Seriously. I wrote this down as soon as we had this conversation.
3yo: White is supposed to be lightning. What is supposed to be green?
Mom: Watermelon
3yo: Why?
Mom: So you can eat it. (???)
3yo: Like you eat minutes?
Mom: Yes. Like you eat minutes.
You can check out my conversation with a two year old and see how we've changed in a year.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Okay, I think I'm ready...
So it's been two months since returning home from Guatemala and I'm still trying to answer my Veinte Preguntas.
12. Responsibility. This "what is my responsibility" question is pretty big. Perhaps the question I really want to ask is "What does God expect of me?"
I could explain this with a whole bunch of words, even great scriptures, but regardless of how many directions I try to come at this question, I end up with the same answer:
Anything, Something,
and Everything.
13. Is this really about changing the situation for the poor, or should it be about changing the attitude of the rich? We can't change the situation for the poor until we change the attitude of the rich. And the rich need to know that they're rich.
14. Is it okay to serve people with the expectation that I will benefit even though I know that’s not the right attitude? Well, is it better not to serve until I get it right? I think God knows I want to serve with a completely genuine heart, so until I get there He'll do all the forgiving and changing I need.
15. “Can an accident of latitude and longitude really be the difference between life and death?” – Bono It's ridiculous to me that this is true. Not because it doesn't make sense, but because for the first time in history, poverty is "not the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich." (John Berger) Poverty has a myriad of causes and just as many different solutions. But we in the United States have the awareness, access, and ability to be the generation that no longer accepts this reality.
16. Why does God allow people to live in these conditions and allow us to live in our conditions? I'm afraid He's asking me the same question.
12. Responsibility. This "what is my responsibility" question is pretty big. Perhaps the question I really want to ask is "What does God expect of me?"
I could explain this with a whole bunch of words, even great scriptures, but regardless of how many directions I try to come at this question, I end up with the same answer:
Anything, Something,
and Everything.
13. Is this really about changing the situation for the poor, or should it be about changing the attitude of the rich? We can't change the situation for the poor until we change the attitude of the rich. And the rich need to know that they're rich.
14. Is it okay to serve people with the expectation that I will benefit even though I know that’s not the right attitude? Well, is it better not to serve until I get it right? I think God knows I want to serve with a completely genuine heart, so until I get there He'll do all the forgiving and changing I need.
15. “Can an accident of latitude and longitude really be the difference between life and death?” – Bono It's ridiculous to me that this is true. Not because it doesn't make sense, but because for the first time in history, poverty is "not the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich." (John Berger) Poverty has a myriad of causes and just as many different solutions. But we in the United States have the awareness, access, and ability to be the generation that no longer accepts this reality.
16. Why does God allow people to live in these conditions and allow us to live in our conditions? I'm afraid He's asking me the same question.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Working on it...
I'm still trying to figure out Q12: What is my responsibility in all this? Haven't gotten it all worked out yet, but it has something to do with Micah 6:8.
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Tres Más Repuestas
You may want to reference this post for the original questions. And I give myself permission to change my answers about every 24 hours.
9. Selling everything I own: I really struggle with this one. I don't think Christ's declaration to the rich young ruler to "go and sell everything and give to the poor" is a blanket statement for all Christians or all rich people. But mostly I don't think that only because every teacher I've ever heard talk about it has told me that - including my NIV Study Bible cheater notes. But when I see such a discrepancy in the distribution of wealth around the world, I can't help but think that God is whispering (or maybe screaming) to the wealthy, "Share!"
I truly feel that the majority of our problems and frustrations (current economic situation included) revolve around our love of stuff: stuff that needs to be fixed, stuff that's in the way, stuff we're trying to get, stuff that needs to be maintained, stuff that someone else has, stuff that we don't need. So the idea of selling everything is actually quite appealing to me - at least as I consider it as an option. But if I really felt God was telling me to sell it all, would I? I think so. But then the question becomes, "Would I hear Him?"
10. Faith: She does.
11. What can we really do? The question has come up that our idea of what is "quality of life" is vastly different than the "majority" world's idea, so why should we be trying to change them? They don't need a two story house with 2.5 children and an office job and a bank account. Our standard of what is needed is terribly skewed. True. However, this is not okay with me:
This is a squatter's home. There is nothing temporary about it. This is a family whose mother ran off with another man, whose dad works long hard hours in the sugar cane fields and whose oldest daughter (16) is pregnant and will have her baby here accompanied by rats, cockroaches, and parasites. No matter how many women throughout the history of the world have given birth in conditions such as this (including Mary, the mother of Jesus), this is not okay with me. Because it is common, or because they "don't know any different," or because it is the culture does not make it any less painful or difficult for those living this life. I believe this kind of poverty breaks the heart of God.
