I first met Jimmy Dorrell when I was a Baylor student, in the early 90s. I got in the habit of hanging out with the Mauldin family, Jimmy’s next-door neighbors, and their kids often played together. I spent many an afternoon on the trampoline and chasing around the neighborhood with Mauldin and Dorrell kids. Eventually the Mauldins moved, and I lost touch with the Dorrells.

I recently renewed my acquaintance with Jimmy, breakfast at the World Cup Cafe. He’s a pretty cool cat. His work with Mission Waco is legendary. We also connected on FB, so I have some new posts showing up in my daily feed. Liz, one of Jimmy’s friends, tagged him in a recent post. What Liz had to say really hit me. I don’t quite know how to put it. It’s as if her words resonated with my core beliefs, my core values.

I have never met Liz, but she’s met Jimmy, and there’s my connection. Here’s what Liz Steffen had to say on her FB post of 2016-Jan-11.

Relationship truly is the greatest gift you can give to another. People think it is such a sacrifice to donate money, or run, or collect items for a cause. And to an extent it is. But I remember listening to Jimmy Dorrell in Haiti challenge me as a college student to consider whether it is always appropriate to give money to the homeless because that act may not provide the person with dignity. Certainly donate to relief efforts or pack a backpack for needy children, but even more so give of yourself through a shared meal, couch, laugh, cry, or hug. To truly invest in others requires time, presence, and above all RELATIONSHIP.

Time. Presence. Give of yourself. YES!!