Jesus, Not Jesús: Finding The Divine In The Space Between Us.
  • Be Kind
  • About this blog
  • About the author
  • Contact
  • Be Kind
  • About this blog
  • About the author
  • Contact

30 People. 30 Days. Day 13: Robert

11/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Robert fixes watches. And rings. And I’m sure he does other jewelry as well but those where the two things I brought to him to fix. Which he was happy to do for me.  Robert is a hard worker who takes great pride in his work. And it shows. Especially on the faces of the people who stopped by to pick up and drop off their rings and watches to his care.
Picture
This one time high school drop-out eventually got his GED, and got a couple of years of college under his belt. But that isn’t how he got to where he is today, a watchmaker and repair man. “School wasn’t my thing,” he said. After leaving high school, his father took him to do an apprenticeship with a watchmaker where he got his real education.
 
Robert eventually took another job, and learned the jewelry trade as well. His boss eventually sold the business to this young, Lebanese born Armenian. And from there, his life was set into motion. He no longer seemed ashamed by his choice to leave school, or feels like he’s living in the shadows of his brother’s and sisters who are all professionals in law and medicine.  
 
It might be bold for me to say, but it seems to me the best part about Robert getting to this place in life, is that he gets to share it with the love of his life – a wife of ten years (event though they’ve known each other for 30). That’s another story for another time. But he wants the world to know that he “Falls in love with his wife 100 times more than I did the day before.”  
 
Robert was super appreciative that I wanted to get to know him better. He lives and works in my neighborhood, and he too believes the world would be in a better place if we talked and listened to one another.  “So many people only want to talk about themselves,” he said before wanting to know my story.  I was happy to share the quick, “elevator pitch” of my life with him.
 
I have a feeling I will probably return to see Robert again. Not to just fix a broken watchband or to repair an old ring but to find ways to fix the brokenness in our world. 
 
With each person I meet, I’m learning more and more about the people I share this sacred space called life. We are different that is for sure. But we all bleed and love the same. We share commonalities even though it might not seem like at first.

​People like Robert help me to understand what life in community ought to be about.  As we share our stories, our business, and our concerns or joys or fears…we begin to also share the responsibility to care for those around us in ways that add to our stories and our blessings.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Ian Macdonald

    An ex-copywriter turned punk rock pastor and peacemaker who dedicates his life to making the world a better place for all humanity. 

    "that they all might be one"  ~John 17:21


    “Prius vita quam doctrina.”
    ​~ S
    t. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)​
    * “Life is more important than doctrine.”


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    February 2011
    December 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010

Be Kind

About this blog

About The Author

Contact

Copyright © 2011