Getting It?

I have been busy and have not taken the time to write over the last few weeks. Adjusting to a new home, Anne’s work schedule and taking the dogs for a walk has put a dent on blogging and thinking. So now I am on a plane headed back home from Dallas. It has been a quick trip but a good time to meet some new friends and get a better sense of where I fit in the kingdom.

I have always tried to be a glass is half full type of guy and not get down or be too frustrated with the lack of response of those around me who should get it but don’t. I am learning that brokenness is something that has to happen to me and not just those around me, who struggle daily with whether there will be food to eat or a place to sleep at night. I have taken everything for granted too long and not been as thankful to the Father as I ought to be. It isn’t easy to learn to live on less and not assume that every gadget that comes out is mine by divine right.

This morning I hooked up with a ‘white’ guy who grew up in a very wealthy church that has the means to do almost anything. I repented of thinking that I was going to be pushed to the side because of a prayer meeting or something else. I was pleasantly surprised to see a fellow brother who is on a similar journey of seeing God’s grace and mercy impact a community. The circumstances are different but the impact of the gospel both on those in great need and those helping are the same. I was excited to hear his story of how the mercy work on the west side of Dallas started over 8 years ago. Yet, I was puzzled as to why I wasn’t told about his work by others who I thought understood what I was doing and my derived benefit from seeing first hand what was happening in Dallas’ west side.

I know that my Father in heaven owns the cattle on a thousand hills but it is easy for me to be jealous of someone else’s circumstances. Much as I know there are some who are envious of the community work that we have done over the last four years. I know that learning to trust and live by faith aren’t easy for me regardless of appears to be happening.

I was impressed to listen to a group of Hispanic Brothers share about the mechanics of working within their community and attempt to reach out in a context that brings different cultures together. I know that too often our difference push us apart instead of bringing us together to appreciate the diversity of God’s creation and kingdom. I know it is very easy for the ‘white’ community to assume that the path of wholeness in life happens only through education and training only in our world context. It excites me to see an openness amongst many to learn that being on time or finishing on time isn’t everything. What is more important is developing relationships that last a life time. The quandary is how do you do this in a multi-cultural and multi-lingual context?

It encouraged me to see one of the key churches in our Texas group actually put into practice what we had been discussing. No it wasn’t going to be easy and it wouldn’t happen over night. The integration of different people groups requires patience and persistence. Yet, something real is happening. So there is hope for the upper class white.