The Beginning of Everything
I want to share a couple of unrelated but related stories with you, and while it goes against every Wesleyan cell in my body (and there’s a lot of those), I’m pledging here at the outset NOT to use the word L-O-V-E anywhere in this piece.
First, I want to recommend an outstanding documentary called “The Rescue.” Kathy and I watched it the other night, and we’ve talked about it ever since. Available for streaming on National Geographic+, the film tells the story of the massive 2018 operation in Thailand to rescue 12 young soccer players and their coach from deep in a cave system where they were trapped by rapidly rising and surprising monsoon flooding. It’s an amazing story told well by filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.
If you remember the story, followed by news crews from around the world, you know the boys and their coach were ultimately rescued. Still, the filmmakers manage to bring real suspense to their telling of the story, while also providing fascinating details about the operation and the people involved.
There are so many facets of the story worthy of preacherly highlighting. For instance, there was the beautiful outpouring of care and support from Australia, China, Britain, Israel, and the United States. For a little while, there were no boundaries, only human beings working to rescue human beings. There was the poignant sight of family members and neighbors gathered in prayer at the site. There was the amazing scale of the work itself, with experts and volunteers searching for a path to the team, while also laboring to lower the water level and block the paths of rain into the cave.
And then there were the cave-divers from Great Britain, a group of hobbyists with a unique set of skills and equipment (some home-made), who were able to do what Thai Navy Seals and the American military could not. These men talked about how, as kids, they were far from athletic and were often bullied for being different. Those experiences in part drew them to their strange and solitary hobby and ultimately to this moment of amazing heroism. As one diver put it, he had always found it difficult to connect with others and express emotions, but in the work in Thailand his differences made it possible for him to focus on the seemingly impossible task at hand.
The contributions and efforts of so many to the success of the rescue is perhaps best summed up in a single statement from Waleeporn Gunan, wife of Saman Gunan, a retired Thai Seal who volunteered and was the only person to die in the work. In talking of her husband’s sacrifice and the selfless efforts of so many others, Waleeporn said, “Generosity is the beginning of everything.” Those are tattoo-worthy words or at least worth scribbling somewhere in your Bible.
The other story, unrelated but related, tells of an unlikely friendship and bond between a scam caller in Ghana and an insurance salesman in Louisiana.
Watch it here, then please give me a couple more minutes of your time afterward.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-a-scam-call-led-to-an-unlikely-friendship/
So, is generosity the beginning of everything? Of course. Generosity shown by others to Adams led Adams to share of himself.
But maybe we should dig a bit deeper. Maybe EMPATHY is the beginning of everything. Adams didn’t just hear a scammer on the phone that day; he heard a kindred spirit. Or maybe it’s SUFFERING, interpreted and transformed, that is the beginning of empathy and so the beginning of generosity. I don’t know. But this much is clear, in these stories from Thailand, Louisiana, and Ghana, we see the beauty of humanity and what can happen when we step toward each other. As Stephen Adams put it, “You never know who you’re going to be able to help out there, if you’re open to it.” In these days of deep political divides and the demonization of enemies, that’s a powerful call indeed.
Finally, I’m sorry; I just can’t help myself. Look even deeper into these stories—deep into the power of suffering transformed, into empathy, into generosity—and you’ll find the very essence of life, the divine and eternal power present at the creation and never-ending.
You know … that.