RED, WHITE, AND BLUE to you! As we move into the height of summer we are so well aware of the heat all around us...whether it's the weather, politics, family issues or challenges at work...the heat heats up!I am amazed at all the ways we pay attention to almost anything other than what we are doing right this moment.
In these last weeks there have been many issues affecting us as citizens of this red, white,and blue nation: parents separated from their children, new supreme court opening, mass shooting, primaries and run-offs, demonstrations, international relations...you fill in the rest.
I don't know about you but I have heard lots of people complaining about this or that, but mostly about other people, rarely about what they might do themselves to rectify a situation. You know that saying THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL...how true that is today. I might complain that a particular group of people are illiterate...did I get books to kids in my town this summer for reading? Maybe it is because I think that is too small a response when such a huge part of the world is unable to read? Or I am aware of hunger...all across the world and even my town or state...are there free lunches being served somewhere for folks during the summer? You get my point. Please don't think that some of the 'small' things you might be able to do are worthless. In fact, they are very worthwhile. Just like the mayor being attentive to the potholes at DG and FREDS...t.y. for fixing!
Our days are well spent when serving others. If this sounds like a chore...well, it doesn't have to be. I hope some of the kids you know (1st-4th graders) will be coming to the library, starting tomorrow (5th) at 9:30 for our storytelling and art workshops on the Thursdays of July. I can't wait!It will be cool...it will be informative...it will be fun! AND there are lots of other things going on...just check the paper!
What makes us red, white, and blue are those things we have in common...our humanity...the one race, the human race! In this season of some discomfort take a chance on involving yourself in something you enjoy so that the others with whom you are interacting with will be filled with joy. Maybe it's VBS or GIRLFRIENDS, a family reunion, fishing, taking someone to the doctor, or swimming...what ever it is offer yourself as a friend, a companion, as an encourager so that complaints die down and the atmosphere cools. If we want our country, indeed our own lives, to be transformed, we take a chance on a) being wrong and b) on becoming a very good listener.
I love this:
“To a disciple who was forever complaining about others the master said: 'if it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to try to carpet the whole earth!'”
BLESSINGS.
