Exceptional individuals often appear as ordinary people. They go about their daily lives- going to school or work, shopping and spending time with family and loved ones. Some even take the time to help or say a kind, “Hello” to strangers.
It was an ordinary day. I took my sons, Gregory and Temujin, and Temujin’s friend, Aaron, to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles last Sunday, January 8th, 2017. The four of us walked up and down the busy streets, enjoying the day.
We first visited The Japanese Museum and learned about the past injustices to those of Japanese heritage during World War II. Even then I was mindful of the painful parallels between WWII and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade where anywhere from 12 to 15 million Africans were shipped to “The New World” (including North and South America) in the 15th-19th centuries. I was attentive of the atrocities African slaves had experienced and the absence of any real reciprocity to date. They never did get their two acres and a mule.
Just before going to dinner, we visited my friends in Tetsu store at “Anime Jungle,” an “entertainment hobby shop” where I bought Temujin and Aaron a thing or two. Just before leaving the shop, we ran into what appeared to be an ordinary fellow.
The man was with his wife and daughter, browsing and buying things for himself and perhaps his child. Yet he took the time to take a picture with one of the staff persons while Tommy, the store supervisor, was helping him purchase some other items.
Before long, I came to realize that this was no ordinary man but prolific writer and director, Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist who is known for gothic horror and fantasy films such as The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004), the hit science fiction movie Pacific Rim (2013), and many other projects.
I asked Del Toro to autograph a Pacific Rim action figure and he kindly obliged like any good, ordinary person might do. He then drew a cartoon sketch of himself on a piece of paper and signed it for me.
I hugged Del Toro, his wife Lorenza and daughter then we bid each other goodbye. Despite his wealth and fame, Del Toro presented himself as a humble, down to earth man who loved his family and treated strangers with kindness.
There is something wondrous about extra-ordinary people of God. They believe, they learn, they create, and they succeed. They care and they share and they give. This seemingly ordinary man was not ordinary at all because he loved his family and in that I saw his love of God. He, in part, demonstrates that care in the quality of his projects. He shares that continuous gift to movie going audiences around the world.
I marvel at how God orchestrates for the most exceptional people to appear as ordinary individuals so that being one of God’s people, they can show their love for life.
Thank you Guillermo for being one of God’s extra-ordinary people and for being so incredibly exceptional in the most ordinary way; by saying, “Hello.”
May God Bless You, Your Wife And Family With Health And Prosperity!
Sincerely,
Pastor Gregory Johnson
