At just the right time...

At Big Brothers Big Sisters, I have an amazing job. I'm truly, truly blessed. I have great co-workers and I feel purposeful every day- I can even decorate my cubicle exactly how I want to! My favorite part of my job, however, is getting to play match maker. I get to know adults who feel inspired enough to volunteer their time and as I collect their background checks in a file folder, I communicate with school councilors and dig through my filing cabinets for the child who I feel could most benefit from time spent with this adult.

On "New Match Day" I meet the volunteer at the school, show them where to sign in at the office, hand them the name badge they're required to wear and then guide them through the hallways to the school cafeteria. The volunteers are usually nervous about meeting their new friend. They will stammer out a few sentences about how all elementary schools smell the same. They might ask a couple of questions about the demographic of the school's population or talk about how much the layout of that particular elementary school has changed since their sister attended nearly fifty years before. Although the volunteers I work with come in a wide variety, the agenda on "New Match Day" is typically the same.

Today I had the privilege of matching a student I'd been waiting to match all school year with a highly respected public official. The student I matched (we'll call him Samuel for the sake of confidentiality) today comes from a home with one parent-his mother- who is mentally handicapped. He is one of seven siblings. Samuel is, by far, the brightest of his siblings, but is often mistaken by teachers and other students as needing coddling or a lot of extra help the way that his twin brother does. His clothes do not fit and they are rarely clean. His home lacks blankets so he and his siblings sleep on their school uniforms. His three-year-old sister is not yet potty trained and some mornings, Samuel doesn't show up to school because his clothes have become dirty in the night. He is powerless in his situation and Samuel does not think very highly of himself. When I interviewed him, which is part of the process all kids go through when they enter our program, and asked Samuel to describe himself, he told me "I'm a good person, but I'm a little bit dumb."

I began attempting to match John (that's what we're calling the highly-respected public official/volunteer) back in February. Every imaginable variable that could have interfered with getting John matched with a little brother, did. He was so, so, patient with the process and took it all into stride each time I'd call to let him know that the student I had planned on matching him with had transferred, the class his student was in had gone on a field trip, or we'd have to wait a week because of spring break. Today finally arrived to introduce John to his new little brother and I was so excited!

Unfortunately, the start of the "New Match Day" process was abnormally bumpy. I had FINALLY gotten John there at the school, I knew the student was present today, but everything else about my regular routine was messy! First, I couldn't find the class room. When I did find it, I spoke to the teacher to discover that the kids were in library which was down the stairs and at the other end of the school. Upon arriving the librarian got annoyed at me for butting into her space...I was feeling silly and bummed that this long-awaited day wasn't smooth and magical. John followed me quietly and just smiled every time I apologized for the confusion (which was A LOT!).

Eventually, I found myself sitting in the meeting room with John and Samuel. At last! I was so caught up in protocol and completing the task I'd set out to do that I nearly interrupted Samuel when he spoke up. He looked at John's name badge and said, "Wow! You're like a real, big, business man, aren't you?"

John chuckled a bit and said, "I guess I am. Here you go," and he handed him a business card. Samuel handled the piece of cardstock more delicately than I knew any fourth grade boy was capable of doing.

He stared at it and said, "I always wanted to be a real business man and to have some of these, but I know that I can't." John didn't miss a beat to look Samuel in the eyes.

"Who told you that? Who said that to you? You can and you will. We'll talk more about this later, son."

Magic.

These two people hadn't been in the same room for more than two minutes and John said exactly what Samuel had never heard. Less than one hundred and twenty seconds had expired and this man had spoken truths that this child needed more than anything. Had anyone even spoken to this child about his future? Had he ever heard a man refer to him as "son"? Samuel just kind of nodded humbly at John's words. He looked down at his lap and fought back a smile.

Wow, right? At just the right time, while Samuel was sitting there being a child with little purpose or hope, John gave him just what he needed. At just the right time, God gave precisely what was needed. He always has and He continues to do so today. Thank you, Father.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly."

Romans 5:6