Abolishing Poverty - yes we can!

A few days ago I read on my friend's, Andrew Marin, Facebook the following quote:

"You cannot abolish poverty unless you also abolish affluence."

Ouch. I hated that quote as soon as a finished reading it, yet something inside me resonated with a deeper "yes". I hate that quote - truth? - because I am a person of affluence. I can often fool myself into thinking I am not because I'm a pastor living in Orange County, CA, but the truth is I am very affluent compared to the world's standards. If you're reading this blog, you are affluent too. Don't believe me? Check out: http://www.globalrichlist.com/ for the proof.

I know I'm affluent because I'm typing this on a laptop, watching TV, have a few dollars in a savings account, own 2 cars, have a mortgage, am not worrying what's for dinner, and will sleep tonight in a king-size bed. And the honest truth is: I like my life. Thinking about abolishing my poverty is beyond challenging because it means that a lot of how I live would have to change! Of course, we 2 kids in Africa with World Vision. We live on less than we earn. We tithe more than 10%. For the love, we're adopting a baby. But that doesn't make me superior...it's only the beginning of loosening the hold on affluence in order to bring more equality to this world.

We can't abolish poverty and maintain our own standards of living.
It just won't work like this, but I wish it did.

I was talking to my 18 year old brother today, and he was sharing about his recent mission's trip to Mexico. His greatest take-away and frustration is how complacent we are. The truth is that abundance breeds complacency. It just does. I wish that abundance produced a passionate movement toward giving more away, helping the poor, saying "no" to the things we really do not need, but it doesn't. It lulls us into believing we need more, risk less, and maybe care a little bit about the need around.

Agh...I'm not calling you out. I'm calling me out. And I'm praying that this Baby Ethiopia journey propels us into less and less complacency. Any thoughts on what you've learned about this? How are you combatting complacency and abolishing poverty?

Sometimes the Best Things are Unseen

I was having lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with my best friend, Melissa, on Friday [BTW: never look at their nutritional information...it's enough to send you into an eating disorder], and she said something so profound: Sometimes the best work that God is doing isn't something you can see at first.

Think about pregnancy. Some of my best girls are preggers right now: Melissa, Cassidy, Sarah Beth, Betsy. You can't totally see what's changing inside of them, but you know something is being birthed in them that's life-changing. Life is being created within them.

Think about your greatest seasons of growth. Could you see the transformation at first? Could you articulate what was happening inside of you? Did your life at first fully reflect the change occurring beyond the naked eye? I doubt it.

Such has been my journey. The best things that have happened to my soul's growth and my character's formation have been unseen at first. It's part of the mystery of God that I so adore now. It's part of the cocooning of a caterpillar into a butterfly [see one of my first posts]. It's part of that connection to the Creator of the Universe that shapes me more into his likeness. It's part of the healing and humbling process that allows me to be more of me and less of an imposter.

I have to agree with Mel - sometimes the best things are unseen.

An Ultrasound of Life

A couple weeks ago some dear friends (Daniel & Cassidy Roach) invited me into a very private experience: the ultrasound where they would find out the gender of their baby! The day before Cassidy approached me with the proposition. She somewhat sheepishly said, "Since you're gonna be a momma but don't get to have an ultrasound to see your baby, we wanted to invite you to ours. If it would be too hard or uncomfortable, you totally don't have to come, but we wanted to invite you."

Instantly, tears! I couldn't believe that they would invite me into that sacred space to learn the gender of their baby with them. What a sacrificial and special action of love!

What I didn't expect was what would happen when I stepped into that ultrasound room. Background: I've had probably over 30 ultrasounds over the past year in our attempt to get pregnant. There were some weeks I had 3 or 4 ultrasounds. But every ultrasound produced disappointing - and at time devastating - results. No news. Bad news. No baby.

But in that room with Daniel & Cassidy, I saw the purpose of an ultrasound - to show off LIFE! It was amazing. Beautiful really to see a baby alive, moving, growing in a belly. Daniel & Cassidy didn't cry. I did. I couldn't help it. It was a redemptive moment for me. One I could not have received on my own.

Redemptive that there is a baby for us in Ethiopia, maybe even growing in her birth mom's womb right now. Redemptive that God's moved us into this new journey. Redemptive to experience such generosity from Daniel & Cassidy. Redemptive to see Life right in front of my eyes.

Thank you, Daniel & Cassidy, for inviting me into your life and allowing me to receive more Life. It's still overwhelming, humbling, and beautiful. I can't wait to meet your little boy. Maybe our little ones will someday get married! :) Love you both.