divine nobodies: my take away (part one)

In his wonderful book Divine Nobodies, Jim Palmer shares how different people, one per chapter, have changed his life for the better. These are a few of the things I took away from each chapter. This post is just referencing the first five chapters; I’ll hit the other ten in two later posts.

1. Touched by a Drummer
   This chapter talked about a guy named Kit and his wife. They have a house in the mountains that they offer as a getaway for people who need rest. I would love to be able to have something like that available for people to come to. Heck, I’d like to GO TO a place like this. A place where it’s ok to ask questions and not know the answers; a place where you are free from distraction; a place where you can really talk to God and maybe be able to hear his whispers in the silence.
2. Hip-Hop Geography
   It’s all about being you. Forget the masks and the show; forget the smoke and mirrors. Why show people a fake you? I needed to hear that. It’s ok not to be perfect, in fact, it’s better to be imperfect. I am slowly beginning to throw away my masks (more on that later).
3. Waffle House Theology
   Do you ever make snap judgments about people? I know I do, and thankfully so does Jim. He talks about a waitress at the Waffle House that he met while she was having a rough day, proving that you never know exactly what the people you meet are going through. Always be nice, no matter where you are, no matter who you meet.
4. Death to the Phantom
   One story about Grace in this chapter completely captured me. Here it is in mostly quotes from the middle of this chapter:
   “Settling into my comfy chair [at the public library]…somewhere the corner of my eye caught something that hijacked my attention. All decked out in a pretty pink dress with white lace was a sweet little girl in a wheelchair. Her angel face was radiantly pale, and her sandy-blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail sporting a big yellow bow. Frilly white stockings disappeared into her sturdy white leather dress shoes, which were strapped down tight to the folding metal rests beneath her pigeon-toed feet. I could not turn away from this portrait of mangled beauty, despite knowing well enough that it isn’t polite to stare at handicapped kids.
   Kneeling down close beside the little girl is Dad. With one arm gently wrapped around her, he reads from an oversized storybook propped in her lap…she’s just sitting there unresponsive, seemingly oblivious, as Dad dutifully reads her a story, altering his voice to impersonate the different characters. My mind began wandering, imagining this father’s world. On bended knee is a man who must walk through life brokenhearted for his daughter, who will never sing silly songs, skate in the park, or dance at her prom. A dad who loves his little girl perhaps even more because of that but who will never hear ‘I love you, Daddy,” whispered in his ear or receive a homemade Father’s Day card with sunshine and stick people…The lens of my soul zoomed in on her facial expression as she sits wrapped in her father’s arms…What does she see? What does she feel? She seems so content and peaceful, at home really, resting her head against Daddy’s face, receiving his love. Then again, that’s all she can do. She’s not even capable of reciprocating her father’s love, and yet I can see she is his most precious treasure…
   Taking all this in, a torrent of troubling thoughts rose from somewhere deep within me. Would God still love me if I couldn’t do anything for him? What if I were useless and couldn’t do even the basic things I had learned a good Christian does? What if I couldn’t even go to church or have a quiet time? What if…Sitting there, a heavy weariness set in and I wanted to cry. I’m so tired of trying to get God to like me. I’m terrified of being abandoned and left alone in life. It had already happened a few times with people it’s not supposed to…But then there was this child in the wheelchair, useless yet priceless…An occasional grunt is Dad’s only reward for giving his all in reading her the story. There’s nothing she can do for him, but she doesn’t need to do anything; her father simply love her…”
5. What the Sheep Do We Know?
   Jim explains how he and his wife wanted their daughter to learn in a different sort of environment about the Bible and its stories. After reading this chapter, and doing a little research of my own, I would love to have my kids be involved in something like Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Even though I’m not Catholic, I really like the concept of hands-on learning, with no real outside influence that comes from this method. “I wonder if there’s more to this existence than logic, science, or the five sense can explain…” – Jim Palmer.

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