I would like to begin by blaming
Ms. Simplicity for all of this. And by
this I mean this post, this problem, this angst. She heavily encouraged me to read
this book. (Review coming.) Which led me to reading
another life-changing book. Which led me hungry for answers in
The Book. All of which revived something in me that I couldn't previously articulate but have felt pounding for years.
A heart that beats for more.
Our
third blog challenge took a bit of a twist. Designed by one brilliant blogger (mmwah), we were encouraged to consider this: What if Jesus was serious when he said, "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me" (Check it:
Matthew 25:31-46)? But Lord, when did I see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?
Open my blind eyes.
Here is my problem with the Bible. I have to figure out when to take it literally. It's a tricky balance see, and there is lots of interpretations, study guides, commentaries, and expository outlines to help. But I happen to like this simple approach (think user-guide-for-dummies) : If it can be taken literally, take it literally. Cultural customs may change with time, eternal truths will last forever. His heart beats for more.
Which brings me to my personal turmoil. What am I doing for the least of these? What am I doing for Jesus? With over 2,000 bible verses addressing poverty and justice-----I must ask myself, is this really important to My Friend? And in my moment of honesty, can I admit that I have become an expert at excusing my apathy---choosing statements that help me feel better while avoiding truly needy populations? It's about a heart condition. He means "poor in spirit." It's spiritual hunger, not literal hunger. What does that teach my children? Is it okay to look the other way when we see the man, dirty and broken, sleeping on the doorstep of a church? Or not make eye contact with the beggar on the street corner as we drive past in our car? I want their heart to beat for more.
And so the challenge. Is there something---anything---I can do to love the least of these? Let me clear one thing up real quick, beezy readers. I don't have a good answer to this question. My family is not experts on loving "poor people"(in fact we hate that term). We're just not. We have certain areas where we are more comfortable "helping out," but most areas we avoid all together. We don't know how to balance living life, in a place of privilege, while loving those who are not. We don't know how to reconcile people dying of hunger while we eat at the pizza buffet. And so sometimes the easiest thing is to just carry along and do nothing.
But my heart beats for more.
The children and I made love pies today. Please don't confuse them with cow pies, like Jakey Bee does. They were simple pies, made in love. Made with the hope of showing a small act of kindness, a small amount of love. Hoping to say to someone, You matter to me.
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| Welcome back Clifford-Clyde! Don't be fooled, he's as sassy as eva'. |
Given out on the streets of Tacoma, to anyone who looked like they could use an ounce of love.
By no means life changing. Messy in our delivery. Parents fumbling over words. Children fumbling over pies.
Not everybody took pies when we offered, because really, is pie their greatest need? What can a single pie really change?
Except, one thing did change.
Me.
I once heard it said that sometimes we speak to change the world, other times we speak to not let the world change us. I think the same can be said with our actions. Sometimes our actions can change the world, and sometimes we act so that the world does not change us.
They are just pies. But they force me to look men and women in the eyes, who are living on the streets of our city, and give something of myself. A smile. A hug. A small ounce of dignity. And I leave with a deeper desire for them to know, You matter to me. You matter to Jesus. And my children, what do they gain? My prayer is that their eyes are opened to the needs of our city, which I hope some day will open their eyes to the needs of our world.
Little side note: I have very different children. My oldest is the bleeding
heart Democrat, who's preference is to give and give until we are all
depleted of everything. Can we give them our home too? Then they wouldn't be homeless. My
middle child---he's more of a staunch Republican, actively protecting his gun
rights (along with lightsabers, nerf swords, and violent video games rights) and isn't
as intuitively aware of the needs of others. Case in point: Hey mama, what if instead of giving them away, we sold the pies? I know what he's thinking: And buy a Lego. And
then my third---I'm pretty sure she might be a terrorist, wrecking
havoc wherever she lands. Forget giving out pies, she'll just chuck them at people as we drive past. Don't worry, she's young, I still
have time.
We are not all created the same. We are not all moved by the same cause. But could we all be moved by the same Jesus? The one who asked us to feed
His lambs? To
care for the least? Maybe it begins with a pie. A pie that does nothing to solve the systemic issues of poverty, but does something to open the eyes of people placed in a position of privilege, placed in a position to ask,
What can I do for my friend? For my neighbor?
Dear friends-what if we all placed ourselves in a position to give? What could change if we taught our children that Jesus not only loves them, but also deeply loves those that have been placed in the margins? The forgotten of society? My hope is that this is a starting place. A place to ask questions, to examine these issues, and begin creating solutions. This blog challenge put the Bees in a position where we had to do something. Something small. But still, something. But what it left us with was something far greater.
A heart that beats for more.
Do yourself a favor and check out two other bloggers take on this issue,
here and
here.
Cheers and lots of love,
---Mrs. Bee
-xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
