“Just Show Up…with intentionality, recognizing that the words you use, the actions you display are going to have an impact on someone whether you intend that to happen or not.” These wise words were shared by Pharmacy Professor Kim Jones during a 2022 chapel service and resonated deeply with me as she shared of a personal encounter with a student, recounting a conversation on the Great Lawn many years previously. The advice Jones offered mattered deeply to this student, and it occurred in a casual chat as two people engaged in a professor/student relationship greeting each other on the sidewalk on an Ordinary Day. Jones, who was simply being the person God created her to be, chose to Show Up for that conversation, and her words were used to minister to a student, not only in that moment but in years after.

Expressing a common theme during the service, each of the panelists offered some variation on the importance of Showing Up, of offering what Henry Nouwen referred to as “the ministry of presence,” whether in a secular or Christian context. Jones continued by sharing, “We haven’t spent a week preparing our comments for our day-to-day conversations, but they still yield fruit. Through God’s grace, we keep trying, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, allowing students to see the areas where we struggle.” We live in a fallen world, and as result, struggles are a part of our reality. Allowing students and colleagues to catch a glimpse of how we deal with those issues is vital for building community. Tippets and Buteyn share in their book Just Show Up, “When we Show Up for one another, we invade each other in love and become witnesses to the truth that trials and sickness and pain are not the whole story. There’s more, so much more. We can remind one another that our lives are not a mistake. And, most importantly, that we are loved with an everlasting love.”

For those of us who encounter Emerging Adults every day, we may not have an awareness of the deeper needs residing in those young hearts; it may not be apparent to us which ones are in a desperate place to encounter a little love, but we can Show Up! In that sea of faces in the classroom are human beings designed in God’s image who are longing to be known, to feel that they matter, and to sense the blessing and presence of God’s love. And it spreads beyond the college classroom. “Think of it: When you got up today, whether you walked into an office complex, a construction site, an office, a classroom, the local grocery store, you were probably surrounded by a sea of faces—some belonging to friends you know and family members you treasure, others belonging to perfect strangers. Just imagine the shift in your focus if you made a habit of approaching all of them with this attitude: My ultimate goal is to see how many of these people I can have on each elbow when I cross the finish line of this earthly life and run into God’s presence for all of eternity!” Do these words from Bill Hybels not emphasize the great significance of Showing Up, not only to provide wisdom and guidance for earthly matters, but to approach each person we encounter with an eternal perspective?

Many times, as Tippets and Buteyn share, “We might not feel qualified to Show Up. I know I never have and probably never will. But God uses those of us who aren’t qualified so that He’s glorified. And when we Show Up, we’re blessed…Faith and community have sprouted and flourished. Deeper relationships have grown…This is a journey we are meant to walk together. The joys, the hurt, the grace that always Shows Up, and the beauty God orchestrates when we Show Up for each other are amazing to see.” I think this captures the message of the faculty panel, and as Accounting Professor Santhosh Abraham shared, this is a reciprocal relationship, students have a significant impact on faculty as well. We need students to Show Up and engage with us too! You never know how a simple conversation might open the door to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you have a story of a time someone Reported for Duty and Showed Up for you, please consider sharing in the comments below. You never know how impactful that story may be to others!

References:

Hybels, B. (2006). Just walk across a room: Simple steps pointing people to faith. Zondervan.

Tippets, K. & Buteyn, J.L. (2015). Just show up: The dance of walking through suffering together. David C. Cook.

Union University. (2022, April 22). A Conversation on Work and Witness: Hunter Baker, Renee Dauer, Beth Madison, Santhosh Abraham, Kim Jones. [Chapel Service]. Retrieved from https://livestream.com/uu/chapel/videos/230725740