Persistence

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and wonder what am I really doing with my life? I have all of the lingo down for doing community work but at times I am walking on the edge of at least three to four different worlds. I truly believe that God’s heart is to bring together people of diversity to be his ultimate family both on earth and in heaven. The reality before Christ comes back is that the church isn’t very interested in reaching across racial, socio-economic and theological boundaries. This last week I have had numerous experiences of seeing both the impact of sin on families, and the blessing of spiritual reconciliation.

I have talked about the youth that stole my wife’s iphone a little. I have become irritated with those ‘rip’ off others and take advantage of those who are smaller, have less resources or just see a quick an opportunity. This young man Joe just happened to truly believe that he could easily lift the phone and disappear without any consequences. I know that I have to admit that I am not much different. I can pretend that my actions or lack of actions don’t hurt myself or the ones I love, but they do. As I shared Joe didn’t show any real remorse for what he had done. I struggle with whether I should pursue anything with the police. I know that his mom is overwhelmed with her circumstances, yet she needs to take charge of her situation and not assume someone else will do it for her. So after many attempts to connect with the Police Department I am able to file a report. I really didn’t expect a call back from a detective but my cell rings and it is a Phoenix PD asking me to go over the report and decide to file a report. I agree and explain why I want to do this. The officer is very nice and agrees with me about the need to send a message to these youth and more so find the older teens and young men who had been threatening this youth.

Just as I think that I have see it all I have one of the newer moms in our group call up and ask for help. Little did I understand the real circumstances around her. She is going to loose her rental because of a foreclosure that she didn’t cause. She is offered money to out in two weeks. Yet, the reality is that she has nowhere to go and the money won’t solve anything. I see her on Saturday at our Christmas party and encourage her to stick around. She says something about needing to turn on her utility so I give her $10 to help.

The following morning, my day off, I get a couple of calls from her. I connect with her and now hear another desperate story. She relates how she has an extreme DUI that happened last April. We talked a little and it is obvious that she truly believed that all of this would disappear because she hadn’t heard anything back from the court. The surprise comes and she has a court appearance in a couple of days. She is afraid and wants to hire a lawyer and thinks that this will get her off. I explain that the law is clear in this situation and give her a couple of referrals that restate that she has an extreme DUI and she won’t get out of it. I pray for her and ask her to call my friends to hear first hand the consequences of these actions.

Next I end up having a great discussion with one of our present houseguests, a teenager whose mom is unemployed and presently homeless. He has been living with different friends and family over the last 6 months. I have known his family the longest out of anyone at New City. We talk about his mom and her circumstances with the goal of being better able to connect with her and not scare her away but also help her to see her responsibility with her teens. I texted her and then we end up talking on the phone and have a great conversation and agree to meet with her and her son after school finishes in a week. This call would have been impossible in the past. She truly felt judged by most Christians and doesn’t like being around groups.

I am learning that God’s heart for the poor isn’t about giving away freebees but actually dealing with circumstances that don’t have easy answers. The way that I love my God is seen how I treat and care for those around me. It is scary to understand that God wants me to be willing to lay down, give up or allow others to take what I have in order for them to have spiritual transformation.