How do you get from point A
to point B and so on
We often let every day dumb things influence our journey, like our environment, our culture, our education, our fears, others things, our finances, our handicaps, our pride, others things. We so easily get trapped in snares that redirect us from Gods plan for our lives.
In the musical “Sound of Music” Mother Abbess sang a song meant as direction for Maria’s life.
“Climb every mountain, Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow, Till you find your dream.
A dream that will need all the Love you can give,
every day of your life, for as long as you live”.
Climb Every Mountain, Ford every stream Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.”
Now that is a Map I can follow. Climb, Ford, Follow, Dream, Love,
It’s the word Till that inspires. Keeping on Till you find your Dream.
Let’s be adventurers and trailblazers Like Lewis and Clark. I’ll be Lewis : ) and you be Clark. We can be our own mapmakers as we climb our own mountains, Ford our own streams and follow our rainbows, Till we find our dreams.
The dream I am in search of is a world
where AIDS no longer devours lives.
The dream I am in search of is a world where AIDS no longer devours lives.
My point A was an old farmhouse at the top of Kissell Hill. We moved there in January of 1975. The view was beautiful looking down onto the quaint town of Lititz and the snow covered steeple of the Moravian church. Melanie and I gave our lives to Christ that spring and even then we knew our life was to include others. That summer we took in a Fresh Air Fund child named Linda. Linda was suffering from cancer and after another family said they didn’t want her we accepted her with open arms. Our three children loved her so. It was a summer of resting our lives in Christ and growing together as a family. Next year came Damika. Different child, different needs, different relying on Christ for peace and wisdom. These times too were full of growth, excitement with family and individual growth in Christ.
Point B: Foster care with Lancaster County Children and Youth Services. Our aspirations were high, our 2 month later reality check was not. Yet, with increased challenge came and increase in family solidarity. Everyone had their part without being assigned. It just fell into place. After foster child number one and two we had one more child, a boy with cigarettes, a switch blade and Dr. Denton PJs’. Go figure. By then we were all old hands at being the best at our part of making strangers feel like family. Somewhere in the mix Melanie’s Mom joined the family and stayed for 25 years.
Point C. A frail, unassuming, soft spoken, loving, Heroin addict named Al. Who within minutes of our meeting divulged he had AIDS. Later we learned he was HIV+ not full blown AIDS. Back then even the infected folks didn’t know the difference. From Al came a thirty year journey of hundreds and hundreds of other HIV + friends. Yeah I said friends, That’s how it works. Make a friend and join them in their journey to their next point in life.
From Point C it was a Gigantic Leap to point D on our Map Kisumu Kenya. It was in the fall of 2015 we weren’t really sure what our next point identification would be. Now it’s 2018, we are at Point, Geeesh I don’t know, maybe point N for Nyalenda. We continue to look forward to the next point. I guess the final point on the journey for all of us is Heaven. But in the mean-time….. .
Is helping others REALLY our responsibility? I’m speaking singularly here. Who says so, Under whose authority? It’s a personal choice right? We all know it is impossible for us to obey every stipulation for living a Godly life.
DUHH Got Ya. Of course it’s possible, it just takes a lifetime.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 “reach out for those who are exhausted and pull them to their feet.”
You Bet!!!!! We all know a least one person that is exhausted, poor, weak, and needs help to get up. For one reason or another society has given a deaf ear, who are regularly on the outside looking in.
They’re “different”, annoying, get in my space, it’s all about them, constantly relapsing, never take my advice, always in trouble, mentally or emotionally challenging, can’t keep a job, all they ever want is money, they smell, they cuss, etc.
All of the above give us an excellent opportunity to speak up and act on our own to defend the poor and needy right where we live.
But wait, there is so much more than that in defining needy or destitute. The wounded warrior, the abused, the forgotten, the elderly, the widowed or a single parent, those out of work, shut-ins, divorced and so on.
Moreover there are folks whose needs are so great the actions of one individual isn’t enough. Perhaps a family, neighborhood, town or region that has experienced a calamity of unimaginable proportion like a lava flow. What a terrific opportunity for your family, your care group, bible study group or your office workers. Joining together with family or friends can be a life changing event for everyone.
My Biblical starting point was found in a single chapter in Proverbs. In chapter 31 a mother whose son, Lemuel, has just been crowned king has given him guidance on how to be a good king. The thing that made these 9 verses so compelling for me was this. Other than these 9 verses there is no other mention of King Lemuel or his mother anywhere in Bible. None. But Kazamm there it is; In verse 1, the scribes actually call it “An inspired utterance his mother taught him.” It seems that verse 8 and 9 are the crescendo of this entire chapter.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute. Speak up and judge fairly. Defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Now that is something I could grab hold of and run with. How about you?
Christ and the habitation of the Holy Spirit within us has not given us a Spirit of fear but of Power and Love and a sound mind. Use it proclaim the glory of God and the building of His Kingdom, to heal the sick and set the captives free. Then …………. . Heaven?? or MAYBE just one more point.