Shared Dreams

There are many things that I hate about the technological age. I hate that increasingly I hear more and more about people spending all their time in front of televisions, computer screens, ipads, tablets and other electronic devices and less time sitting next to each other having a conversation. I hate that there is talk of creating an "alternate" reality through the technological world. (This idea both terrifies and sickens me.) But there are also things that I love. I love that internet access allows me to watch any television show I please commercial free and I can sort through the news without news stations deciding what to show me. I literally LOVE google and being able to search any topic then proceed to read, read, read and read some more on that topic and almost anyone related to it. However, even more than that I love blogs. I love being able to look into the minds and hearts of others, both friends and strangers, and realize I am not alone. Realize that my dream is actually shared by someone else.

I read such a blog by a man that I have never met but I hope to one day (This is about as unlikely as my meeting Adam Young or Bono but one must have dreams.) That man's name is Steven Kirby. He runs a program called Haiti H.E.R.O (www.haitihero.org take a second and check it out). It is an orphanage for children in Haiti being built and established to provide, safe housing, food, education, counseling and life skills development for children who have lost parents both before, during and after the earthquake. I strongly envy Mr. Kirby for several reasons. One I wish I had the gusto and know how to start such an organization and I wish I was there working along side him.(This is something God and I constantly struggle over, He says no I say yes. Take a guess on who wins that battle every stinkin' time!) It is his most recent blog post that has inspired a post of my own. (You can find the link for that post at the bottom of this post.) In his post he outlined my own passion and created what reads almost like a mission statement. He says "...the reality is, those of us that have the resources, the education and the means, have a responsibility to serve others. In the end, it is our country that we are fighting for. It is our world that we are fighting for. I will never be satisfied that my house is safe, my neighborhood is safe, or even my community is safe. I am obligated to reach outside of that to ensure that every house is safe and fed, every neighborhood is safe and protected, and that our country and the world is a place of success, not strife." It is a beautiful endeavor, even if it is an impossible one.

If you are anything like me nothing can break your heart more quickly than a scan through the evening news. It seems that the world I live in is bent on nothing more than destroying itself. No one is safe, no one is secure and everyone is at risk for harm. It is an idea that threatens to overwhelms me almost daily if I will allow it. It makes me want to shrink back into myself and ignore the world at large because I can't stop it all. It makes me want to disconnect my internet provider, turn off all my electronics and just live MY life and work MY sphere of influence. On the days I do this I am in blissful ignorance. My world happily shrinks down around me like that infernal plastic wrapping on CD cases, hugging my own skin and protecting me from any problems of an outside world. But again if you are like me you can't stand staying shut away because the world constantly whispers for help.

The reality is I can't save everyone. No the reality is I can't save anyone, not even myself. But I have a hope. I have a creator King who can save everyone. He didn't ask me to save myself, he didn't ask me to save anyone else. He just asked me to love Him and in loving him he put a passion in my heart for his people, his most valued creation. I want nothing more than to serve them, to love them and to see them (each and everyone of them) come to know the hope, wholeness and healing that I have found in his arms. This is my dream. A dream that I am encouraged to know is shared. I am delighted to find that I do not fight this battle alone because on so many days I feel like I do. It is a lie that I have to choose not to believe. (And that sentence can begin a whole other post all for itself about a king of lies that would isolate each one of us.)

So Mr. Kirby this post is for you. Thank you for reminding me that my Creator King did not set this passion in my heart alone. Thank you for reminding me that it doesn't matter where I am the world is hurting and hopeless and I can make a difference. To my sweet readers I pray you remember that as well. You are not alone. Perhaps your dream is not mine. Maybe yours has a different taste and feel. That's okay. It is your dream, it has been placed in your heart for a reason so pursue it and never forget you are not alone in your dream. Don't believe the lie that you are alone and all is lost. Frederick Buechner once wrote "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." Find your place. Find your joy and gladness and you will serve a purpose far grander than the short years of your life. I pray this for myself and for each of you. I pray that you find the "place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet" so that the mark we leave behind long outlast our own frail bodies and points forever forward and upward to a glorious King that can answer every heart cry and save ever wandering soul.

<3 kt

"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." ~ J.R.R Tolkien