STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.
Hope pulls you through
Dear Reader,
Thank you for being a free subscriber to The Three Taverns.
I talk to strangers nearly every day. I like meeting new people, not necessarily to make new long-term friends, but to learn. I always learn new things from people. I’m happy if the conversation is 20 seconds and that’s it. But sometimes it takes interesting turns and we can be engaged for minutes or even an hour.
Often it becomes a way to share the most precious thing on earth, my relationship with Jesus Christ. He is not a doctrine or a feeling or a principle or a “consciousness”. He is a Person.
LAST WEEK
Last week I greeted a black guy dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt. He looked dressed for a day of work on a hot day. In fact, that’s what I asked him…”on your way to work?”
He turned instantly grumpy and just looked at me and said, “I own a moving company, I ain’t got to work.”
Whoah, ok, what do I do with that? But I persisted and said, “Oh, that’s cool. What’s the company name?” He took his phone out and showed me his logo.
I congratulated him and just said something simple like, “Business is tough, so my hat’s off to you for making it work!”
Then he just came right out and asked me, “Do you know Christ?”
Now, I’ve been known to be very up front with my faith, but this was a new experience! I said, “Yes, I know him! He’s my life.”
This turned into such a fantastic conversation that if I had let his first demeanor turn me off I would have missed out on it!
This next conversation was a bit different.
STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
She was a beautiful black woman. She had just moved from Memphis to Nashville in January 2023.
We were sitting within two feet of each other so I struck up a conversation. She was very friendly and open. We talked the usual stuff like, "what do you do for a living?" and "do you have family here or all back in Memphis?"
She was very culturally black, not just skin black, so it was very interesting relating. The cool thing is that we both were working at it really hard and enjoying it with a few laughs here and there!
During the conversation she informed me she had 4 children. The oldest was 17 (she was 33). She had him her junior year of high school. I said, "That's when things got pretty tough for you being a single mom." She agreed and talked a little about that.
She said she moved to Nashville to start a new life and hopefully build something better for her "babies" as she put it. They are currently living with her mom in Memphis.
She works at a call center near the airport. And her second gig is working from the Ashley Madison website and a couple of "sugar daddy" sites as she put it. She asked me, "do you know what that is?" I said that I did and I could tell she was looking to see what kind of reaction I would have.
I simply asked questions out of curiosity about how it worked, did she feel safe, was she meeting anyone she was really interested in or was it all just transactional? She was very honest and it was an enlightening conversation.
What I was rolling over and over in my mind while we talked is "How is this going to result in setting up a 'new life' for her and her kids? It's not. The pattern remains the same." Rather than get preachy and say that, I asked God for a creative way to help her re-think.
Near the end of the conversation, I asked her if she had ever heard of the band U2. She had never heard of them, which was a bit of a shock to me until I remembered how culturally different we had grown up. I told her they are one of the biggest rock bands of all time and certainly of the last 40 years.
I said "There's this song they sing that is one of my favorites. You might like it too. It's called "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Does that sound familiar?" It didn't at all, so I quoted these words...
"I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for."
She listened intently. A tear stole its way down her cheek. I have found that for those who are completely lost or confused, tears are never far away.
I told her a major moment in my life came when I stopped looking for something and realized that SOMEONE was looking for me. And that changed my life. One way always left me empty and still hungry, but when I realized that the UNLIMITED had been there all along and didn't hate me it altered the course of my life.
Right then and there she looked up the song on her phone. As we parted she said she was definitely going to listen to it. I told her it really meant a lot to me and hopefully it would to her as well. She thanked me and hugged me and I said a quick prayer for her.
Sometimes we simply plant a seed. Sometimes we water one that's already there. And sometimes we bring in the harvest. Any part of the journey is so fun to watch God at work.
TAVERN TALKS EVERY TUESDAY
So many of you have mentioned how encouraging this gathering has been! I'm so thankful for our time together at The Mission Cigar & Social each Tuesday morning, 7am.
Bring your coffee, your Bible, Febreze if you go to the office after, an open mind and open heart. You can purchase a cigar as well to enjoy your first cigar of the day.
We are really grateful to Mark, Monte and Willie for opening up The Mission early each Tuesday and participating in Tavern Talks!
SHAMELESS PLUG: 1-- 2-- 7-- 10-- 12
Bill started on day one.
On day two he made his first order.
Seven days he had his first silver delivered that came with his membership.
Ten days he had his first 20K order delivered.
Twelve days he had his first commission on the way from signing his first builder.
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See you next time in The Three Taverns!
Looking Up! (Luke 21:28),
Tod Bell
Chief Tavern Host