Try

When I was 19 years old, I cold called one of the most successful Pastors in New York City and asked him if I could come work for him during the summer. For many years now, I have been trying to understand what made me to do that, and why he answered the phone. I have also been trying to understand why he agreed to my daring and in retrospect, preposterous proposal. I had no experience and ever fewer skills. But whatever the reasons, he agreed. And thus began one of the most impactful relationships of my life. For the next fours years, I spent almost every day of every summer “sitting at the feet” of this amazingly gifted guru, and he taught me several amazing lessons about life, leadership and love.

One of the lessons that he taught me occurred one afternoon as we were driving down Eastern Parkway. Eastern Parkway is one of the major highways in Brooklyn, New York. It runs almost four miles east to west, and snakes through several of the most crowded neighborhoods in America—where almost 3 million people live in an area 70 miles wide. If there are 3 million people in Brooklyn, there may be 300,000 churches lol. There is literally a church on every corner, many of them no bigger than the Delicatessen that that many of them are located beside, or above, or sometimes even in.

Dr. Lucas’s church was one of the largest churches in Brooklyn. At the time, his congregation was so large that I would brag to my friends that we put half of the churches in Brooklyn inside one of his services. And we could. And we passed one of those churches on Eastern Parkway that afternoon. The church was extremely small. But there was an extremely large sign outside the door. In fact, the sign was probably bigger than the church. As we drove by, I said to Dr. Lucas, “that preacher should take that sign down. It looks a mess.” To my immature mind, a sign that big on a church that small was a waste of time and resources. What possible impact could a sign like that have on a church so small in a city so big?

Dr. Lucas didn’t say anything for what seemed like an eternity. Then he replied softly, “well, at least the Pastor is trying.” Then he went on to say, “the big sign is a sign that the Pastor has big dreams. The reason that so many people don’t do anything is that it is so hard to try.”

His words stabbed through my heart and punctured my youthful pride. I will never forget that day. Or those words. “It is so hard to try.” He was right. It is hard to try. That’s why so many people remain trapped in their environment, limited by their insecurities or hamstrung by their past. Trying is trying. The difficulty of expending energy, resources and time in the face of resistance with often uncertain outcomes and limited should never be minimized. I didn’t know how much money that sign cost, how long it took to design, or how much energy it required to hang it in place. But somebody paid the price. And that degree of effort is priceless.

Not all effort results in success. But all effort should be celebrated. Because its so easy not to do anything. That little sign came from a preacher with a big vision. It reminds me of a woman named Tabitha, who greets us in Acts 9:36-40. The scripture tells us who she was, what she did, and why she occupies a place in the scriptures:

Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, “Gazelle” in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room.Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them.

They took him into the room where Tabitha’s body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.

Tabitha got sick and died. But the impact that she had on her faith community was so big that the community requested that Peter come and pray for her. He did, and he was raised. Well, what did Tabitha do that was so impactful? She made clothes for widows! It doesn’t seem like much. In a city that big with so many problems, what possible difference could making clothes for poor widows make? Apparently, a huge impact. So huge, that she made history. So huge, that we are still reading about her contribution two thousand years later.

Theodore Roosevelt used to say “do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Just try.

Put up a sign.

Make some clothes.

Say hello.

Send a thank you note.

Help a stranger.

Start reading the book.

Trying is trying. But its better than talking about people who are trying.