It was 1990 and I was fresh off a four-year stint in the Army. I had entered the Army with the hope of getting some direction for my life. I came out with about as much direction as when I went in. Directionless, I found myself staying at my Grandmother’s house in Palm Desert, when one morning I noticed the pool man coming to clean the pool. I thought that would be a cool gig and I went out and spoke with him about what it would take to get into the business. He gave me the phone number of a guy named Dan Kenley and two weeks later I went to work for Dan. Dan was bald, had a Kris Kringle kind of beard and sparkle in his eye. He had been in education for many years prior to being talked into joining his brother in his fast-growing pool maintenance business. My first year of learning the business with Dan went by fast. I learned the in’s and out’s of running a successful business and along the way made numerous mistakes. Looking back, I can recount several times when I screwed up another piece of pool equipment. At the time I was furious; throwing tools and cursing like a sailor. But then Dan, with all the patience of a saint, would come alongside me and show me the correct way to install a filter, a motor, or how to properly clean a new pool for the first time. After every one of my mishaps Dan would always say the same thing, "It's ok, you'll do better next time.” Exactly the words I needed when I thought I couldn’t do anything right.
In today’s world it seems that so many people are quick to capitalize on one another’s mistakes. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of grace and forgiveness going around. As a Christ follower Dan modeled to me what it meant to be a person of grace. And in doing so he showed me who Jesus was…and is. Dan was a giver of grace because throughout his life he had received much grace from others. He knew what it meant to make costly mistakes because he had made a fair amount himself. Through Jesus Dan’s life was transformed. And through Dan my life became different also.
I love the saying, “Preach the Gospel always and when necessary use words.” Although Dan shared with me many words of wisdom he also showed me, through his actions, what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. I think what continues to draw me deeper into my faith is that Jesus was a guy who was always telling and showing those who had royally messed up essentially what Dan told me, “It’s ok, you’ll do better next time.” No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, remember the words of my friend Dan, good words to live by.