But the Hebrew word, the word timshel – ‘Thou mayest’ – that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’ – it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.
John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Some stories are permanently etched, and provide a visceral punch to your life card. Here are two of those.
The first was 2009, the years blur, on my second trip to Cuba with a damn impressive organization called Wheels for the World. They provide life-changing mobility along with the hope of the Gospel to people impacted by disability worldwide. WFTW is a soup to nuts well-oiled machine. They collect and refurbish wheelchairs, working with incarcerated men in prison who bring the chairs back to life. The wheelchairs are then delivered to countries around the world where social services for the disabled are lacking. The chairs are custom-fitted by medical specialists, and then pieced together by mechanics like me to fit the person. In this case, Havana, Cuba. That’s the warm and fuzzy feelz part.
“I have a brother in Minnesota.” I remember giving a Scooby-Doo look of “Hruh?” to the translator. He was helping me understand a local Cuban as we looked out over Havana harbor. I asked for more detail on how his brother made it to Minnesota. Through tearful eyes he said his brother and two friends had strung together three inner-tubes and floated from Cuba to the Florida Keys. “Wow, that’s extraordinary!” I may have held up my hand for a high-five. “Are they all doing well there?” With his head turned down, he mumbled out some quiet words. The translator took a deep breath and said, “The other two friends didn’t make it. They were eaten by sharks.”
I kind of shuffled and stood there blinking, trying to process what I heard. The local Cuban helped me through my awkwardness. Through the translator he said, “You don’t understand our reality. We’re trapped here. We’d rather risk our lives with sharks than be trapped on an island.”
It’s impossible to corral my thoughts. Imagine if your only viable option for a better life was a black inner tube on the open seas? Try to place yourself in the pic above, and you’re about to step into the tube for a 110-mile journey on open water with sharks lurking below.
I also think of an image in my mind from trips to Haiti. One was in 2010 after the earthquake that killed 230,000 people in 39 seconds. Driving in Haiti is challenging even without a natural disaster of that magnitude. One day our two SUVs were making our way through traffic at maybe a clip of 10-15 mph. Alongside of us, a shirtless sweating man came running up next to me on the passenger side, keeping pace with the vehicle. He was balancing a basket on his head that had plastic baggies of water for sale. I rolled down my window, and with the dexterity of an athlete, he reached over his head, grabbed a couple of waters and handed them to me; made change and then accelerated to the vehicle in front of ours. I can still see him running in my mind. That was his “career,” earning maybe a nickel per bag.
Ok, so what’s the point? Not sure. There’s a question somewhere in there about hoping in God when there’s no chance of a better life. Would I? Could I? Dunno. At best, is there maybe a smidgen of empathy with those stories? Not really. Those are shoes a thousand miles beyond my feet. Come on, I was born in America, I’m a white male, straight, no disability, a decent mind; my parents were married 59 yrs before my dad passed away. How many undeserved lotteries is that compared to folks who were dealt a deck of cards that inherently include challenges right out of the gate? Will I ever have to deal with racism? Sexism? Homophopia? Lack of opportunity?
No way.
Again, why have Cuba and Haiti been ruminating the past few days. Perspective? Sure, but that’s easy. I often mention a humanitarian aid trip to a friend, and they’ll reply, “Gosh, that makes me SO grateful for what I have.” I then reply, “And?” In other words, don’t just rest in your blessings. What are you doing to impact others? You think we’ve been awarded our born in the USA lottery ticket to dance the night away? Hell no. I think that’s why I get so irritated with folks using politics as a reason to not help the non-lottery winners. Peel back all the bullshit rhetoric and it comes down to “Those people don’t deserve help.” For damn sure that doesn’t line up with Christ.
In past experience, these Holy Spirit “burdens” I feel towards an experience usually push me towards activity. As they should all of us. We’ve been wired to serve others, each person turning around to lend a hand up to the next in line. What is the thing that stirs you? Doesn’t have to be Cuba, doesn’t have to be people. I have a friend who fosters dogs and helps find permanent homes for them. Here’s an easy one. How many times do you walk past a homeless person and not make eye contact? I often do. What if we used that as a trigger to volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank or Austin Street Center? Take the kids and make the easy two hours a life lesson of seeing all people as worthy of a handshake. And do it regularly, how about 4X a year as a starting place. Then next year instead of the trip to Cabo, go a step further and find a service trip for the family. Email me and I’ll help find one for you.
Here’s two pics from Haiti. The one on the left makes me think of the water-runner. What if my job my whole life was selling 30-40 bananas each day, or selling 30-40 bags of water? And that was my only option. The one on the right, a different trip and purpose. Why not use a pic with better lighting with the group of men? Because we were in a nicer part of Port-au-Prince that has no electricity. Not the power was out that night… No, there’s no electricity, 24/7.
The Eternal Prom Date
I get it, I understand the trepidation when hearing that serving others is a Biblical mandate. People often position the Bible as a great and mighty buzzkill of a rule book. But they miss the entire message by a marathon distance. The entire book is a love letter from God as He tries to woo us back to relationship with Him. “Uh, whuh..?” That’s the cliff notes version, but yes, over a 1600-yr story arc, God is desperately trying to get our attention. This culminates in Him saying, “Hey, if I send my Son to die, which covers all your past, present and future mistakes, with ZERO cost to you, will you allow us to get back together and go steady and go to the eternal prom together?” His Son, Jesus, then gives us about a couple hunnerd examples of how we can serve others.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
Matthew 25:35-36
Pay attention to the stuff that sparks you, maybe it irritates you because you see wrongs that should be righted. If nothing comes to mind, pray for it. Ask God to place a healthy burden on your heart. Guaranteed He’ll plant a seed in your soul that will fill you with a permanent desire to serve someone.
See ya next time. ML