Heroes All

 Good morning, all.

 I’m not at all sure today that I even want to write out a Thursday Thought for you.  The events of the past days, both locally as well as internationally, are causes for concern, are troubling, and are disconcerting.  Unless you’ve been on a cruise to Mars, you know of the conflict in the Middle East.  The old “eye for an eye” thing is alive and well there, fueled by the centuries-long animosity between the descendants of Isaac and those of Ishmael, sons of Abraham of the Old Testament.  This kind of hatred and retribution does nothing to promote peace, order, or civility; rather, just the opposite is the norm.  And until “eye for an eye” is replaced by “love your neighbor,” this will continue.

In the more local neighborhood, HumanKind will no longer support their traditional winter overflow shelter for the unhoused in the Wichita area.  The announcement was made just a couple of weeks ago, and people are scrambling to find a solution to the winter shelter situation for men in Wichita.  If the powers that be are to be believed, this has been on the table for some time, but only now has come to the forefront, and no solution has as of yet been announced.

I realize there are other hundreds of other issues that are surrounding us locally, nationally, and internationally.  Ukraine.  Medicaid expansion in Kansas.  China.  The mayor race in Wichita.  The teacher shortage.  Taxes.  Gridlock in Washington D.C.  The environment.  The great partisan divide.  Crudeness and incivility in society.  Cancel culture.  Housing.

If you’re like me, you think about these things.  And, the normal response to all of this is that these problems…these issues…are too big for us to even wrap our brains around, let alone do anything of substance about them.  And so we shrug and go about our lives, doing nothing of substance regarding our concerns and fears.

I too become sort of numb to it all.  I spend many an hour on the back patio of our home listening to the sounds coming from the park behind us and thinking about it all.  I too have no answers, and many times don’t even know what questions to ask.  And so all of these issues…all of these problems…all of these concerns…just become sort of jumbled up into a huge ball in my mind; and I am immobilized by it all, incapable of doing anything about any of it.

Then I come to work and look at the wall across from my desk.  There, I’ve put the photos of people I call my heroes.  People who live ordinary lives, doing the ordinary things of life and living…and who are also making a difference in their corners of the world.  Many of them are women.  These people too are very much aware of the issues and problems of the world today.  But rather than being frozen…immobilized…unable to move…these people have created great change for the better in a segment of the world that few sometimes dare to enter.

There’s Jennifer, who battles human trafficking.  Michele, who provides safety for street women who want to get out of that life.  Jessica, who is paving the way for women in a vocation traditionally left to men.  Rachel, who spoke up and caused a sea change in the way we see sexual assault and abuse.  Julie, who works with birth mothers who wish to give their newborns up to adoption to loving families.  Moses, who daily teaches the ways of God to a lost and dying world.  Mark, who risked his life to provide safety for others.  Collin and Kendra, who moved with their family to a neighborhood that was less than ideal in order to share the love of Jesus Christ.  Victor, who mentors young ministers and provides much-needed stability in the churches he serves.  There’s Sam, who shows the world that a disability need not be a barrier to living a rich and full life.

I could go on naming many others who may or may not be on my wall of heroes, but nevertheless every day are bringing kindness, compassion, civility, and positive change to their sphere of influence.  Many of these people are also bringing the Kingdom of God into the hearts and minds of others, telling and better yet showing a better way of life.  Loving God…the first and greatest commandment; and the one like unto it…to love one’s neighbor as one loves oneself.  Beyond even the Golden Rule, loving one’s neighbor is the pinnacle, I believe, of relationships as they should be.  And these people along with countless others are not only seeing, but doing.

Now I think you see why I have a wall of heroes.  In those times when I get down, paralyzed by all that’s happening around me, I see these people and I remember the words of Jesus and I become refreshed and renewed.  I am able to function again and go about my day, doing what I can to renew the creation as God intended.  I may never create a world-wide earthquake of change.  But I can do what I can do, for as long as God allows me to do it.  And that is all I can ask of myself, because that’s all that God asks of me.

 

Blessings,