Always Local

Much in the world is global.  With the internet, music transcends the boundaries of communities, nations, and even natural barriers.  With the ease of moment for information and individuals alike, fashion is a phenomenon that touches the lives of anyone who cares to follow.  As efficiencies reduce the number of independent news sources, everything seems to be moving towards a muddle mass of consistency.
 
The evidence that we are a global community can appear to overwhelm any idea to the contrary.  Yet I would like to suggest that this assumption is presumptuous.  I have yet to find a community that thinks exactly like the one right next to it, much less one half-way around the world.  While there are common themes that summarize the human condition, everything is at its core local and individual specific.  The way we use words, the manner that we view scandal, and even the values we hold most dear are unique.  Often, despite appearances, they defy local norms and interpretation.  We are who we are.  We value what we value.  More often than not, we try to hide both.
 
It is good when I recognize who and what I really am.  Despite the love, from God and others, it is healthy when I bluntly state the truth inside my soul.  “I don't get it.  God has left me.  My Master has forgotten I even exist.”  (Isaiah 49.14) 
 
Yes, I know God has given the world a way to be everything that describes heaven.  Yet, the promise is also for me, now, in this moment.
 
Yes, I know God unconditionally accepts us, loving us exactly as we are.  This is true; more importantly, God loves you and me, just the way you and I are in this moment.
 
Yes, I know God is engaged in life.  I understand heavenly forces are at work.  I admit God’s handwriting is obvious in nature and the world around me.  I also know when I sit in reflection, that God is engaged in my life.  God loves me, in a way only a Father.Mother could.