... and I in mine

The world is turning into this ginormous village where we see nearly simultaneously what's happening on the opposite side of the globe - where fewer and fewer places are unseen, unreported.  There is so much suffering in so many places by so many people groups - it's hard to know where to start when the collection plate passes, or when the folks come around canvassing for this or that cause.  

Many people think that unless they do something spectacular or give a lot of money to alleviate hunger or thirst in a third world country, or go on a missions trip to a different continent, that they are not doing what they can.  This kind of thinking is fostered in our global village.  But sometimes in trying not to miss the forest for the trees, we miss the trees for the forest.

I'm not saying that those causes - whatever they are and however noble they are - aren't worthy.  Far from it.  But I am saying that we needn't allow others to make us feel guilty if we DON'T go, if we DON'T give to this or that foreign charity across the ocean.

A friend of mine is raising money for a cause that is near and dear to her - being a cancer survivor and seeing how people spend a lot of money to be near their loved ones through such a tough time, well, she's doing what she can.  Here's her blog post on that.  That's not in a foreign country to her - it's close to home. 

There are dozens of people in my own city who don't have a home.  There are even more - including children - RIGHT HERE - who go to bed hungry.  Who wonder where the next meal is going to come from ... and when.  Who are starting over from scratch, having lost everything to alcohol, to abuse, to debt, to unemployment.  And in this city there are organizations that help such people.  The Food Bank.  "The Upper Room" Soup Kitchen.  The Salvation Army.  Open Door Ministries.  Anderson House.  Talbot House.  Lacey House.  Grandmother's  House.  And that's just within a five-mile radius.  All we need to do is open our eyes and look at our own back yard and there are so many people who need to know someone cares. And speaking of the back yard - what about the person across the fence? next door? down the street?  

I remember singing this little song in Sunday School and the words are just as profound now as they ever were.  It's based on Matthew 5:24: "Let your light so shine among men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  Here are some of the lyrics:

Found this photo HERE

Jesus bids us shine, with a pure, clear light
Like a little candle burning in the night.
In this world of darkness, so we must shine:
You in your small corner .... and I in mine. 

Jesus bids us shine. Shine - for all around
Many kinds of darkness in this world are found: 
Sin, and want, and sorrow - so we must shine:
You in your small corner ... and I in mine.

And this is the essence of it.  We don't have to make a big splash, or turn everything into a big production.  We just need to find our niche - that place where we can make a difference - and go ahead and do it.  Whether it's seen by the pastor, the prime minister or the pope for that matter - matters not.  Even one candle can dispel the darkness.  Even if it's been dark for a VERY long time. 

Even if we've never dared let our light shine before.  It might flicker - but at least it will light the way for someone who needs it.

You are Special

I have a friend who, every time I tell her she is special, says to me, "That's why I ride on the short bus."  I used to think it was funny and I've even said it to people who have complimented me about being special.

Not so much anymore. I guess it's because it suddenly dawned on me that the comment was meant to deflect a truth someone might find hard to accept: their own worth. The belief that we are special individuals - a belief that is rare, by the way - is a powerful tool for transformation.  

Take our little friend here, called Punchinello.  This little guy is a character in a book called "You Are Special" by Max Lucado.  It's a children's book about a village full of puppets called Wemmicks.  The village is in a valley and the puppet-maker lives on top of a high and craggy hill.  All day long as the Wemmicks compliment or judge one another, they give each other stickers: either a gold star (which means approval) or a blue dot (which means disapproval).  One day Punchinello meets a Wemmick with no dots or stars on her.  He thinks she is beautiful. She tells him that the reason she is starless and dotless is that she spends time with the puppet maker in his cabin on the hill-top every day.  He doesn't understand.  "Go see him," she urges.  "You'll understand."  And he does - and he understands that his value is not in what other Wemmicks say.  It is in the fact that the puppet maker created him just the way he is, and loves him.  At the end of the story, as he walks away from the cabin, one of his blue dots falls off.

I cry every time I read the story.  It gives me hope.

When the children were small, I stumbled on a children's show that I had never seen before.  I'd heard about it but never seen it.  Being a Canadian baby-boomer and watching only 2 channels on TV (both Canadian), I spent my formative years watching Mr. Dressup, the Friendly Giant, and Chez Hélène.  And once in a while Davey and Goliath.  But this guy is an icon, and it's funny, I had heard so much about him (mostly people making fun of him) but never seen his show.  Until my oldest was two and we were flipping through the channels one day and I heard piano music and a man singing.

After that, we never missed Mister Rogers Neighborhood.  I would hear him tell his viewers that they were special; he even wrote a song about it.  He wrote a song about nearly everything!  I would listen to him and cry.  I would watch the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and I would wish that I could have benefited from this man's imagination and wisdom. And I would cry some more.

By the way, Daniel Stripe-ed Tiger was - and IS - my favorite.  I won't let people "diss" Mister Rogers.  He's one of my heroes.  This link will take you to a video of him in 1997 when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys - a class act if there ever was one! 

I guess I ought to have known back in 1991, when I was sitting bawling in front of the TV set, that there was something amiss in me, but at the time I was living in denial, not knowing that my life had been spinning out of control for many years.  Or how to get it back!

But when I was ready, the message of "You Are Special" came back to me and helped me to accept myself the way I was, to let go of the feeling that I was a burden to everyone.  Just because (from the time I was very young) I was led to believe that I was a burden, didn't make it true.  With the knowledge that God loved me that way, just the way I was, I began to parent that shy, suppressed child.  Over time, she very slowly opened up like a long-dormant flower, and grow inside.

As I learned to love myself (the real me I was so afraid to show that not even I knew who I was) it unblocked my relationships with other people and allowed me to be able to reach out to them and repair the damage I had done by acting out of my insecurities.  I was able to recognize when the people I loved needed affirming that THEY were special.  

Acceptance like that - dare I say unconditional love? - is a very potent thing.

Our God is too small

I found this (oh so adorable) video on Youtube.

Watch and listen...

J. B. Phillips wrote a book called "Your God is Too Small" - I remember reading it a very long time ago; it's probably out of print by now. He made a valid point. Often we tend to create God in the image of some authority figure in our lives. As a result, we start thinking of God as this big super-human - with foibles and faults just like us, including the tendency to jump on our case when we mess up, or (alternatively) say, "There, there dear," and ignore it when we rebel against everything He stands for.

Our God is really SO unbelievably, indescribably BIG. To quote the hymn-writer, Perfect in power, in love and purity.

If He wasn't, He wouldn't be God!!

Now let's consider this video - and let faith leap up in our hearts.