Free Hugs

    Tomorrow, at 3:30 IN THE MORNING, I arrive at the MPLS airport. My destination? San Antonio, Texas, home of the Alamo, the Alamo Dome, and this years Lutheran National Youth Gathering. Tens of thousands of kids from across the United States will gather in one city to worship, learn about God, and serve the community together. It's going to be fantastic.

    I attended the last Youth Gathering in New Orleans. I was a little freshman who didn't know the next thing about socializing with my peers. The vast crowds of other teenagers intimidated me. Everywhere I looked there was either some beautiful girl or some weird looking guy I didn't want to know or some adult that looked out of place amongst the throng of youngsters.

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It was like this, only with infinitely more hormones. 

    However, there was one stupid little trend that was happening that helped me come out of my shell and become the slightly more extroverted introvert that I am today. There were these guys with signs that said "Free Hugs." They were all over the place. Every day I'd see more and more of them.

    That's it. It wasn't some lesson by a famous speaker that inspired me to be more open to people. It wasn't some spiritual revelation, either. It was just these dudes with signs.

    I've always enjoyed a good hug, no matter who is giving it. For me, hugs are a way for people to say whatever I need to hear at the time, even if they have no idea that I am even struggling with something. Hugs are a universal way of saying, "I'm right here if you need me." Plus, they just feel really nice.

    I decided to make my own "Free Hugs" sign, because I lack originality and there were a lot of cute girls. That day, I got dozens of hugs from strangers from all walks of life. I quickly realized that this whole "interacting with strangers" thing wasn't nearly as horrifying as I had originally thought it might be. I didn't get as many hugs from cute girls as I had originally planned, but that selfish reasoning had fallen by the wayside. I was now in it for the feels. The feels you get when you make someone else feel happy. 

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"You aren't terrible, and I appreciate your existence."
"Aw! Thanks friend!"

    My cause did eventually become a contest between my female friend and I to see who could get the most hugs in a day. She won because she's a girl and guys are lame. However, I had decided that for the next Youth Gathering, things would be different. I would try to change people's lives in the way mine was changed during that wonderful week.

    Over the past few years I have obtained many close friends who like hugging nearly as much as I do. Most of my friends, male or female, have so much affection for one another that we don't care how stupid we look when we express it. My guy friends and I often start our conversations with, "I love you.", and it isn't awkward and no one goes, "Lol, gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay." It's just how we talk. We genuinely love each other. And we hug. All. The. Time.

    I really am blessed to have such wonderful friends, but some people don't have those kinds of supportive and caring relationships. Many people out there never, ever get hugged, and that makes me sad. Which is why I am making it my mission to go out of my way to hug people. I even made a t-shirt!

Front

Back

    Now, one of my friends raised a legitimate point. He told me that I'm not the first guy to come up with this idea of "Free Hugs". "No offense," he said, "but you know that girls find 'those' people to be annoying and creepy, and the real reason guys do that is because they just want to feel a girl..."

    Sadly, yes, there are a lot of those douchebags out there who only want hugs from cute girls. I already admitted that that is how I started out, and I totally feel embarrassed by it. And I realize that a lot of people will probably see me wearing the shirt and be put off by it. I'll get weird looks and raised chins, and many people will feel indignant towards me.

    And you know what? That's okay. If I make only ONE person's day?. I'll feel validated. If I change ONe person's life? It'll  be the best decision I ever made.

    If you really think about it, that's what Christians are called to do. We are called to share Christ's love no matter what people think of us. I will be surrounded on all sides by fellow Christians of the same denomination as me, and I'll still probably be looked down upon. Lutheran's, especially LCMS Lutherans, are not really known for their free-spiritedness.

    Now, this is where I ask you people out there to try my little love experiment. Whether you are on your way to the Youth Gathering, or are reading this after the fact, or, most likely, you are not involved with it whatsoever, I call on YOU to give a genuine hug today. And tomorrow. And forever.

    You don't need a nice little t-shirt to give hugs. Just do it. Do it because you care. Do it because you love people. Do it because hugs feel nice and everyone deserves to feel nice every once in awhile.

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

                                                                          image: preciseisnice.blogspot.com