Power of Observation

I watched my favorite episode of the show "Joan of Arcadia" tonight. Joan is a teenage girl who is sent on missions by God. God appears to her in many different forms and asks her to do things that make no sense at the time. In this episode, god asks her to invite the school bully to a school dance. After criticism from her parents, friends and the whole school, Joan did what she was asked to do. All she was asked to do was observe and listen. She was the only person who even gave him a chance to be someone other than what they saw. Often people live up to the expectations that are set for them. But what if those expectations are simply negative? What if all anyone expects you to do is fail and hurt people? Then what hope do you have in the world?

"Observation is a more powerful force than you could possibly reckon. The invisible, the overlooked, and the unobserved are the most in danger of reaching the end of the spectrum. They lose the last of their light. From there, anything can happen"  -Old Lady God (Joan of Arcadia)

 When I watch this show I wonder what it would be like to have God show up and ask you to do things. But then I think, he does. Sure he doesn't always show up as the bus driver, janitor or an old lady as he does in the show, but he does ask us to do things. He does ask us to observe, be present and notice. He does ask us to hang out with the marginalized, just as he did when he talked with the woman at the well, went to the tax collectors for dinner and asked some fishermen to follow him. God is always with us. But can we recognize his voice?

I admit I struggle with it.
                                   I struggle to hear his still small voice. 
                                                           It's hard to recognize a voice unless you have spent time listening to it. 

When Joan took time to observe and listen, she changed peoples lives. At the end of the episode, nothing would be considered "right" by our standards. People had their feelings hurt, guns were pointed and one person ended up in jail, yet by listening to God, Joan was able to change many lives. She stopped a school shooting because she took the time to see someone for who he really was and not for who others perceived him to be.

Though I might not stop a school shooting and speak to God face to face, there is power in observation. There is power in looking someone in the eye, recognizing that they are human. Recognize that they are created by God. Loved by God, just as I am loved by God. I am not more worthy of his love and grace than anyone else. Stop and see the people that are stuck on the outside, not included. The people that think they have no where else to turn because they are tired of being judged. These are the people that Jesus would have invited in, the ones that Jesus would have ate with. The ones that I am called to love.

Notice. Listen. Observe. Love.

Pray.

Spring Cleaning

I've had a whirlwind of events happen over the past few weeks. It was a blast going to watch my brother at his bowling tournament in Fargo. I enjoyed spending time with my mom shopping. (what we do best!) And after just 2 short days of teaching I was headed back home for spring break. I was able to ride shotgun this time next to the ever lovely Ruth Ashton. :) We enjoyed our adventure with the addition of some Shamrock shakes and sweet tunes.
Spending a week at home was refreshing. I did minimal amounts of school work which was great! Until Sunday night and I realized that I had no idea what I was teaching the next day. But I'm such a fabulous teacher that I walked in Monday morning and taught the whole day with no catastrophes. ;)
After a crazy week preparing for conferences and meeting with all of my fabulous parents, I was finally able to breath a little bit and enjoy a Friday with friends.We played some competitive games, enjoyed snacks and had a good time.

This weekend I spent about 5 hours at school on Saturday and 2 today in the hopes that I can enjoy my Easter break and maybe read a book just for fun (GASP!).

Even through all of the chaos, God has been able to tug at my heart and teach me. The scripture that keeps on reoccurring is from Luke 21:1-4. It is the story of the widows offering.

 ¹ As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

I keep hearing..."it's not about how much you give, it's about how much you have left." Wow. I realized how easy it is to avoid the poverty around me. I can simply live in my world of comfort with my own car, laptop, tv, and a fridge full of food. With each commercial, I realize how much I don't have. (or so I think) But in all reality, there are people that will go to bed hungry tonight. Families will go to bed tonight with no idea if there will be food tomorrow. But I think that I can't give any money because, I don't have a lot. It's true, I don't have a lot of money. There are days when I'm not sure if all of the bills will get payed. But then I remember the times I went out to eat, that new shirt I bought, the extra groceries I just purchased and God shows me how selfish I am. I know that God desires for us to take care of the widows and the orphans and I also realize that looks different for every person. But the reality is, sometimes that turns into an excuse doesn't it? We say, well it looks different for everyone... true. But shouldn't it look like something in your life? Shouldn't your life look different as you understand the command to go and make disciples? 

So, I open my eyes to see the world around me. God help me love people the way you love them.

Sometimes there is just so much clutter in our lives, so much extra junk that we get too distracted to see that God is trying to teach us something. I hope that you can take some time to do a little Spring cleaning! Make room to hear God's voice in your own life.