If we just keep our eyes open to the world around us we would be surprised what we could see. I had recently bought a watch online, and as things often go, the band was too large for me. I took it to a local jeweler, and long story short, it got adjusted. Simone and I left the jeweler and were walking a short distance to a nearby grocery store to buy some miscellaneous items. As we were walking, I just happened to look a little bit down and to the side, and I noticed something. Less that two feet off my path, there was sitting on a bench in the shadows a young woman. Her face, illuminated by the bleak light of a nearby street lamp, was downcast, and her eyes were moist as though she was in the midst of crying. There was a couple things that struck me in that brief moment. 1) Aside from her saddened appearance, she seemed like a very average person. 2) There was probably nothing I could do to truly alleviate her suffering.
So many people today are suffering in relative obscurity. They are not languishing away alone on hospital beds. They are not homeless, wandering the streets in ragged clothes, or sitting at intersections with cardboard signs. They are people we pass by every day who seem to be doing alright who are actually wracked with pain, and for the most part, there is nothing we can do about it.
This pain is so often hidden beneath a facade of whatever mask they decide to wear at that time. It is only in darkness that many feel free to truly reveal what is inside, and even then only for a brief moment. If I had been bold enough to sit down and ask this woman what was wrong, the probability is high that not only would her mask have been put back on, but also she would have fled from my presence. Which brings me to the second point that there was probably nothing I could have done to truly help her. I could only pray that somehow she would find relief.
Despite compassionate hearts and good intentions, we just cannot help everyone. We can't even help the majority of people. We can only truly help the few, and leave the rest to God.
Lord help us to know who are "the few" in our own lives.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Time for a Change?
I've been studying the book of Numbers the past few weeks, and although it has given me quite a bit to think about, my study hasn't yielded many "Aha!" moments. That is, until a few days ago when I looked at what I like to call "The Quail Incident".
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, it's found in chapter 11, and what happened was that the Israelites, as was their practice, were complaining about something. The NIV has them "wailing. . . 'If we only had meat to eat (vs. 4)!'" Then God basically said, "You want meat? I'll give you meat! You'll get so much meat that it'll come out of your noses!" God caused a wind to blow and it blew in so much quail from the coast that the minimum gathered per person was about 60 bushels. Now that's a lot of quail! Sadly, they didn't get to enjoy it much, because before it could even be swallowed, God struck dead all the quail eaters. That place then, for obvious reasons, became known as "Graves of Craving" or "Craving Graves".
This passage has often been used by dedicated vegetarians as an illustration of the perils of eating meat, but I think that if one focuses solely on that aspect, they are missing the point. One commentator said that the Israelites had more food variety than one may think. The manna could be prepared in a couple of different ways, plus they could get milk and curds from their flocks, plus there were sacrifices in which the person offering would share a meal with the priests. A meal mainly comprised of meat. Also the majority of the things the Israelites were pining for were non-meat items (see vs. 5). The main problem wasn't so much that they were craving meat. It was that they were craving Egyptian meat; meaning that they would rather be slaves in Egypt than to be free under God's guidance.
The lesson that struck me this time around was the whole "We want something else!" concept. I had found myself recently wanting a change simply for change's sake. Sometimes the routine of life can seem a little tedious, but if the routine is of divine design, then we should think twice before demanding something different.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, it's found in chapter 11, and what happened was that the Israelites, as was their practice, were complaining about something. The NIV has them "wailing. . . 'If we only had meat to eat (vs. 4)!'" Then God basically said, "You want meat? I'll give you meat! You'll get so much meat that it'll come out of your noses!" God caused a wind to blow and it blew in so much quail from the coast that the minimum gathered per person was about 60 bushels. Now that's a lot of quail! Sadly, they didn't get to enjoy it much, because before it could even be swallowed, God struck dead all the quail eaters. That place then, for obvious reasons, became known as "Graves of Craving" or "Craving Graves".
This passage has often been used by dedicated vegetarians as an illustration of the perils of eating meat, but I think that if one focuses solely on that aspect, they are missing the point. One commentator said that the Israelites had more food variety than one may think. The manna could be prepared in a couple of different ways, plus they could get milk and curds from their flocks, plus there were sacrifices in which the person offering would share a meal with the priests. A meal mainly comprised of meat. Also the majority of the things the Israelites were pining for were non-meat items (see vs. 5). The main problem wasn't so much that they were craving meat. It was that they were craving Egyptian meat; meaning that they would rather be slaves in Egypt than to be free under God's guidance.
The lesson that struck me this time around was the whole "We want something else!" concept. I had found myself recently wanting a change simply for change's sake. Sometimes the routine of life can seem a little tedious, but if the routine is of divine design, then we should think twice before demanding something different.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A Second Job
It's been a while since I've posted anything, but as most of you know, I've been busy doing other (more important) things. Wow, who would have thought that planning a wedding would be so much work, and, of course, it's more work when you're on a budget, and we can't just pay people to do everything for us. It's not that the work is difficult, it's just that it is constant. It's my second job.
Thankfully, things are coming together rather nicely, esp. considering that we have only two months to go (Yikes!). Simone is very good at finding deals (on materials, food, etc.), as well as finding people who will help out for little or no compensation.
I might go into a bit more details in future posts, but I thought that I'd just give you all a little update on what's going on in our neck of the woods.
Thankfully, things are coming together rather nicely, esp. considering that we have only two months to go (Yikes!). Simone is very good at finding deals (on materials, food, etc.), as well as finding people who will help out for little or no compensation.
I might go into a bit more details in future posts, but I thought that I'd just give you all a little update on what's going on in our neck of the woods.
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