A Lasting Random Moment

I read this year that one of my "heroes" who is a tremendous influence on my life, my former Baptist Student Union (or now called, "Baptist Collegiate Ministries") Director, is retiring.  Okay, so I knew it had to come & I'm okay with that.  But that's not what stopped me in my tracks & made me do a double-take in life.  It was what I came upon in my trunk of junk down in my basement a few months ago.  I had always remembered this item, though I had forgotten about actually saving it in my trunk.

Arliss Dickerson was my BSU Director during the 4 years I attended Arkansas State University.  During my intense involvement with the ASU/BSU, the impact he had upon my life would eventually reverberate well into the 21st Century.  I always felt that his mentorship was unique & was something that stayed with me.  But it wasn't until years later, after getting married, moving 1,200 miles from my home, & starting a family, that I discovered that he had been elevated by other BSU Directors to a type of "Baptist Sainthood" among collegiate ministers.  Needless to say that even this was no surprise to me.

But when I found this memento in my trunk, it hit me that Arliss was a one-of-a-kind person.  Coming out of a childhood where my relationships were mostly fair-weathered, what I learned from Arliss & how he established relationships was one of the primary cornerstones that help to build my character.  And how I got this memento was one of the most random moments of my life--yet it was something I will cherish like a family heirloom.

Arliss & I were standing in the breezeway entrance of the Baptist Student Center one afternoon (I believe the current term in culture is "chillin'"), not really talking...but when we did, it was about nothing, when he reached out nonchalantly & grabbed a plain white piece of paper.  He reached for a black "Majik Marker" & scribbled a note, folded the paper, & handed it to me.  He smiled & headed down the hall to his office.  Totally thinking to myself, "Okay, what crazy thing did Arliss write?"  I unfolded the paper & saw this:

A little note that had a big impact.

I chuckled at the randomness of his attempt at a campaign slogan, but then it just sunk in to my psyche that I was a person of value to him.  I was someone who mattered.  It wasn't because of what I was doing in my work with the BSU, it wasn't because of my dashing good looks, it wasn't because of my filthy rich family...  It was because I was who I was.  I remembered taking this note with me & when I got back to my dorm, I placed it in my trunk where it was kept with all the other milestones I've passed through my life.

I have to say that since crossing paths with Arliss Dickerson, the way I treat people has profoundly changed.  I could have held a chip on my shoulder from my childhood & grown up bitter & resentful.  But I saw what authenticity in friendship looked like & felt how it was able to dissolve away the immaturity of childhood.  I'm sure there'll be much hoopla during the year leading up to a huge, much-publicized, retirement party for Arliss.  And I'm equally sure of the fact that it will be something that brings a certain degree of discomfort to Arliss because he never seemed like a person who relished a whole lot of attention being poured on him.  It actually was a distraction to him because he was just too busy "being Arliss".

Frankly, if I ever got the chance to become "President of the World", I know who would be my "Chief of Staff".