Not Mine

The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.  Acts 4:32

Last week was a week of sweet lessons and love.  I showed the Young Disciple group at school a flyer about a group called the Homeless Angels who were seeking school uniforms for  the homeless children they helped.  The Young Disciples decided to organize an out of dress code day on Valentines day to help the Homeless Angels.  Each student who wanted to participate was asked to bring in a piece of uniform clothing or a financial donation.  Two days later, we delivered more than a dozen boxes of clothes and over $500.  I was overwhelmed by the generosity and love!  There have been several instances in the last year when this little school I’m so lucky to teach at has stepped up and burst forth with amazing generosity.  They have contributed hundreds of diapers  to Shared Pregnancy; tables full of toys and food to the needy and more than four thousand dollars to former students taking mission trips.  When I read about the way the new church shared and took care of one another in the book of Acts, I can’t help but  make a connection to our little town.

A few weeks ago, our word of the week was opposite.  We talked about mercy being the opposite of hate and peace being the opposite of anger.  They made lots of great connections that week and recognized some habits that we need to swap with an opposite behavior.  That lesson came to mind when I was searching YouTube for class videos.  I came across the clip from Finding Nemo where the seagulls are all yelling “Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine” and I had to laugh at what an opposite it was to the week we’d had at school. I suppose it can be easier than we’d like to admit to get sucked into thinking about ourselves first.  We live in kind of a crazy world and it doesn’t take much to slip into self-preservation mode.  I’ve had some beautiful reminders lately about why that’s such a bad idea.

Friday and Saturday I had the  privilege of visiting the Diocese of Saginaw and meeting some truly beautiful people!  They reminded me that some of the most powerful things we need in our life are simple and certainly not meant to be kept to ourselves.  I marveled at the way they laughed so easily and genuinely connected with each other over simple conversation.  I saw tears mixed with laughter and hugs mixed with stories and true hearing mixed with the listening.  It was such a gift to my spirit to see such genuine faithfulness.  There was no “mine, mine, mine, mine” it was us…children of God…us!

This verse from the Acts of the Apostles was shown to me in two  very different ways this week.  I saw it’s literal, material meaning and I saw it’s spirit meaning.  I watched people give generously of their stuff and generously of themselves.  Both were so powerful.  I think that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.  I can share my stuff and comfort you from the outside but when that’s followed with  some giving from the inside; our patience and compassion, big things happen.  I saw a quote recently the said, “Be the change you want to see.”  The world changes when people have basic needs but it changes SUBSTANTIALLY when  people are loved and valued.  Lets work on that!

A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of ten things you will share this week.  Be sure your list includes both material things and things from the heart like a conversation or extra  patience or a cup of coffee with someone who just needs to be heard.

Blessings on your day!