value

I think today's photo is a good metaphor for how I feel about our years of work here. We have something beautiful to offer, but it has repeatedly been tossed carelessly aside, unappreciated and unvalued.

Part of the problem is that we have been offering something that people can't see, touch, or sell. The things of value that we wanted to give them were things of the character, soul & mind. And one reason our offerings were rejected was that so many others were giving out items of material and monetary value.

People like the individual who caused my rant yesterday.

I feel a bit bad about that outburst. I re-read yesterday's blog this morning and considered editing it a bit to soften it. But that seems to violate well-understood rules of blogging. Raw and unedited seem to be the norm in this form of communication. So the entry will stand as it is, although I don't think it presents me at my best.

While my passion and the strength of my convictions haven't changed from yesterday to today, I'm glad to say my attitude toward the person in question seems to be altered somewhat. I don't think they've received much good guidance or training. They don't seem to be encouraged to stop and reflect, but simply to react to the immediate needs of the moment.

People who live from crisis to crisis make me feel rather panicked. I am not sure why I react like I do, but the moment I find myself in a conversation with a needy, frantic person I immediately feel I'm suffocating. My first instinct is to lash out in anger. We have lived through a number of crises ourselves, an now choose, as much as possible, to avoid them. My reserves must be down, because I can not see my way clear to take on someone else's stress on top of my own.

But today I felt God challenging me to bring beauty into this person's life. That, after all, is why He made me. To bring His beauty into this broken world.

And so, while I hesitate to get involved with this person, I feel urged to at least offer them beauty. We'll see what happens.