3 Points to Ponder
- “Fear breeds from a distance. From the unknown. When was the last time you gave fear grounds to grow, only to later learn it wasn’t what you thought it was?”
- “Head knowledge is a great start, but it isn’t where it should stop. To truly learn about poverty, go be with impoverished people. To truly understand suffering, be with those suffering. And once you know, you can do something about it.”
- “Don’t be so concerned with taking the right stand, but rather standing in the right place. And that is with the marginalized who need your voice. The friend who needs your ear. The orphaned spirit who needs your embrace. How do you make yourself available to those who need you most?”
2 Quotes to Share
“You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance. You have to get close.” – Bryan Stevenson
“Often we strike the high moral distance that separates “us” and “them”, and yet it is God’s dream come true when we recognize that there exists no daylight between us. Serving others is good. It’s a start. But, it is just the hallway leading to the Grand Ballroom. Kinship – not serving the other, but being one with the other. Jesus was not “a man for others”; he was one with them. There is a world of difference in that…” -Gregory Boyle
1 Story of Impact
On the dusty road in the middle of the Central Plateau of Haiti walk the Many Hands Spiritual Shepherds. These servants of the Lord are educated and lead congregations, but instead of sitting in a church building waiting for people to come to them, they walk door to door to engage in conversation. To sit and talk. To be present in tough times. Family after family after family is suffering from hunger, sickness, and lack of basic shelter. Many times, the people they engage with aren’t even asking for a solution, but rather to just be seen and heard. To know someone cares enough to have a conversation with them. They give counsel, read scripture, sing songs, and share encouragement. Hope if offered, a prayer is shared, and smiles are the currency exchanged. Every day, they offer peace and comfort to the people they sit with. Together. It is tough to truly know people when speeding by them in a car, with windows rolled up, doors locked, and noise blaring. It is easy to demonize from a distance. It seems our world wants more and more distance between “us” and “them”, but it is when we sit together to just be that when we can truly learn about one another. I want to be more like our Spiritual Shepherds in Haiti, as they see people in ways I struggle to. Spend just one hour this week being present with the people around you and see what type of impact this has on your life. Learn to be in proximity to the problems of our world and I promise your viewpoints will change.
