The Little Blue Man

This little blue yarn man hangs on my Christmas tree each year.  He stands out among the red and green sparkly decorations, giving contrast to the tree itself. Very much in the same way his story does the same. The story of this little blue yarn man stands in contrast to the context and circumstances that surround his creation. Let me explain…

Before going into ministry I worked in the medical field. Over the course of 15 years I had the opportunity to work in several different departments. When asked what my favorite department was I don’t even have to think about it. It was Oncology. Yes Oncology…the place we go when some unexplained mass shows up in our body. The place where the words malignant and benign live. A place where that word cancer often times rears its ugly head. Yes, that was my favorite place to work.

It was in that place that people got real. It was in that place that everyone, no matter age, socioeconomic status or walk of life had one thing in common. Their life had been suddenly interrupted. It was in that place that I learned so much about my faith and the faith of others. It was where I saw God moving in incredible ways.

This Advent season our sermon series is called Interruptions because life is filled with them. Life’s interruptions don’t care about our plans or our schedules. It doesn’t matter if it’s a regular weekday or a holiday…interruptions come and usually when we least expect them or want them.  The interesting thing about this though, is that our perspective when this happens can change our interruptions into invitations.

This little blue yarn man reminds me of this in so many ways. On a particularly busy day in Radiation Oncology one of our patients handed him to me with a smile. I had seen this gentlemen working diligently on something while he waited for his treatment, but didn’t know what his busy hands were doing. As I looked up from my little blue yarn man I noticed that all the other patients and staff had one too. They were all different colors and were a welcomed sight on the backdrop of the bland hospital walls. Although each hand that held one was different each face had the same reaction; joy. These simple yarn people brought smiles to everyone’s faces, including mine.

In that moment as I looked around I realized that each patient’s life there had been interrupted, including the gentleman that made these yarn people with love. Each person in that room had made plans and I can guarantee those plans had not included sitting in a Radiation Oncology waiting room anticipating treatments. I also realized something else. This precious man stepped out of his circumstances to bring joy to others. He told me he originally started to make them in order to keep himself busy and get his mind off of worry. But as he made them he realized he could do so much more with them. That instead of just helping him get out of his head, he could bring joy to others. Instead of just living in self-preservation mode he would reach out in his own way to bring light to others in a dark time.  In his interruption he saw an invitation.

During this Advent season this year, we might too default to a sort of self-preservation at times. We may be inclined to simply strive to get out of our own heads; but I pray we too can take our situation a step farther. I pray that we too might see our interruption as an invitation to reach out and love others. A little yarn man was a creative and unusual way to do that, but it worked! It was simple yet so life giving. What ways might we too get creative this season? How might we too step out of our circumstances and be the light to others. I find myself faced with this invitation as I look at my little blue yarn man hanging on my tree. I pray that we never overlook the simple ways in which we can impact people’s lives with incredible love. May you all be blessed by this little blue man as I was and still am today.