no years..

So, I’ve noticed that we tend to come to the end of the year, any year, celebrating

“Yes! - We’ve survived another year!”

A year of traffic jams and online rants, a year of hospital visits and awkward family gatherings. A year of not making the team or not getting that job. A year of feeling left out or of fighting cancer. For some it’s been a year of not enough, even though you probably still have more than most  people in the world. Maybe it’s been a year of fighting with your spouse or, fighting with yourself.

Whatever your year held for you that made you glad it’s over, I want to remind you - as I was reminded earlier today - that God doesn’t run in years, He runs in the eternity and there is no calendar that measures that. And the world runs in brokenness, and there is no glue that man makes that can fix that.

Last December, just a month ago, Brad happened upon a young man and bought him lunch. During lunch he discovered that this young man had a job at a local restaurant but it was only part time and so, he was living in his truck. Take a breath mom’s and dad’s and imagine your child living out of their car. I’m sure some of you don’t have to imagine. When I do, it catches my breath.

Just renting up here is prohibitive for many people, Terrace has far more homeless than you would expect.

Well, this young man (a kid really, someone’s baby) filled his tummy with that lunch and went on his way. I was quietly, deeply proud of Brad for just being who he is, and our Christmas went by without much more thought of it.

A few days after Christmas someone drove through the mall. Literally, drove in one door, through the mall and out through the other door. Later I discovered from a mall employee that the person was homeless and did it to get arrested so they could spend the night in a warm jail. Someone’s baby, breaking the law so they could just be warm for crying out loud.

People were calling him crazy

Really?

Crazy?

I suppose living on the streets would make you crazy.

I suppose we could all do a little more checking our privilege and counting what we have instead..

Wanting to be warm is not crazy

Today Brad messaged me..

 And my heart breaks..

Because we are all connected.

Because we have family that are not well, and we have friends asking for prayer for their family, and we have friends asking for prayer for their ministry and we have friends that are so broken in the darkness they can’t find the light and I am now in tears because we are all connected dammit. We are all part of God. 

You. Me. We, are no more removed from that homeless person who’s brain has been wrecked by meth than you are from your cousin, your teacher, your teammate, your self.

We are all broken, and we can’t fix our own broken-ness and we can’t fix others but we can share the love of the one who can, the one who is not bound by time, the one who died as much for you as for the person flipping you the bird in the merge lane. Just as much for you as for your teacher that won’t give you an inch, or the pastor you think has it all wrong. He died for your cross fit trainer, and the abortion Doctor. He died for the Roman guards that hammered the nails. 

I can’t even..

Once for all, people. Once for ALL

Time to drop your shit and pick up the cross, and when you see someone who just can’t, you ask them if they need help. You love them with Christ. 

He was someone’s baby too once..