The Person in Front of You

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You guys, I want to tell you about the moment that made me more of the man I am today than anything in my upbringing.


My late Uncle Randy died of pancreatic cancer. If you don't know, that's regarded as one of the slowest, most agonizing ways to die.


A few days before he went, he called me. Somewhere in the middle of all that pain, his mind went clear — completely clear — and he said: "The person in front of you is the person in the world who needs the most love."

He said it four times. Four times, until he knew I understood him. Then the pain took him back. That phone call changed my life.


It changed how I interact with people. How I regard them. How much effort I give the person standing in front of me. It changed how I read the Bible. One moment, and I was a different man. Here's what it looks like in practice, because "live on purpose" isn't a slogan on a shirt to me. It's a decision you make before the coffee's done, on a regular Tuesday, when nobody's watching.

It means when somebody's talking to you, you actually listen. Not half-listen while you think about what you're going to say next. You give them the whole of you for those few minutes, because that might be the only few minutes they get from anybody today.

It means the cashier, the coworker, the stranger in the parking lot — they count just as much as the people you already love. Maybe more, because nobody else might be counting them at all.

It means I try not to carry a bad day home and hand it to the people nearest me. My demons are my own. They don't get to haunt my family.


I won't pretend I get this right every time. I don't. Some days I'm tired, or hurting, or just plain distracted, and I miss it. But Randy's voice is still there, four times over, pulling me back: the person in front of you.


That's what "live on purpose" means to me. Not a big dramatic life overhaul. Not a perfect morning routine. Just this: pay attention to the person right in front of you, and give them the love they'd need as if they were the only person in the world. Because to them, in that moment, you might be.


So here's my question for you this week. Who's in front of you right now? And are you really seeing them?


— Codi

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