Mark 12:31 (NIV)
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.”
In my life I have experienced a lot of different types of
hugs. I have gotten the warm hug that goes on forever. I have gotten the bear
hug that squeezes the air right out of your lungs. I have gotten the neck hug
where the little child jumps in your arms and wraps lovingly around your neck.
I have gotten the back slapper hug where the hugger gives you the bam, bam on
the back. I have even gotten the leg hug which toddlers all over the world use
to melt your heart.
Here is a story about Lee Shapiro a retired judge. He is
also one of the most genuinely loving people we know. At one point in his
career, Lee realized that love is the greatest power there is. As a result, Lee
became a hugger. He began offering everybody a hug. His colleagues dubbed him
"the hugging judge" (as opposed to the hanging judge). The bumper
sticker on his car reads, "Don't bug me! Hug me!"
A few years ago Lee created what he calls his Hugger Kit.
On the outside it reads "A heart for a hug." The inside contains
thirty little red embroidered hearts with stickums on the back. Lee will take
out his Hugger Kit, go around to people and offer them a little red heart in
exchange for a hug.
Lee has become so well known for this that he is often
invited to keynote conferences and conventions, where he shares his message of
unconditional love. At a conference in San Francisco, the local news media
challenged him by saying, "It is easy to give out hugs here in the
conference to people who self-selected to be here. But this would never work in
the real world."
They challenged Lee to give away some hugs on the streets
of San Francisco. Followed by a television crew from the local news station,
Lee went out onto the street. First he approached a woman walking by. "Hi,
I'm Lee Shapiro, the hugging judge. I'm giving out these hearts in exchange for
a hug." "Sure," she replied. "Too easy," challenged
the local commentator. Lee looked around. He saw a meter maid who was being
given a hard time by the owner of a BMW to whom she was giving a ticket. He
marched up to her, camera crew in tow, and said, "You look like you could
use a hug. I'm the hugging judge and I'm offering you one." She accepted.
The television commentator threw down one final
challenge. "Look, here comes a bus. San Francisco bus drivers are the
toughest, crabbiest, meanest people in the whole town. Let's see you get him to
hug you." Lee took the challenge.
As the bus pulled up to the curb, Lee said, "Hi, I'm
Lee Shapiro, the hugging judge. This has got to be one of the most stressful
jobs in the whole world. I'm offering hugs to people today to lighten the load
a little. Would you like one? The six-foot-two, 230-pound bus driver got out of
his seat, stepped down and said, "Why not?"
Lee hugged him, gave him a heart and waved goodbye as the
bus pulled out. The TV crew was speechless. Finally, the commentator said,
"I have to admit, I'm very impressed."
One day Lee's friend Nancy Johnston showed up on his
doorstep. Nancy is a professional clown and she was wearing her clown costume,
makeup and all.
"Lee, grab a bunch of your Hugger Kits and let's go
out to the home for the disabled."
When they arrived at the home, they started giving out
balloon hats, hearts and hugs to the patients. Lee was uncomfortable. He had
never before hugged people who were terminally ill, severely retarded or
quadraplegic. It was definitely a stretch. But after a while it becarne easier
with Nancy and Lee acquiring an entourage of doctors, nurses and orderlies who
followed them from ward to ward.
After several hours they entered the last ward. These
were 34 of the worst cases Lee had seen in his life. The feeling was so grim it
took his heart away. But out of their commitment to share their love and to
make a difference, Nancy and Lee started working their way around the room followed
by the entourage of medical staff, all of whom by now had hearts on their
collars and balloon hats on their heads.
Finally, Lee came to the last person, Leonard. Leonard
was wearing a big white bib which he was drooling on. Lee looked at Leonard dribbling
onto his bib and said, "Let's go, Nancy, there's no way we can get through
to this person." Nancy replied, "C'mon, Lee. He's a fellow human
being, too, isn't he?" Then she placed a funny balloon hat on his head.
Lee took one of his little red hearts and placed it on Leonard's bib. He took a
deep breath, leaned down and gave Leonard a hug.
All of a sudden Leonard began to squeal, "Eeeeehh!
Eeeeeehh!" Some of the other patients in the room began to clang things
together. Lee turned to the staff for some sort of explanation only to find
that every doctor, nurse and orderly was crying. Lee asked the head nurse,
"What's going on?"
Lee will never forget what she said: "This is the
first time in 23 years we've ever seen Leonard smile."
How simple it is to make a difference in the lives of
others.
Dear Lord, help us be the one that makes a difference in
the life of somebody today. Help our
eyes be open to those You bring into our life that needs Your love thought us.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
