Sitting and waiting...and acting too?

Kristin and I got a dog this summer. I think the previous owners must have fed him from the table, because any time there is food around, Buck is around. As I watched him wait patiently before me yesterday, and then lie on the floor beneath my feet, it really hit me: What does it mean to wait before God? You see, Buck eventually gets impatient, and moves on to the next thing--which is the story of my life! But, we aren't called to pray and then do nothing...so what does it mean to really wait on the Lord?

I don't know if I have a great answer for this. I'm still mulling it over. What I've learned so far is that there is a difference between praying and then taking action apart from God, and praying and then taking action in partnership with Him. I think there is a way to wait patiently at His feet even as we act. I am not sure I know exactly how to do this, but I want to continue to learn. Maybe it's having a continuously prayerful mindset? I only know a few people who really live like this--and I'm not one of them. Or maybe it's simply being aware that He is with us and only in Him are those things He calls us to possible? Regardless, this image of Buck at my feet has stuck with me, and I'm fighting to learn what it means to expectantly wait on God to move, even as I move in the direction He is calling me.

East St. Louis: In Focus - #2

As I sit back and look at our support situation right now, this picture is so challenging. Why, you might ask, is a scene of kids playing on old mattresses in the midst of housing projects challenging? The answer is simple: Joy. These kids are living in poverty—there is no arguing that reality. Yet if you were to be there taking this you would see the joy that they are experiencing even in the midst of their situation. Our support is really hurting right now, and it’s so tempting to give up. But looking at these kids challenges me so much. The voice inside my head screams, “You lucky to be above the poverty line whiner, get up, keep moving, and quit complaining about the economy—you’re fortunate to even feel the effects of it!” With my perspective shifted by the joy of children, I move forward. It’s not an easy for any of us who are affected by this economic downturn, and I don't write this to minimize our situation. However, I think we’d all do well to realize how blessed we are to even feel the effects of these financial struggles, and to learn a lesson from those who are far less fortunate, yet immeasurably more joyful.

East St. Louis: In Focus

At first glance, this picture seems to portray the creativity that characterizes kids in the inner-city. However, the graffiti in the background is gang art, and the bears indicate multiple tragedies. Each time a person from the neighborhood is killed, a bear is nailed to a telephone pole. Each bear represents a life that was cut short because the youth of East St. Louis choose to invest their lives in drugs, violence, and gang activity. This is a sobering reality that few of us will ever face. As I sat in a truck taking this picture, it occurred to me that kids are dying each week, that my own children will grow up on these streets...and that my mind is too often preoccupied with things that possess only earthly significance. I’m learning that the greatest reality, the thing of utmost significance, is that—apart from Christ—lives are lost, and these youth spend eternity in a place that is far worse than the one where they spent their earthly lives, something they never dreamed possible.

Dreaming the Impossible

When I flew into St. Louis Monday, I looked at the city from the plane and felt overwhelmed. What need! What despair! It all rushed back again, and I wanted to run from reality. However, as I drove away from the airport, I began to pray, and realize again the opportunity for God’s glory in this city. I thought of how I once lived in a world of illusions, as if football and girls were an end. And then I thought of the youth of East St. Louis, and the illusion of life they have bought into. But how great will it be when they see the Truth, the hope of Christ! When those living in illusions are born into reality, they can become leaders for the true King. And they will bring light to a dark and desolate city, making much of the our Glorious God.
I’m only here for a few more days, but as I ride around the city I’m dreaming, and I’d ask you to dream with me. Would God choose to use a group of underprivileged, poorly educated, and hopeless youth to demonstrate his glory to surrounding cities, regions, and a nation of affluent, elite citizens? I think He would, and I think He will. Please pray and dream with me to this end!