you're worth fighting for, and so is that person...

i feel alive when i am fighting for something. 

growing up, i always thrived when someone said i couldn't do something. as soon as they had this belief or conveyed this doubt, i had this push to prove them wrong. i learned by heart a piano piece that was way above my ability for a recital. i memorized enough verses in a short time to go to camp for free. i moved a bucket of rocks at work. i have a bad memory, but these moments stand out to me clear as day.  nobody could tell me i was less than, because if they did, i proved them wrong.

as i have been growing older, this fighting to prove myself has morphed into a passion for justice. i fell in love with my first social work internship because people had been wronged. i was able to be the voice that said to victims: "you don't deserve this. that person who took advantage of you was wrong, you are valuable." i wanted justice, showing these clients humans are all equal and no one deserves to be a victim. (note: justice here is not retribution)

i care about people and justice because i feel everyone is a child of God and nobody should be treated less than.

there are so many controversies to the Obama health care plan. honestly, i have a lot of questions about it myself. but let me be clear-- i believe health care is a human right, it shouldn't be dependent on income. Children aren't expected to have an income to receive it. in the same way, i believe adults shouldn't either. Human health doesn't depend on anything like how hard you work. Someone can get sick for no reason at all. Everyone should have the same opportunity to get treatment. point blank. (note: justice here is not entitlement)

today i am reminded of my passion for justice. hopefully i can really use this passion to make a difference. and just remember, justice is what happens when you treat everyone as if they were your own grandma. tell me that doesn't put an image in your mind ;)





(note: not my grandma, this is mother teresa)

love your neighbor as yourself

i was driving through a neighborhood i work in today and found myself sad in many ways. in front of me was a solid three blocks of row housing, all connected (the picture above doesn't do justice to what my eyes saw). behind it in an alleyway was another set, and across the street was yet another 3-block set. at this point, all of them are boarded up, unused. as you can imagine, it is probably for the best they are not inhabited anymore. at some point these were very low income housing for numerous souls. it's sad for me to not only see that there was at one point such a need for them, but also to know there is such a need for them now. i am constantly looking for places that are low income for my clients to snatch up. if there was a way to renovate these row houses, they would fill up in a minute. i dont care that it's one of the worst neighborhoods in pittsburgh. I have a case load of people who just want a roof over their head, simple living quarters, and something that doesn't take all their income. people have lots of views/opinions as to why a homeless person is homeless, but what really matters is helping them get it back. we have got to set aside our predispositions and just help. it is a sad and lonely world when we forget about our neighbors, our poor.

harvesting- the only thing a farmer does?

Think about all the things that must happen before
there can be a good harvest of crops.

• First, someone has to go and prepare the land. This is backbreaking work that involves felling trees, pulling massive stumps out of the ground, extracting rocks and boulders from the field, and moving them aside. But there's no harvest yet.
• Next the soil has to be broken up. The earth needs to be plowed, fertilizer churned in with the soil, and orderly rows tilled to prepare for the seed.
• Then the seeds must be carefully planted and covered. But still no harvest. Perhaps a fence needs to be built to protect the plants from animals that might devour them.
• And always, the seedlings must be carefully watered, nurtured, and fed over the long growing season.

There are sometimes setbacks--bad weather, blights, floods, and insects-- that can jeopardize the harvest. But if all the hard work is done faithfully and with perseverance, and if God provides good seed and favorable weather, finally a glorious harvest is the result.*1

- Excerpt from The Hole in Our Gospel

As I took another round trying to get through this spiritual book, the above stood out to me. It probably has nothing at all to do with the fact that Shawn is away harvesting all summer... ok it probably does ;) But the author surprisingly spoke to me. It's easy to think we should see results right away. For example, one church service should have a great enough impact on somebody to bring them to their knees asking for Christ to come into their heart. In reality, as the Barna group proves, this only happens for about 6% of adults.*2

I have never been the kind of person who could sit down with someone and easily convince them via the Romans road. As a "retired" camp counselor, this technique was expected of us. I am more the kind of person that works on the first stages of the harvest. I am not afraid to go to unprepared lands and start the back breaking work. This usually means jumping into something new and building relationships. Taking the time to get to know someone, listening to their story, hearing their struggles and triumps with the hope that in time they will eventually see the fruits of God and seek Him.

I think it is easy to assume being a devoted Christian is defending and proclaiming our faith daily, and just as easy to assume the less devoted Christian is one just "living out" their faith and not necessarily being vocal. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to say about evangelism, and there's a lot to say about complacent Christians. But reading this passage, I am reminded that alongside evangelists, you need people actively preparing for a crop. I'd say my most natural ability is the slow routine of working to create a harvest, not harvesting. Who knows, this very well could change in the future. But for now, find me in the cultivating, planting, and growing seasons. ;) Blessings~


*1 The Hole in Our Gospel, p.19
*2 UnChristian:What a New Generation Really thinks about Christianity ...and Why it Matters p.72