Life rarely unfolds as we expect. Who really understood a year ago at the height of many economic indicators that the moment at hand was a pinnacle? How many anticipated the depths, volatility, and emotions of the past six months? Did I have any idea how life would unfold?
As I reflect on another sunny California morning, I find myself counting surprises. After running out of digits, I give up! On almost every front, life unfolded differently. The reality of where I find myself is one that I could not imagine. For all the drama, uncertainty, and chaos, I do not know that I would want to be in any other place. There are too many good things at hand. The breadth and depth of the extended family is well beyond any vision. The potential of the journey I am on has no limits or boundaries, except the ones I tie myself to. Opportunities to think, act, and be are as great as I can imagine and beyond.
In looking at the reality of our community, there are far too many troubling points. Too many family members struggle to know hope. Too many family members see injustice, pain, and abandonment as the only true realities in their lives. Far too many are struggling with the basics in life – hunger, a feeling of belonging, and any sense of kindness, mercy, or love.
The reality is that there is a call for everyone to engage in the business of realizing compassion, acceptance, and community. It is a call that extends beyond the boundaries of culture, traditional economics, or roles defined by age, education, or position. We may not want to believe it, but we can, are part of the process. We are not the first to doubt. “The believing Jews who had come with Peter couldn't believe it, couldn't believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on ‘outsider’ non-Jews, but there it was—they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them praising God.” (Acts 10.45, 46) Yet, we can be the ones to act.
