Missed Opportunities....

There's this guy at work named Raymond. He's one of those quiet, shy type of guys who isn't going to just start a conversation with you. My first week of work, I was sitting by him and decided I'd talk to him (it's not like I really had anyone to talk to either). We had a pretty decent conversation...just talked about where he lived and his girlfriend and stuff. Usually at lunch, there is about 10 to 15 people at a big table, and when he's there, he hardly ever says a word to anyone. Whenever I would ask him how he was doing, I would just get "keeping busy, keeping busy." Well, yesterday we were eating lunch and he came in, but there were no seats left at the table, so he sat at the table right next to all of us and just ate by himself. I felt bad for him and wanted to go over and sit with him and ask him what he was actually keeping busy with...I just felt like I should. I sat there and thought about it, and then thought about it some more, until it was too late...he got up and went back to work. Oh well, theres the rest of the summer to talk to him is what I probably thought. Well, today some of the managers on our team called a short, impromptu meeting for the sole purpose to let us all know that Raymond's "contract had not been renewed" and that he would no longer be working with us.

Welcome to the real world Danny G. A place where your future is not secure or predictable. It makes me wonder if I'm ready for it yet? But that's beside the point. I feel really bad for Raymond....I'm upset that I didn't take the opportunity to talk to him that last chance I got. I don't know what could have happened....maybe just a simple conversation. But I hate the fact that I know what I'm supposed to do sometimes and don't act. I get these seemingly great ideas to meet people and love people, but then I'll just think about it until it's too late. I can only imagine what God would do if I would just hear and do, instead of think and doubt what He is telling me to do. There's no way I could have known that yesterday would be my last chance to have a meaningful conversation with Raymond. There's no way the friends and family of the 32 Virginia Tech students and professors could have known that the day before that Monday morning would be the last chance they would get to reach out, share their faith, or simply say goodbye. All the more reason why we can't sit around being afraid to love the people around us and share our faith.

In other news, my mommy loves me and sent me a big package this week....check this out:
That's right, two shirts, 10 pairs of socks, homemade brownies, fudge, and chocolate chip cookies, cashews, granola bars, trail mix, dried fruit (yeah i know my mom is really random sometimes), Twizzlers bites (my favorite!), an assorted bag of chewy candies, an assorted bag of old random Easter candy, gummy bears, and last but certainly not least, a steel ball point pen!!! It's a good thing I got the dental insurance from work!! :-D

Oh, and I bought plane tickets to come back to Ohio!! I'm so happy because I got direct flights both ways at reasonable times in the morning. I'll be flying back into Cincinnati on Friday, June 29th and then back to Austin on Sunday, July 8th. I'll probably be back and forth between Xenia and Cincinnati while I'm in Ohio, so make sure you get a hold of me so we can hang out!!