The Coolest Gift I Ever Received
I have received many really great presents over the course of my lifetime. A train set. A bike. Lots of ties. A trip to Vegas. And when I turned 40, my wife even bought me a car.
But I have never received a cooler gift than I got last night. And it wasn’t even my birthday. The really cool gift?
A door. Yes, a door. And not a new door. It’s an old door. But it’s not just any old door. Let me explain.
When our dear friends Tim and Lucy Perrin left sunny, breezy, beautiful Malibu for parched, windy, desolate Lubbock this summer, Joline and I inherited the weekly law student Bible on Wednesday nights that used to meet in Tim and Lucy’s home. Each week, the group of about seventy students meets to worship, pray, and hear an encouraging word from a speaker, which is typically a member of the law school faculty.
The first gathering was last week, but it was more of an informal get-to-know-each-other kind of thing. We sang and prayed, but didn’t have a featured speaker. We wanted to have the first speaker be someone who started the school year off right and who would draw a crowd. We also wanted to have someone who personified this year’s theme of “Living a Life Worthy of the Calling We Have Received.”
For the four or fifth year in a row, Bob Goff and his law partner Danny DeWalt are teaching a non-profit law class on Wednesday nights. Since Bob is one of my personal heroes and is perhaps the best storyteller I have ever heard, we asked Bob to kick off the year. We happened to catch Bob at just the right time in his busy speaking schedule – he is in huge demand to speak all over the country in the wake of the release of his NYT Bestselling Book called “Love Does.” It is must read.
Bob Goff Speaking to Pepperdine Law Students
True to form, Bob was awesome. He encouraged the students not to be typical – to use the gifts God has given them to serve others. He talked about how blessed he has been by those he has met during his travels to Uganda, where he operates a school in war-torn Northern Uganda. He also talked about how inspired he was by “Two-Bunk John,” who was the Uganda country director for Bob’s organization Restore International for the past five years. Two-Bunk John (Niemeyer) is now a first-year law student at Pepperdine and is in my Torts class.
I met John during my first trip to Uganda in January of 2010, which had been inspired by a talk Bob Goff gave in October of 2009, along with some heavy encouragement by Jay Milbrandt (author of “Go and Do”). I met John at a juvenile Remand Home (prison) in Masindi, Uganda. Over the course of a week, John, Jay, and I, along with three Pepperdine Law grads, interviewed the 21 juvenile prisoners and prepared legal briefs on their behalf, which helped them gain access to justice, and eventually freedom. When I was back in Uganda earlier this year, we went back to that same prison and helped the 22 new prisoners there get access to justice as well.
As Bob was telling a bit of this story last night, I saw John slip out the back. While I momentarily wondered where he was going, I thought little of his disappearance. Near the end of his talk, Bob explained that he and John had gone to the juvenile prison in Masindi and ripped off the doors, adding a symbolic exclamation point to the idea of setting the captives permanently free. (They, of course, bought and installed new doors to replace the ones they took). As Bob concluded with a flourish, John re-emerged carrying a door.
I immediately recognized that door as the one that detained the female prisoners since the prison was built in the late 1960s. I got goose bumps, and once again marveled at the power of Bob’s storytelling – he told a story about setting the captives free, and then he brought the door that had been ripped off the hinges in the process. Genius.
And then the nickel dropped. Bob turned to me and said, “John and I have been talking about it and we want you to have this door.” Words on a page are incapable of describing the emotions that overtook me. I concede that it sounds silly to be blown away by a gift of an old door, but I was. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t breathe, and I could barely see as tears welled up. I eventually composed myself enough to join Bob at the front to receive the coolest gift I have ever received.
Bob, Jay, Jim, and John with the Door to the Masindi Remand Home
Joline, the kids, and I have figured out the perfect place for the door and will be posting a picture of it when we get it installed.
Great story. May I suggest that the door be made into a table that you and people who are more fortunate that those you have helped free can sit at that table to converse or share a meal. I will pay for the legs to be constructed.
Wonderfully inspiring! What an amazing way to make an experience tangible. This is a photo of some great people!
That’s awesome! We are still so proud of you. Loved the picture of your law students on your lawn. That should give your neighbors something to think about. God just keeps using you to work His plans.
So amazing and awesome!! We are so blown away by the work you have done and the blessings you have brought to so many lives. What a cool gift!!! Can’t wait to see it hanging in your home! God is good.
What a gift! How we miss that weekly fellowship. It’s hard to believe it’s been four years and three kids since were in the company of you dear saints. Blessings to you and your beautiful wife and children.
I had heard about this before I read your post, but the photo of you with Bob, Jay and John is worth more than a thousand words. I look forward to seeing the door where you install it.
What a great story. Love Does has made a huge impact on my life and dozens I have shared it with. As soon as I heard about the door, I had no doubt which door it was. What a wonderful gift and how incredible the story will be as you share it with others.
Jim, we’re still waiting to see where you put the door! Grace & peace, bw