Skip to main content

Gordy's Main Street Ministry

It was bound to happen eventually. Eventually I would have to face the challenge that lied before me. I didn't know how I'd make things work, but I knew that I had to find a way. As the saying in the business goes "Champions find a way." I looked terrified at what laid before me...mounds and mounds of clothes, papers, books, and boxes full of random objects. Today I had the challenge of cleaning my room. I'm not actually done yet, since I was hit with inspiration and had to write this post quickly before it vanished!

While cleaning, I opened up a folder that held treasures I had forgotten about! I found inspirational stories given to me from camp counselors, pictures, notes written to me from kids I had been a counselor for, and  I found a list of goals from my sophomore and junior year of high school that I had posted on my wall. Then there was this maroon box, I opened it up and found twenty or thirty cards and on them ready "GORDY'S MAIN STREET MINISTRY." Finding these cards filled me with two emotions, happiness and a little bit of sadness. It also brought back a memory...

In 2009 sitting in a coffee shop drowning a sea of negative thoughts I sipped my coffee. I wondered how I had gotten so far down and how further down I could go. Then I heard the unmistakable "Hello!" that I had come so accustomed to hearing in the morning. It was Gordy. I hadn't actually talked to him, but he was a legend in Ashland. He'd walk from one side of town and back stopping in at the local businesses and talking to people on the street. He didn't talk about a religious or political agenda, he wasn't about promoting his business, he just talked to people to talk to them. Today though would be my day to have a conversation with Gordy. He sat down next to me and put out his hand and in his Gordy voice(I don't even know how to begin to describe it) he introduced himself. The enthusiasm in his voice and the caring look he had on his face couldn't help but make me smile, something I hadn't done in a few days. I knew that this truly was someone special.

We talked about everything; weather, sports, my business, and eventually his "ministry." After about twenty minutes of conversation Gordy had to continue his walk to the end of town and cheer up the town. Before he left though, he gave me a stack of roughly 100 homemade business cards. Then he was on his way. The rest of that summer I had the privilege of having visits from Gordy in my office.

Today I live roughly six hours away from Gordy and haven't talked to him since August 2009. It makes me sad that I've lost touch with such an inspirational and caring person. So in honor of Gordy, I'm going to share his "Main Street Ministry" with you all today. Gordy is the epitome of LIVING. Well I suppose, I should get back to finishing my project!


 
LIVE It Up! 
-ZZ- 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tied Together by a Pair of Shoes

To a runner, a pair of shoes is everything. It's the only piece of equipment that is really needed and sometimes, due to circumstances a pair of shoes can acquire great sentimental value. For me there's one pair that comes to mind. Naturally like any story, I had no idea that when I bought my first pair of Nike Air Max Motos that I would one day hold them in my hands with tears in my eyes. It was a late August day and Cross Country had just begun. I skipped out on practice to go hangout with a friend, Cody, who lived out of town. While I was staying at his house we decided that I shouldn't totally miss practice so we came up with the idea that I would just practice with his team. However, because of state regulations I couldn't practice with the team, so I just did my own workout. After the workout we went back to Cody's house and raided the kitchen cupboards and the fridge. As we sat there chowing down, Cody looked at me and said, "Dude one day you're...

The Purpose of Life

Since the very beginning man has asked the question, "what is the purpose of life?" Well perhaps the purpose of life is “to test to the limits of the human heart.” –Bill Bowerman, Without Limits It’s to love even at the risk of not being loved back. Take on a task bigger than you knowing you might fail. Push yourself to the brink and collapse! It’s time to stop playing it safe because by doing so we’re holding ourselves back from such an amazing life. Now is the time to see what you're capable of, because “ what we do in life, echoes in eternity.” –Maximumus, Gladiator And this means you can be a positive influence in the world around you. You have it in you to be the inspiration for another. All you have to do is “live by the ABC’s; Adventurous, brave, creative.” –Walter Mitty, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Or you can do nothing, but I can only imagine there is little worse than looking back on your life and having to say to yourself , “I have done not...

Just like Harry, You Don't Have to Journey Alone

With the anticipation of the final Harry Potter movie coming out, I figured it would only be right that I took a second to relate Harry Potter to all of us. I'm proud to say that I've read all of the books multiple times, and the most obvious lesson to me throughout the whole series is the importance of allowing our friends to help us with our life journey. This couldn't be clearer than in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." By the way, have no fear, there are only a few small spoilers. We all have our life journey that we are meandering through. Some moments are all sunshine and rainbows, some are dull and uneventful, while others are full of trials which require friends to help us get through. As I was reading Deathly Hallows, I was struck by how Harry acts as he is carrying the locket. His best friends are there with him, yet he feels so lonely, mainly because of the power of the locket horcrux. Similarly, perhaps you can think of a time when it felt like...