Planes, Trains, & Friendship Rings
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Two weeks ago I flew to Omaha, Neb. to hang out with some good friends and see what was going on in their local church. Highlights included hosting a tournament for the church of a made-up game (made-up games are crucial to every man's existence), enjoying a few pints of Guinness on St. Patty's Day, and hearing about the life of St. Patrick on Sunday morning. It was a great trip.
On the flight back to Big D I had a fairly meaningful and totally humorous encounter with the guy sitting next to me, who was visiting his fiance in Omaha over the weekend. Hunter was 2 years older than I was, and he worked at an air conditioning company in Lewisville. The conversation started up just like any other would, with me trying to be funny, but coming across as more awkward than anything else. Hunter didn't seem to mind though, and we began to become acquainted. After telling him that I recently graduated from seminary and sharing a few of my passions, Hunter was convinced that I was a pastor of some sort and his tone changed.
It was actually a beautifully meaningful conversation, during which I was able to share with Hunter why I thought a relationship with the person of Jesus was relevant, not only to the human problem, but to his life as well. He listened intently to everything I had to say, and would interject every so often with stories from his own life. He told me about being raised by his mother, and how important the sanctity of the Bible was to her. Then, noticing that I had a few tatoos of my own, he began to ask me about the morality of putting marks on your body. After showing me his own tatoos, he shared that some of his friends told him that this wasn't right and he was confused. I shared with him my thoughts on the matter, and talked a little about what the Law in the Old Testament was and how Jesus came to fulfill and free us from bondage to it. I read to him from Romans 8, where Paul says that what the Law was unable to do, God was able to accomplish through Jesus. He seemed to like that answer.
Things went on like this for the duration of the flight, with the conversation mostly centered around Christian Spirituality. Hunter was a fine flying companion, and I would be sad to see him leave. He apparently shared the same sentiment.
As the plane landed and then made the taxi to the terminal, Hunter thanked me for the conversation and told me if I ever needed some AC work done to give him a call. I promised him that I would and that I enjoyed getting to know him for the past hour. We each grabbed our carry-ons and headed out the jetway. Just as we were approaching the clearance, he stopped and asked for me to wait. He began to fidget with his hand, and I suddenly realized what he was doing - He wanted to give me his ring. I was pretty taken aback, and not knowing how to respond, I did one of those "Oh, I couldn't possibly..." sort of things. He insisted, telling me that the ring symbolized the Ten Commandments, with a roman numeral for each across the band. I took it, thanked him, and we parted ways.
It wasn't until I got into my car that I took a good look at the ring my new-found friend had given me. I was releaved to see that he had not given me anything too valuable, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit over the exchange. Then, as I turned the ring around, my chuckle became a full-out laugh. My Ten Commandments ring had 12 roman numerals!
Labels: kendal
posted by Kendal @ 8:30 AM,
3 Comments:
Great story, Kendal!! The ring is funny, but the encounter is inspiring!
Posted by
| Apr 3, 2007, 3:53:00 PM
Ok, did you add in the part about sharing your faith just so we would feel guilty about making fun of you for getting a ring from some guy?
Posted by
Because it's not working on me. | Apr 4, 2007, 11:04:00 AM
I'm just glad you're not going to take a job in Nebraska! Hope you have the ring on at Shane's wedding. I want to see it.
Posted by
Kathy | Apr 17, 2007, 10:47:00 AM
The Authors
Kendal Haug
Kendal is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin and most recently earned his Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He works for Bible.org and likes to think he knows how to play the guitar. His man-crushes include, but are not limited to: Ryan Adams, Donald Miller, Ray LaMontagne, Neil Young, Vince Young, and of course The Box.
Ben Box
Box, is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and currently works for Medco Construction building hospitals and being important. Ben loves paying lots of money on broken down Jeeps and has a propensity for getting Kendal into trouble.
About This Blog
This is a multi-author blog devoted to the happenings of two bachelors living it up in Big D. We will record the daily nonsense that occurs when 2 life-long friends live together in the same apartment and have no shame, sense of fashion, or chance of meeting a girl in the next 10 years.
A Word on Comments
Ben and Kendal both highly encourage your comments. They look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights. No matter how harsh the criticism or if you just want to give them a good ole pat on the back and say "Way to Go!" or "Ha! That was a funny story!" or "That Ben sure does crack me up." And if you have a request of something you would like to see Ben and Kendal do or write about, let them know.
Disclaimer
Ben and Kendal are in no way responsible for stories that may worry, upset, or lead their parents to altogether disown them.