As we stood in this "home," we were dumbfounded as to where one would even begin to make a difference. What could we possibly do that would improve their situation, make it more bearable or begin to dig them out of this squalor? Well, I think we brought in a few answers and didn't even know it. For one, our presence, we are told, is extremely encouraging to those we visit. Their story is being heard, their lives matter to someone, and they are known. They have hope just because someone from the outside has peeked into their life. I was also in awe of our team leader who pulled aside the three little boys and gave them a good old fashioned talking to about being a man and honoring God and treating others, especially women, with respect. He talked to them about working hard to provide for their family one day, just as their father was doing, to finish their education and grow up to be responsible men of God. I wonder if that little pep talk might just have made all the difference in the world.
But perhaps the thing that God wanted us to do the most was this:
This bowl of food (and the bowl itself is just as valuable) cost about US$10 and will feed this family of 7 for at least a week. It contained oil, oatmeal, corn meal, rice, vitamin powder and beans. It also contained a Bible, even though most of the family is illiterate. See, we can't go and pray and say, "Be well fed" and do nothing. And we can't go and give food and say, "This is all you need." The hope of Christ really is for everyone, in every situation, at all times. He really can make this family have a different future - a life abundant. He is the one who can make a difference.
9. Selling everything I own: I really struggle with this one. I don't think Christ's declaration to the rich young ruler to "go and sell everything and give to the poor" is a blanket statement for all Christians or all rich people. But mostly I don't think that only because every teacher I've ever heard talk about it has told me that - including my NIV Study Bible cheater notes. But when I see such a discrepancy in the distribution of wealth around the world, I can't help but think that God is whispering (or maybe screaming) to the wealthy, "Share!"
I truly feel that the majority of our problems and frustrations (current economic situation included) revolve around our love of stuff: stuff that needs to be fixed, stuff that's in the way, stuff we're trying to get, stuff that needs to be maintained, stuff that someone else has, stuff that we don't need. So the idea of selling everything is actually quite appealing to me - at least as I consider it as an option. But if I really felt God was telling me to sell it all, would I? I think so. But then the question becomes, "Would I hear Him?"
10. Faith: She does.
11. What can we really do? The question has come up that our idea of what is "quality of life" is vastly different than the "majority" world's idea, so why should we be trying to change them? They don't need a two story house with 2.5 children and an office job and a bank account. Our standard of what is needed is terribly skewed. True. However, this is not okay with me:
This is a squatter's home. There is nothing temporary about it. This is a family whose mother ran off with another man, whose dad works long hard hours in the sugar cane fields and whose oldest daughter (16) is pregnant and will have her baby here accompanied by rats, cockroaches, and parasites. No matter how many women throughout the history of the world have given birth in conditions such as this (including Mary, the mother of Jesus), this is not okay with me. Because it is common, or because they "don't know any different," or because it is the culture does not make it any less painful or difficult for those living this life. I believe this kind of poverty breaks the heart of God.
As we stood in this "home," we were dumbfounded as to where one would even begin to make a difference. What could we possibly do that would improve their situation, make it more bearable or begin to dig them out of this squalor? Well, I think we brought in a few answers and didn't even know it. For one, our presence, we are told, is extremely encouraging to those we visit. Their story is being heard, their lives matter to someone, and they are known. They have hope just because someone from the outside has peeked into their life. I was also in awe of our team leader who pulled aside the three little boys and gave them a good old fashioned talking to about being a man and honoring God and treating others, especially women, with respect. He talked to them about working hard to provide for their family one day, just as their father was doing, to finish their education and grow up to be responsible men of God. I wonder if that little pep talk might just have made all the difference in the world.
But perhaps the thing that God wanted us to do the most was this:
This bowl of food (and the bowl itself is just as valuable) cost about US$10 and will feed this family of 7 for at least a week. It contained oil, oatmeal, corn meal, rice, vitamin powder and beans. It also contained a Bible, even though most of the family is illiterate. See, we can't go and pray and say, "Be well fed" and do nothing. And we can't go and give food and say, "This is all you need." The hope of Christ really is for everyone, in every situation, at all times. He really can make this family have a different future - a life abundant. He is the one who can make a difference.
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