How to Save the World: Step 1

Posted on 02.12.08 in Faith and there are 8 comments.

How can I change the world from the comfort of my suburban home?

How can I help the poor and oppressed while taking care of three little kids?

These are the questions that run through my head on a regular basis. There is so much I want to do, but it seems overwhelming and I don’t know where to start.

But, recently, I’ve figured out how I’m going to save the world.

My plan has 3 steps. And they all start with C. Because alliteration is a part of every good world saving plan.

Step 1: Contrast

My life is pretty homogenous. I’m surrounded by people like me. I go to church with people like me. I shop with people like me. My suburban-ness is so off the charts that I feel like I’m visiting the third world when I go to the Walmart on the “other side of town.”

I don’t actually know anyone who is truly in need. It’s pathetic really.

I have got to remember that the lives of most of the people in the world are nothing like mine.

I am not normal. We are not normal.

I have so much more to give than I think I do.

I need to be reminded of that - daily.

Daily Reminders

One way I do that is by reading blogs written by people whose lives look different from mine. Here are a few that I recommend:

1. The Uganda bloggers - this is a group of bloggers who are traveling to Africa to learn about the work Compassion is doing there. Many of these bloggers are like me. I think it will be eye opening - even life changing to read about their experiences. Click here to subscribe to the trip’s RSS feed. Click here for the list of blogs.

2. Licia and Lori - these are two women who are saving the lives of hundreds of kids in Haiti. They run a rescue center/clinic that serves malnourished children and adults in crisis situations.

Sometimes their posts are heartwarming - stories of children they’ve literally saved from starvation, people they’ve been able to give medical care to - and sometimes their stories are heartwrenching.

But this is life on the front lines. They are changing the world one precious little child at time.

(Warning: If you have a weak stomach, you might want to stick with Licia’s blog. Lori is the nurse and she documents some pretty serious cases.)

3. Rebekah’s Page - I’ve mentioned this blog before. It’s written by the parent’s of a little girl who had cancer (she’s currently in remission). This family’s faith and strength is incredibly inspiring. I’m regularly reminded what a precious gift my healthy kids are.

Eating My Way to World Change

Another thing I’ve done to increase the amount of contrast in my day to day life is to visit the parts of town that I don’t normally make it to on my way from private school to gymnastics lessons.

There’s a restaurant in Waco called The World Cup Cafe. It’s in a part of town that makes my middle class self a little nervous.

...So I took my kids there for lunch.

We were exposed to a different place, different people and some really yummy fries.

The contrast of that environment sparked some interesting “between sips of lemonade” discussions about need and how we can “share better” with people who don’t have as much as we do.

And You?

So the first step in my plan to change the world is actually pretty easy. I just need emerge from my middle class Christian bunker long enough to surround myself with people and environments that remind me that the world needs changing.

What are some ways you are or would like to bring contrast into your life?

Stay tuned for steps 2 and 3 ...(and in the meantime, don’t forget to check out those blogs...)

The Comments:

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I’m trying out living with a houseful of rejected, abandoned, unloved pregnant teens. That’s workin’ pretty good.

Wow. Um. That’s definitely a good Step 1 (2 AND 3).

That’s awesome Ryan.

Kat, this is great.  I’ve been thinking a lot about Isaiah 58:7 lately - “bring the homeless poor into your house.” What does it mean to really let reality of the poor be so present that it’s part of my daily life, something I encounter from the time I wake up until I go to sleep? 

And, also, I’m wondering whether we’re supposed to take that verse literally a lot of the time.  That takes some figuring out.  Or maybe it’s not complicated at all.

I was raised in a white suburb, and my husband and I built our first house in a suburb.  Then something radical happened.  I began working in an urban ministry, and the Lord called my husband and I to live among the poor.  Scared my family to death, and I lost some friends over it literally.  I saw the horror on some family member’s faces and heard the nervousness in voices when we were visited.  We stayed nearly seven years, and ultimately and rightly Buck became uneasy when the police began searching the yard for guns where our toddler children played. So he led us to a space I consider a long term retreat. As a result of living and working in the city, I know murderers and prostitues by name, and I can honestly say I love them.  When I watch the news, I flinch for the families as I sometimes know the person the police are hunting.  City life is difficult.  Believe it or not, I miss and long for the community and wonder if I’ll ever be called again into the life.  I hope so, but realize it might be after my children are raised.  Other families we worked with still live and work there now.
I consider my work with and on behalf of children now to be “unto the least of these”. 

