The university I work at has all kinds of cleaning people that come in and out of the offices sporadically. I always try to be friendly with them and thankful they are taking out my trash, cleaning out my recycle bin and vacuuming the floor in my office. Recently, a certain cleaning person named Joe has caught my attention.
He seemed especially humble and joyful to me, in that he did not want to make eye contact but was doing his job with exuberance. I soon noticed an individual trailing him, which I had originally thought was his supervisor (as supervisors often over-see their subordinates). I noticed she was wearing a shirt that had BARC on the front of it. Having an aunt that used to be a part of that organization because she is mentally retarded, I was familiar with them. They are now known as The Arc of Baltimore, formerly known as the Baltimore Association of Retarded Citizens, and “is one of the nation's largest agencies addressing the needs of people with mental retardation.”
I love it when Joe comes into my office and I get to see the joy he exudes in doing his job and the excitement he has because he is working. He is a reminder to me that I should be doing my job with that same excitement and need to be compassionate. He is someone that needed patience and understanding and compassion and far too often we are too busy or wrapped up in our own lives to give those gifts to the people around us.
Best Buddies of Maryland is an organization with similar goals to The Arc. I was a volunteer in their Citizens program and developed a wonderful friendship with Dwayne. Not only was Dwayne mentally challenged, but he was also going blind. He had been abandoned by his parents when he was young and grew up at the Maryland School for the Blind. He is now 35 and loves sports. I took him to O’s games, Terps games and Weber’s Farm for a fall festival. Unfortunately, he lost his sight completely not long after that. I was also becoming more involved in my church and with the Youth Group there and was just not able to give the attention to Dwayne that he deserved. I asked Best Buddies to find someone else that could and I hope he is doing well.
I can’t even begin to express what a blessing it was to both our hearts to share in that friendship. I hope that I will be able to get involved with Best Buddies again someday because it is an unbelievable gift of compassion to give and receive, and Joe reminds me of that everyday.