Centripetal and centrifugal.
One draws in to the centre. One gives out from the centre.
One wants to be the focus. One sees the focus beyond self.
The phone rings. It’s Kevin. He asks how I am. He takes the time to hear me out. I ask about him and he offers a decent response, he’s not hiding anything and he offers honesty about his situation. He’s not calling me though, to just witter on and on about himself. He asks about me and then he shares the good news. He’s come into some extra income and he’s keen to share the goodies. He invites my wife and I out to join him and his wife for a meal.
At the meal as we get talking and laughing, Kevin is happy to pay for the meal and then present my wife and I with a gift for each of us. It was something for him to treat us to the meal in the first place, but now he’s letting us have those things that we appreciate for our own requirements. His tenderness, sensitivity and time taken to find out and meet that was so touching.
This is typical of Kevin. He doesn’t wait until his financial circumstances. It’s not primarily about the material. There’s something more to it than that. Kevin lives to give. He is blessed and he sees that the best thing to do with the blessing is to share it. To give it freely. Without any desire for repayment or even acknowledgement. Especially when he sees how it meets a need and benefits the recipient, he is keen to just give.
That attitude is a great example of how he is not looking to be the focus. He doesn’t want the attention on him. He wants others enriched, enhanced and enable to enjoy life. That has left such an impact not just on my wife and I, but on others as well. It’s the hallmark of what makes him a beautiful person and a beautiful friend. It’s the kind of quality that my daughters consider and leads them to likewise remember what Kevin is like. Not remember for what they got from him, but what they would give to him and likewise give to others.
That’s a great insight into what makes the difference between being centripetal and centrifugal.
(Photo by Javier Molina on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 