Friday, March 2, 2012

Connecting the Dots

As kid I know that most of us had fun trying to connect the dots and see a picture unfold before us. As adults its not that I have this picture that I am putting the dots together but it seems at times as if I think I know what my life picture will look like as God connects my dots. The reality is that it is a life surprise each day. Yeah, I should have some sense what direction I’m headed but both the little details and on occasion the bigger dots jump out at me.

I met with a friend who I hadn’t talked with for at least a year or so. He was interested in using my brain to unfold the mechanics of doing community work. We had a great discussion that revolved around the ineptness of the local church to set up and make a difference in the community. I know that it is easy to label or put down those who are different or choose to be on the sideline with their faith journey, if that is possible. The real essence of the conversation is that if we are serious about the Gospel and the Kingdom we better get out of our country club or social drivenness of the today’s church. Everyone likes to be entertained or have their theological muscles challenged on a Sunday worship service. Few like to actually jump into the fray and getting dirty and help with the messiness of life.

The real focus of our discussion was the brokenness that exists in the world around us regardless of the size of your house, type of smart phone you use or whether you laptop is a dinosaur or the latest Mac Air. I live in a broken neighborhood where crazy things happen all of the time. I have been blessed to have jobs all of my adult life and these have been positions that have enabled me to do what I wanted and not have to worry about having the means to keep the lights on, put food on the table or have gas in the car.

Over the last four years we have had teens live with us that would otherwise be homeless. It has been in one sense a lot of fun to still be mom and dad even in our old age. The fall out is that we end up at times not helping but enabling a parent not to have to follow through, be there or care for their teen and instead we end up being the glue. The challenge is that I love being the glue or Mr. Fix It. God wants us to depend upon him and be more willing to step up and be responsible and self-sustaining for ourselves.

After having some friends over for a great dinner and a time to get to know each other I receive a call from a friend who has questions about how to help a homeless gal who is still a teen. I knew that my call wouldn’t have any easy 1-2-3 steps to see this young woman back on the road to healing and recovery. I shared briefly our experience and the stark reality that there aren’t a lot of services out there that help immediately. The challenge is that most people in healthy circumstances still struggle to connect their dots while those on the street don’t even know that they are supposed to care about the dots and how they connect.

After talking and listening for about 20 minutes I tell my friend to engage the young gal to get to her heart and understand why she’s in her present circumstance There are services she can receive but they require her to follow through and be wise and willing to ask for help, especially with her substance abuse problem. I’m a little frustrated because my main resource, which had been a non-profit that works with homeless in a peer-to-peer setting, had closed its doors. Where are Running Deer, Gary, Barbara and Bill when you need them? I know that it is easy for Anne and I to overreact to circumstances, which we are around but have never experienced. We have never gone between jobs for any length of time. We are truly blessed to have family and friends who would do anything for us if we asked. I can’t fathom what it would be like to be alone, on the street or a teen without any support and have to figure out how to get food, a place to stay and even $2 for the bus.

My garage has become a dump zone for grandpa’s ‘stuff’, which is really nice and also clothing and junk from our former teen live ins. It would be easy for me to get ticked or bent out of shape because the pile is still there after a week of being promised that it would be gone. The key thing is that these teens need their clothes and belongings to live. I don’t like to see anyone loose their special things in life and end up feeling less than human.

After we finished dinner with our new friends, who are also involved with doing community work, it struck me that Anne and I are very fortunate to have great friends. The next couple of weeks we will have many visitors who are taking advantage of our 70-80 degree temps to take a break from connecting the dots. I know that as we visit with these friends our conversations will revolve around how God is connecting the dots of our lives. I am excited to be able to share how the dots are coming together and the picture that is unfolding is all about seeing brokenness slowly be addressed and those who were forgotten and marginalized are being loved and restored to their journey of following the great shepherd.

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