My body:
So, I've made a commitment to get up off my butt and move. And now I'm dreading it. Even though I KNOW it's the right (really the ONLY) choice for me right now. I can eat as healthily as I want (which I do most of the time) and still not lose any weight, because I'm moving very little.
The torture started yesterday. ;-) Really, it wasn't that much of a problem, because my holiday plans included mopping the rest of my living room floor (the old-fashioned, on my hands and knees way) and boxing up my winter clothes (I'm believing we're finally done with this crappy spring/winter/spring/winter stuff that feels more like March than almost June). I didn't get everything accomplished that I'd hoped, but...I moved. And I moved everything out of my closet and other things back in, so I got my workout AND my closet looks good. (And yes, everything is organized in rainbow order--I start out REALLY well at the beginning of the seasons, but it soon looks like rainbow soup...oh, well.)
My "community" body:
Several of us went to Paris, IL this past weekend to help with a benefit dinner for an 18 year-old who's in the hospital, recovering from a ruptured aorta. I've never met him. I may never meet him, but I hope to someday. It didn't really matter, though...he's "family" in that really cool way that most people just don't get. We road-tripped Saturday, hung out with Chet's family (I love crashing other people's family reunions!), sat around the campfire, sang silly songs, listened to the kids playing, watched the stars...who could ask for more?
We started out EARLY Sunday (I'm not a morning person, but I didn't even mind)--we left the house a little after 7:00 AM, headed to the church in Paris and started cooking. And didn't really stop working until everything was cooked, everyone was served, and everything was cleaned up. It's so amazing to watch my little "community" join together with others to do something good and selfless--it gives me hope that, to quote Shane, "another world IS possible" when we take our eyes off ourselves.
My formal-organization-that-meets-on-Sunday-morning "body":
See the Shane quote above. I'm SO encouraged by what I've seen/heard/experienced lately--from our new pastor and from others. Peck has a GENUINE heart for the less-blessed and broken in this world. He doesn't just mouth the words because he thinks that's what I want to hear--he has a proven track record. And there are others who have shown me lately just how generous and loving they are.
And, God is proving faithful...as we look for new opportunities to really be the hands and feet of Jesus to people both inside and outside the walls of the building in which we gather, he's providing. I'm excited about some doors (one in particular) which may be opening for us that will allow us to serve more of the less-blessed in a really tangible way.
I've wanted to run away for so long...to get out in the world and REALLY do "something big" for God...maybe that big thing has been in my backyard all along and I just couldn't see it. Maybe big to God isn't (always) going to Darfur or Myanmar or even to the post-Katrina Gulf Coast--maybe "big" is sometimes just opening your eyes and looking at (and listening to) the person sitting in the pew next to you on Sunday morning...maybe it's stepping outside your back door and helping your neighbor weed her flower bed...maybe it's sacrificing a little sleep and helping a dad not worry so much about paying his bills while he's sitting by his son's hospital bed...maybe that "little is much when God's in it" song is truer than I thought...maybe he just wants us to get up off our butts and get MOVING.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
I have always wondered about people who felt that they must go somewhere else, to do exactly the same things they could do where they were.
Hi Dena, I agree with you that a Christian mission field can be exactly where you are, you may not have to travel. Knowing others who went to overseas missions, I wondered about it, and having sought God's guidance was left in this town working here. My blog, if you want to check it out, is http://threeswans.blogspot.com. I should say that I found your blog when looking for Christians who like to read. If you enjoy Christian novels, may I tell you about "Outcasts Of Skagaray". For a free preview, go to www.threeswans.com.au and see the sample chapters there.
I would love it if you read it but whether you do or not, I greet you as one of my sisters in the Lord. My last blog post was dedicated to people like you. Blessings.
Nate--I think there's a time and place to go "somewhere else", such as natural disasters like Katrina or the cyclone in Myanmar, etc., where the local community itself is so overwhelmed and incapable of coping with the magnitude of need. I've talked with enough people in the Gulfport area who've told me they wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for the droves of people who came in to help...sometimes you have to see that you're not alone in your suffering.
But, for the most part, if those of us who claim the name "followers of Jesus" were REALLY following his teaching, there would be little need for "outsiders" to go to the inner city to serve in soup kitchens or paint houses, etc. Those are things the local "body" should be doing as part of their daily routine. That's where we fail. I know I have.
Andrew--Thanks for your comments. I'm always glad to have new voices/perspectives here--you are most welcome!
I'm moving with you girl. I hope you are feeling better!
Post a Comment