Moments of Impact

“My theory is about moments, moments of impact.  My theory is that these… flashes of high impact actually end up defining who we are.” –The Vow.

I love how in the movie The Vow, “moments of impact” is a theme. The main character, Leo, sees a girl for the first time in a parking lot. When he sees her he has an inside conflict of whether or not to go up and make a move or stay back and just watch. He, in his mind, is saying the above quote, which basically means… why not- this could turn out to be something good.

The “moment of impact” quote has stirred in my brain since I’ve been in Kathmandu. Obviously not because it’s biblical or theologically deep but, to me, it is just reminder of… why not go for it? Why not walk up to that person and get their name? Why not sit down and the first thing in your conversation you have with someone be about something greater and more powerful than “how are you”? To me it is about doing something even if you make a fool of yourself.

What I’m referring to is the moments that you get to share the gospel!

Recently a friend of mine lost his grandmother. She passed away of a sudden heart attack early in the morning. A question that loomed in my friend's head was, “did she really know Jesus?” He had seen her earlier in the month and had a long gospel centered conversation with her. I think it’d be alright to speak for him and say that he is thankful for that conversation! He is thankful that she got to hear the truth of The Word not long before she died! I can also speak for him and say that his urgency to get The Word of God out has been amplified by the reminder that we don’t have long on this earth. There is absolutely no promise that we are going to be here tomorrow.

With his newly reminded urgency, my urgency to share was spiked!

For me, there has been a young monk who stands down near the stupa every day, in the exact same spot, in the exact same position holding a bowl. He is different than the other monks; I noticed that the first time I saw him. He wears clothes of a brighter red and orange than the others. His skin is darker and his eyes are deeper. His face tends to remain down cast as he stands, but most people still walk by and acknowledge him. Something inside of me was intrigued the first time I saw him. I remember feeling a strong heavy heart for that boy and thinking I want him so bad to know the Truth of the Lord.

As us girls began to get into a regular routine of walking around the stupa to go places, I began to figure out the monk’s patterns of standing there. He tended to be there early in the morning until early afternoon. Same spot. Some days he would not be there and inside I would be bummed because I longed for some kind of interaction with this young monk. Every time I saw him my heart cried out to the Father for him. I couldn’t help but hurt and lift him up.

I have never seen anyone talk to this monk, only put money in his bowl, bow a little bit and walk away. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to say anything? I have talked to other monks, but like I said something with him was just different.

One day as I walked past I made eye contact with him and flashed a big smile. He returned one back showing his white teeth in contrast to his dark skin. I was excited! It may be cheesy to say, but I couldn’t wait to walk by and smile again.

The next time I saw him and made eye contact, he was out of his usual position standing on the steps of the monastery because of the rain. He waved at me, FIRST, and smiled like we were old friends. Though I was still trying to observe others and how they interacted with him, I began to get the feeling that one day my heart is going to be so heavy, that if I don’t share with him I would be disobedient. All I could think was… there will be a day when this monk is no longer living and I don’t have a clue when that will be. I must seize the opportunity when it arises. I will not let nerves of sharing with him get the best of me. With the same motivation Leo had in The Vow to do something huge in a quick moment’s notice, I knew would be my encounter with him. It would have to be complete faith pushing me to talk to him.  

With that, my mindset when walking by him changed from I’m going to smile and wave to I have to talk to him. I began to pray that the Lord would press that hard on my heart when I saw him. It’s so ironic though how I prayed for that pressure to come and I stopped seeing him around. For a week and a half or so there was no sight of him anywhere and I began to worry! Have I lost my chance? Have I wasted the time I felt for him and didn’t share?

Saturday morning I woke up and went running. I told God that if I saw him I would share. I made that commitment and asked for him to be there. I just knew it had to be done. As I ran by the stupa I searched for him and saw him nowhere. I made a full circle and ran back by just to make sure I didn’t miss him earlier. Still, no sign of him.

Sunday I woke up way earlier than I was supposed to and decided to run again. As I made my way down to the usual path, I was headed towards the stupa and chickened out. I was running to see if he was there and completely stopped in my tracks and turned around in the other direction. In my mind I thought, “I can’t do it, I don’t want to share today, I just want to run and get home.” When I made my way back towards our apartment I couldn’t help but be curious and see if he was down there. I haven’t seen him in weeks, so he probably wouldn’t be anyway.

When I turned the corner to where I could see his spot near the monastery, I immediately looked in that direction. I did not see him but he saw me coming. He was conveniently not in his usual place but instead he was standing on the steps where he first waved.

I walked up to him and fumbled through words asking his name and telling him mine. I immediately told him how I am a believer in The Most High God and have been praying for him. His face lit up and he wanted to hear more. Because his English wasn’t great he called his friend to come translate. Two minutes later a man walked up, and to my surprise he said, “Let’s go get tea!”

I found myself in an outer body experience walking into a small tea shop near the monastery with this monk and his English speaking friend. They were so kind. They treated me to tea and we sat down and had great conversation. They were genuinely interested in my life as I was theirs. I got to share with them the Truth of the Word from the beginning of time to Christ’s death and resurrection. They both sat intrigued with the stories and miracles Jesus preformed in his time here on Earth. It was the young monk’s first time ever to hear any story from The Word of God.

What happens next is what drives me to write and tell you about this experience! I asked the monk what he was doing the rest of the day and he said he was planning to visit friends because the next day he is traveling back home to India!!! He was only here for a short time to raise money to build a stupa in India.

The whole time I have been in Nepal, which is one month, he has been there. I had a heavy heart for him and had a wide open opportunity to share with him the day before he left Kathmandu! I can’t believe that I crossed paths with him, that day, at that time! I can’t believe he called his friend, who had flawless English, to come and translate the gospel into his own language! I can’t believe I got to share with him the name of Jesus Christ for the first time!   

I cannot convey to you the excitement that I have for how God works!! Never would I have thought that the day I got to share would be the last day I would ever get to see him. I am so thankful that I was able to be obedient and he got to hear about the Savior the day before he left for his country.

     

Through this experience I have been humbled. I have been reminded that there is absolutely no guarantee of tomorrow. I can’t take for granted the time I have with someone. And I can’t keep waiting for “tomorrow” to be the day I finally decide to do something big that will make an eternal impact. If I didn’t go running and make myself available to crossing paths with him, he never would have heard from me that day. My heart would still be heavy and I always would wonder what happened to that monk I so strongly desired to share with.

A piece of scripture that has spoken greatly to me this week is Jeremiah 20:9

But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word

or speak anymore in his name,’

 his word is in my heart like a fire,

a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;

Indeed I cannot.

May The Word of God not be like a fire shut up in our bones. Instead may we be bold and ready to burst out its truths on everyone we meet. A good reminder is that we serve “the righteous God who probes minds and hearts” (Ps. 7:9). It is not our job to save people. It is God’s. He amazingly chooses to use us sinners who believe in Him to be His vessels for teaching the truth. So my job is simply to tell. He will take care of the rest.

For that I am thankful and I desire to be used.

“A moment of impact whose potential for change is far beyond what we could have predicted brings some together, and others spinning off into untold adventures… You can’t control how they’re going to affect you… you have to wait for the next collision.” –The Vow

-LauraLBrown

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.

Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:19-20