Jump Right In

As I write this I am on a mission trip with our church.  We are in Philadelphia, Mississippi working among the Choctaw people, Native Americans who have stood the test of time and lived powerful and humble lives in the face of adversity and prejudice.  This is the second year we have come here, and indeed these are an amazingly resilient people through whom God continually reveals Himself to us.
    This year we are working on three major worksites.  We are fixing things around the mission where we are staying (http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5759 ) , painting the exterior of a home, and doing major renovations on a home close by.  These renovations include fixing the roof, painting the outside, and completely redoing the kitchen and bathroom.  All to be done in 4 days and with one relatively experienced adult leader and a lot of youth and adult helpers.

    Since the family could not go without a bathroom, yesterday was the day when the team pulled out the bathroom, including the rotten floor.  As with many projects like this, the team thought they would simply pull up the vanity, toilet and bathtub, but once they got started, they realized that the whole floor had to come out.
    One of the adults started removing items from the small, hot bath, and as he did, cockroaches were skittering away and there was...well let’s call it “stuff”... “flying everywhere,” as he described it.  Not wanting to do it all himself he asked, “Anyone else want to come in here and help?”  Most of the youth standing and watching declined the offer, but one young woman said, “Sure!,” and jumped right in.  She proved herself to be quite good at demolition, despite all the “stuff” that was before the team.
    Then when the toilet was removed it was taken outside to the front yard.  At that point it was stated that

the toilet needed to be cleaned.  Another one of the youth picked up the cleaning supplies and got right on it, while the owner of the home joined her and they worked together to make it right.
    So often when I come on trips like this, it is the youth who teach me.  More often than not, they are the ones who step up to the plate and do the task that other refuse to participate in. They are the ones who reach out to the dirty, lice-headed children.  They are the ones who give the devotion that sets it all in perspective.  They are the ones who reach out to everyone, uninhibited, unafraid, and with enthusiasm and passion.  So often I come away from trips reminded that I need to be more like them.

    Time after time, in story after story, God reveals how we should approach life, and time and again, God says “Trust me.”  When God called Abraham, God said, “Follow me and I’ll give you more than you can imagine.”  Abraham did.  Moses was told, “Follow me and I’ll make you a free people.”  Moses did, and they were.  David faced a giant, and inside him there was a pull to step up trust in God.  David did, and the giant was defeated.
    What’s interesting about these stories, and many of the stories in the Bible, is that God said “Follow.  Trust,” and the response is, “Ok.”  The faithful jump in and do what they have to do, despite all the “stuff” that is before them.  Though there’s “stuff” flying everywhere, the faithful let God take care of all that stuff, and they simply live into God’s blessings.
    As I reflect upon what happened yesterday, I wonder how well I’m doing at jumping in and facing my “stuff.”  I wonder how well you are doing facing your stuff.  I hear God calling, and maybe you do to, saying “follow...trust.”  And when I hear that call, I have a choice, we have a choice.  Do we take the seemingly easy step and say, “I’ll pass”?  Or do we take a risk, jump right in, and get ourselves dirty in the stuff of life?
    Our youth, our example?  They choose the latter, and for that and them, I am eternally grateful.

What “stuff” are you facing?  What choice will you make?