A little trash by the roadside

It's hard to preach a text on Sunday if you're not living it. As I worked through 1 John 4 and John 15 last week, I found myself called to spend less time in study and commentary and more time in community bearing fruit. Torn between disciplined study and relational interaction with others, time and again, I opted to find inspiration by living into the text. I was deliberately initiating conversations with folks on the street corner, learning more about gardening and the 81 various soil types in Anson County, and even taking an evening off to spend with my wife on the town. On a whim Saturday morning, we even decided to head to Wadesboro for a Clean Sweep Litter Day. Why not spend time making our county a cleaner place? We could have stayed and done the same on our street, but part of the motivation was to join in the community and interact with other like-minded volunteers that day. Who knows? Perhaps we would even make new friends and contacts? As luck would have it, we were the only ones to show that beautiful spring morning. But, for the next few hours, we (along with the program coordinator) spent the morning filling a handful of giant orange bags along the roadside (and even made a friend in the process). We canvassed the area and picked up everything in sight that didn't naturally belong along the green shoulder. Everything, that is, except for a cracked styrofoam cup. It was obvious and in plain view but, ultimately we decided to leave it. You see, inside a medium-sized, ornately decorated spider had created a home - complete with a large egg sac. Our coordinator was partial to creatures of all kinds and could tell the eggs were ready any day now. It wasn't the best of makeshift homes, but it was a bold attempt and adaption to a world increasingly cluttered by waste and junk.
Today, two big meetings are taking place as we move forward locally with a United Methodist global initiative to help folks move out of generational poverty. There's a lot of excitement building about this and yet there are many who still have a hard time coming alongside or coming to terms with why such an effort is needed. I, myself, find it ironic that the Circles model we are launching and funding, sounds exactly like what the Church is supposed to be. However, the little styrofoam cup we left by the roadside and the storyline to the new movie The Soloist, have been eye-opening reminders that it's hard to do something about poverty if you're not living it. As we go forward, guided by the Spirit, we must be keenly aware that what we may perceive as the solution or the ideal standard, is not always what's best for someone living it. Sometimes the best or most important thing we can do is just to be a friend. Sure, I want a world free of roadside garbage. But Saturday, it seemed to be okay to leave a little trash by the roadside. I was just glad to be a friend to a fellow creature. And after all, that's what thousands of folks desperately need anyway - a friend. I hope we can do that with this initiative and I'm thankful this model seems to value that. I hope you'll consider learning more. And, if you're looking to take in a movie this week, why not give The Soloist a try. It's not the best film ever, but it's a great story (and the scene of the Lord's prayer voiced-over a view of an LA community was extraordinarily moving). http://www.wnccumc.org/chs/PovertyInitiative2.htm
http://www.movethemountain.org/