always. Be available, always. Seek a life of constant interruption.

This is from one of my favorite books, "Everybody Always" by Bob Goff. If you haven't read this or another one of his books, "Love Does," I strongly encourage you to. In Love Does, he put his cell phone number in the back of the book and urged people to call him. Crazy!

So back to the main point: Loving people means being available, answering their call. One of the reasons this bothered me so much is that I tell people constantly that if your spouse calls, no matter what, answer the call. And lately, I haven't been as good about that myself because I am soooo busy. Sure, I'll send her a text right away and ask if it's urgent, or can I call her back, but that's not good enough.

As I think about the message Bob is trying to make here, we should answer the calls from people who are trying to reach us with the exuberance of our dog greeting us at home! Tail wagging, big smile, so excited to see us they can't contain themselves. Imagine how people would respond to you if they called or walked up to you at work, and you made them feel like you were over the top excited for the interruption?

If you are like me, far too often, I'm too focused on what I am doing to love people the way Jesus does, with excessive availability. Too often, I get calls from our team around the country asking for help because (fill in the blank) just "never" answers the phone, they "never" call back, I can just "never" reach anybody. That's something I think we can all work on. If we did, my guess is our collective team's efficiency would go way up, and frustration levels would go way down as problems would get solved faster and fewer people would need to be involved.

Jesus is a tough standard to meet, but progress, not perfection. Let's start by practicing excessive availability, and not begrudgingly, but joyfully. With a smile and a countenance that says, I'm excited to talk to you!

PS - if it's your spouse or parent calling, it's not an option, answer the call.