Life with Sam

Early in the pandemic God spoke to me: There would be people who were isolated and would need to connect with him and others on a daily basis. He gave me the name, Daily Connect, and told me what we should do: Open in prayer, do Shalom for My Body in unison, share our highs and lows in breakout groups of three, followed by a time of Lectio Divina, group Immanuel, and intercession. I was delighted to realize after we tried this collection of spiritual exercises that our new daily rhythm took one hour. Who would have thought?

I enjoyed leading the group from March until December of 2020. But as Christmas neared, I realized that my children and grandchildren would be visiting us, I decided to shut down Daily Connect. Truthfully, I thought we had done our bit. Perhaps the pandemic would slow down. Maybe it was time to stop Daily Connect. When I shared my thoughts with Sam, he protested, arguing that Daily Connect was a life-line to many, some of whom were living alone. Then he confessed, Daily Connect was a lifeline to him. He was being nourished by Daily Connect. At that point he had been sick, off and on for four years. My heart was tender toward him. We compromised: We put together a team of regular attendees who were willing to lead Daily Connect so I could take two weeks off. I even held a training on how to lead Daily Connect.

At the end of my two week break, Sam and the others expected me to resume leadership. But I had heard such glowing reports of the fabulous job the team was doing . . . I agreed to lead three times a week, and let others lead the other three.

Over time Sam emerged as the real leader of Daily Connect. No, they no longer started on time. They were too busy chatting. But they made it through the six movements and Sam’s warmth and love went far beyond what I was doing to create a place of deep belonging. As Laura, one of regulars from the Netherlands, once told me, “Without Sam, Daily Connect is not Daily Connect!”

I saw Sam grow through Daily Connect. God gave him a picture of a long white surfboard. He was walking the board behind Jesus who was leading the way. Small crabs and critters would nibble Sam’s toes but it was tolerable. Small stuff. God was showing him and he had him. Not to pay attention to the small stuff. Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep moving forward.

Author Curt Thompson, MD, has said that the neural wiring that make up our brains only grow 1 millimeter a day. That is a very tiny amount, about the thickness of your fingernail. Consequently, changing our brains is most efficiently done by daily practices. Think of it: In a week your dendrites can grow 7 mm. That’s nearly the width of your pinky finger.

Sam needed the daily connection with God and the people he loved to sustain him during his long and difficult decline. God used it to sustain Sam and he used Sam’s warmth to sustain Daily Connect. Sam is gone from our sight but he left us a legacy: A vibrant community at Daily Connect. A small group of people who can run this welcoming aspect of HCI so that warm, supportive community is available to all of us when we need a dose of belonging and love.

Celebrate with me what God has done through Sam!