Just Show Up

Andy McClure, one of my dearest friends who was my last roommate before getting married 38 years ago, has written a new book, Just Show Up, You Never Know Who Will Be Blessed.

As the title indicates, it’s all about being there.  Being there for people, whether it is in a dire time of personal need, a routine school or church event or in a business setting.

His inspiration came from wanting to be there for his three girls to help with homework, coach, chaperone and whatever else they had going on in their lives.

Then, tragically, one of his daughters passed away.  People came to his house with food, to help with chores and to offer personal words of condolence.  The people, some of whom Andy and his wife didn’t even know, showed up.  And it made an impact.  He says through that, he learned to show up.

I can tell you from my experience that he already knew how to show up.  When we were in college, he showed up countless times to far-flung high schools in northern Arizona to umpire softball and baseball games and to officiate football games.  He showed up to co-host with me a student-produced sports show for Flagstaff cable TV subscribers.  After college he showed up to be the DJ at my wedding. He showed up to become a top talk show producer at KTAR.  And after that, as a pastor, the times he’s shown up for people are countless.

Andy cites the famous Woody Allen quote, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”  It’s pretty accurate.

Hall-of-fame catcher Yogi Berra once said, “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”  Maybe not as accurate, but it’s on topic.

Andy states: “People don’t care about what you believe or know.  They care about how you act and serve.”  That’s 100 percent accurate.

He offers 19 chapters containing tips of how, when and where people can make a difference just by showing up.  They include births, deaths, jobs, schools, churches and the list goes on.

It’s such a simple part of life than can have such a powerful impact.