Grace and peace to you …
One of my favorite things in life is to read stories to little children with exaggerated flare. It makes me smile to witness them scoot up close, put their hands on their chins, and really listen. The little things they pick up from what you read or share are amazing to me. Their minds are so innocent and free from the fear of stepping out of the bounds, which helps their imaginations take flight in ways that are so incredibly beautiful. It is in these moments that I am fully aware of our responsibility to the children of this world.
One of the hardest things I have had to do in my ministry as a Pastor called to global ministry is to visit countries where my hands have touched the face of a child hours before they died of HIV/AIDS, I have knelt on the floor in a hospital praying with a mother who was watching three of her children die for lack of medicine that they never should have been denied, and I have held the clothes of a child blown apart by a bomb explaining to her mother that the God she believed she saw in my eyes would not punish her by taking her child.
There are changes we need to witness in the world around us that actually happen when we allow the eyes of our heart to really see the pain and the suffering of those around us. We can become overwhelmed or we can begin to make choices with how we invest the minutes of our lives. My particular passion is to develop the capacity for strong leadership bases wherever my feet hit the ground. I love listening to peopIe, waiting for the moment that their eyes sparkle in hope, and encouraging them to follow in the direction of their particular passion or calling.
As I have traveled the world, there is something common that I have found about every strong leader I have met. They all are people who understand the importance of history. They have a way of mapping a way towards the future that reaches back to the “dust in the ground” of the past. They do this through their use of story. Sue Monk Kidd has shared that, “Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here.”
Next Sunday there is an invitation for the community of Central Methodist Mission to gather at 12:00 at the District 6 Museum to be together, celebrate the gift of life together in community, and to tell stories. There is no way to measure the impact of the telling of the stories of the District 6 community not just on the congregation here in Cape Town, but on those that hear them from around the world.
As each of us works towards the best ways to make a difference in the world around us, let us be formed and shaped together by the wisdom of the past.
Question for Reflection:
- As you think about the world you want to leave for the children of the next generation,
what changes do you hope to see? - How can you be a part of helping to bring about this change?
- Remember prayer, it makes a difference!
With you on the journey, Michelle
