A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” Proverbs 18:24
We had a new staff member at 217. If you are a regular reader of “Grits” you know a lot about the Taylor tribe. Included in that information is the fact that my wife, Judy, and I have an Airbnb over our garage. It is a classy two-bedroom apartment that we rent out as a short-term vacation rental. We have lots of people staying and well, it is quite fun. Our staff is small at 217. There is Judy who manages everything and trust me that is a big job. She also helps with the cleaning when needed. We have a friend who does the bulk of our cleaning, and she is awesome! She is always willing to go the extra mile and when Judy and I need to be gone she makes sure the water fountains stay running and flowers keep blooming. My job is to serve as the occasional handy man and the guy who mows and trims the grass. It is not the most important job but trust me in grass growing season I am definitely the man.
So that is the staff at 217…or at least it was…for a while. A couple of years ago a new and unexpected member was added to the team. His name was Coach. Here’s the deal. One day our neighbors, who are also awesome, decided to get a cat to make sure no unwanted rodents took up residence in their garage. So, they got a cat and named him Coach. Now to be honest I am not a big fan of cats. Most of them are a little bossy and arrogant so at first, I was pretty cool on the idea of a new feline friend. And then it happened.
As it turns out, Coach had more personality than most people I know. He was cool and calm and way friendly. You know how some cats think they own the place? Well, Coach was satisfied with just working the crowd. If Judy and I were out on the patio, he would sway his way over and just make his presence known in a gentle way. It seemed he was saying, “Hey, my name is Coach, and I just wanted to say hi.” Now really, this cat had it down. You couldn’t help but like him. Now if I am cool on cats, Judy is cold but not this one. While she wouldn’t want one of her own, she sure was glad when Coach came to the neighborhood.
Now this is the 217 part. When a guest would pull up at 217 and park, it was not unusual for Coach to come over and say hi. It almost seemed that he was just waiting for them to arrive. You would think that he had peeked at Judy’s reservation book to see when guests were coming. At first, we were a little concerned that the guests might see him as a bother but not to worry. He was a hit almost every time.
One day, I came home from work and there was our guest bending down to pet Coach. At first, I always explained that he wasn’t our cat but belonged to the neighbors. But when he became a social rock star, I let that go. I mean if the guests wanted to think that Mr. Cool belonged to me who am I to correct them? Way to go Coach. Way to go.
Do you know what? If I were a cat, I would want to be like Coach. But wait…why can’t I, why can’t we be like Coach now? Why can’t we make a conscious decision to be kind? Friendly? Loving? Hmmm…the truth is we can. Every day we bump into people, dozens of them, and have the opportunity to make them feel special. Every day we bump into people and have the opportunity to be a friend, to offer a smile, to make their day a little better. Every day we have the choice. I like that. I want that.
Well, Coach is no longer with us. One day he tried to cross the road and didn’t make it. We all grieved for him…we even had a short service for him. I know that all cats are not like Coach, and I certainly know that not all people are like Coach, but I also know we all can be. Tucked away in the Christian Bible is a book called Proverbs. In that book is this, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” In other words, if we want friends, we need to be one. If we want others to like us…we need to be likable. I saw a quote that said, “Our vibes draw our tribes.” That is so true. Let’s take a lesson from Coach and be the kind of person who makes someone’s day. Need a little help? Well, the “Head Coach” is just waiting to lend a hand. He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 