Behind Every Person

She was one of thirteen children born into a low-income family with a hard-working father and a mother with a sense of humor. He was born an only child, the son of an honest bricklayer and a philosophizing stay-at-home mom. They met in medical school where she was studying to become a nurse and he a doctor. Soon after, they married. He saved lives, she raised children — four of them. I am where I am today because of them, and so are my brother and my two sisters. Audrey and Joe are my parents, and their story goes much deeper than this all-too-brief introduction of them. Behind every story there are more stories.

Behind every person stands another person with their own story. Pete Barnhill was such a person. His name likely doesn’t ring a bell or strike a chord for you. He was called a cripple and made fun of because of the effects of polio on his right arm. But his friend John didn’t see him that way. John saw him as a person with a gift. Pete played guitar in spite of his underdeveloped hand and played it uniquely. His style, dictated by his disability, inspired his friend John and influenced his own style of playing. His style was to lead with the thumb. You may not recognize Pete’s name, but you may recognize the name of his well-known friend, the man in black, Johnny Cash.

Behind every label is an actual person. She was a Samaritan, and she had a reputation. Five husbands, one live-in lover — six men. But everything changed when she met the “seventh man”. In one conversation, proper social etiquette being pushed aside, Jesus did what no other man she had been with could do: he satisfied her thirst, bringing rest to her heart and peace to her soul. He threw away her labels and called her what God had created her to be; he called her “woman.” He saw beyond her labels and saw a worshiper of God.

Thomas Adams, American inventor and chewing-gum pioneer wrote, “We should not judge God’s drama until the final act.” God has not withdrawn his pen from your life; he is still writing your story. There is an element of the unknown in the story of your life. In many ways God is writing a mystery, just as he did in Jacob’s life. Jacob’s story is filled with unknowns and wrestling. And like Jacob, you will need to cross your Jabbok’s, your places of wrestling, to see your narrative completed. This is an exhortation to press on in the will of God, to resist throwing in the towel, or to put it another way, don’t throw the typewriter out the window; this mystery is not yet finished.

Their effect on him was unexpected, an enigma revealed in the light of hindsight. Their faithful presence and loving actions may not have amounted to the noticeable or news-worthy, but they made a difference without a doubt. It would be difficult to measure the impact of this person’s life on others; that won’t be fully revealed or appreciated until the day when everything is made known, and God’s good rewards are dispensed. You may be curious as to who I am talking about. Who is this person whose life had such a surprising impact? If I may, I’ll use the words of Nathan the prophet, but with a positive twist: “Thou art the man!” I’m talking about you; you are a part of someone’s story. Help to write it well.