Your first step to get to know other cultures is a good one, Kat.  You never know where it will lead.

In Houston, the contrast is a little easier for my kids (and me) to see.  One thing I plan on doing is spending a few minutes every night this week taking Lil’E through the Uganda blogs.  To give her that picture, and let her know how we are helping some kids in the same situation, is good for her heart.  And mine.

What an interesting post, Kat.  I have been thinking about this very subject recently.

I went to the very Walmart you refered to in your post on Saturday evening and found myself in a peculiar situation.  The store was filled with people I normally do not come into contact with on a daily basis.  Kids were running around, probably out way past their bedtimes, people talking really loudly, wearing house slippers and other odd clothing choices, bass blaring in the parking lot, a lot of “social rules” being ignored...you get the picture.  The thing that struck me was what happened when I got back to my car. 

I had parked a ways out for various reasons and parked next to my car was a nice looking vehicle with a nice looking middle aged woman approaching.  She saw me, smiled, and said, “We have to park this far out to make sure we don’t get hit, don’t we?” I smiled, said something trite in response and got in my car.  And then it hit me.  We versus them.  Do you see what I’m saying?  There was a “we vs. them” mentality.  I don’t know if anything of this makes sense, but since then, I have been somewhat bothered.  What bothers me the most is that, for a split second, I totally understood what she was saying and agreed.  Lord, please change my heart.

I look forward to having some discussions about this with you.

I grew up in a starched, Baptist, middle-America home that was, well, starched and overly clean.  And everyone I knew was like us.

While at Baylor, a friend started working at a street mission on Austin Ave close to the Raliegh Hotel.  The Raliegh was a dump, and housed tons of mental patients kicked out of the VA Hospital.  I came along one time, and it turned into every Friday and Saturday night. 

It was an interesting time.  I saw my first real-live demon-possessed person, freaked me out.  I saw drunks who were former deacons.  And most of the people I met, smelled like nothing I had ever been around.  I mean, everyone doesn’t wear button-down Polo shirts and Halston cologne?  It was quite a shock.

I fell in love with my wife at that mission after seeing her boldness for God.  She witnessed to everything that moved, while I drew them in with my guitar playing. (Hey boy, you know any Johnny Cash?  No, but let me tell you who I do know.)

We then became co-pastors with another man at a mission we started on Elm Street.  On the corner of Dallas & Elm there stands an old theatre building that for a short time housed a move of God. 

We saw prostitutes set free from drugs.  We saw men running from the cops sit in the back, then go back outside to get arrested because they were under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  We saw God touch the lives of many.  It was a great way to start a marriage.

Now, we have a sort of adopted teenaged daughter, that was rejected by both parents, for no reason we can find.  She has been loved on by us, and encouraged to move forward in life.  If she never made anything career-wise, we know she knew what it was like to be loved unconditionally. 

She didn’t smell so good.  She didn’t like herself, or anyone else.  But my daughter became her friend, because no one else would.  She is now happily married to a Christian man due to the example she saw in our home.  She has twin boys, and loves them in spite of never receiving that from her mom. 

You never know how God will use you in a person’s life if you will be open.

Sorry for such a long post, but I felt I needed to share that.

TIA,
“That takes some figuring out.  Or maybe it’s not complicated at all.” For some reason, that sentence really resonated with me.

TrueVyne,
Wow. I never knew that. That’s amazing and inspiring - thanks for sharing.

Euphrony,
Thanks for the idea. As soon as I read your comment I sat my 5 year old in my lap and we looked at some of today’s pictures.

MC,
Let’s have lunch. I’ll email you.

Deemus,
That’s incredible. Really incredible.

And don’t ever worry about long comments, you have a lot of wisdom to share, so write as much as you’d like!

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