I listening to the story, poured out from the heart of someone that cared and was engaged. As I struggled to see the positive possibilities, I found myself replaying the variations of the way this plat has played out in my life. The sequence and timeline in each story may vary slightly, yet the plot always feels the same.
One catches the vision offered by another. Often, it is something grand. As one thinks about it, s/he comes to believe that the cause is a noble one where everyone wins. Customers, companies, and the community that will give it birth benefit. There will be no victims. Nobody loses along the way. Everyone comes out better in the end.
Obstacles emerge – anticipated ones as well as surprises. The team initially bands together – fighting as one to achieve the impossible. This often brings a greater sense of purpose and calling to individual members of the team.
Without notice or warning, something changes. A trusted manager up the chain or a believing insider betrays the vision. The initial warning signs are on the table. In hindsight, one can see them yet at the time they seem to go by unnoticed and unaddressed.
What follows is ugly and painful. Visions are etched at the corners, eventually becoming something very different than they were intended to be. Innocent people are sacrificed and abandoned by trusted people and institutions. With time, darkness begins to overwhelm the group and some are able to move on.
With the darkness overwhelming, the opportunity for a new vision, a replay of the story and plot line emerges, and individuals come together to try and be a positive force for change.
I have no answers. I can make an observation and ask questions in two directions.
To institutions and leaders we trusted, “Why the big noise, nations? Why the mean plots, peoples?” (Psalm 2.1)
To members of the community that had caught the vision, “We were right to believe. We can still be the difference. What will we do today to take a step towards that dream?”
