Ashleigh Hill's Blog
The people. / 07.13.10, 04:58 PM
Either I am nobody or I am a nation. – Derek Walcott
This morning I was sitting with some of our women eating breakfast and one of our residents walked in the room and asked, “Does anyone know where Ashleigh is?” I was sitting right in front of her and said, “I’m right here.”
She said, “I didn’t see you, you looked like the people.”
I said, “I am the people.”
She said, “You look like the people.”
I only have a few weeks left at Breakthrough and I’m trying to nail down lessons I’ve learned from working at a homeless shelter. There are so many that it’s almost impossible and I’m not really sure why I feel the need to do it. Closure maybe? Let me make a firm statement that there is no closure to this year. It will continue to occupy me for (I hope) the rest of my life.
Somewhere I read that “the people must be for the people” and that is the largest truth I have learned. I understand the value and importance in knowing that God knows us individually; I believe it is a life-altering realization. Loving yourself helps you best love God and others. Seeing Christ in others is also life altering. The importance of putting all others on the exact same level as you is just as imperative. Eugene Peterson won me over when he wrote, “I am not myself by myself.”
Sometimes, when people hear this argument, they get antsy – like an idealistic political system for forcibly sharing all our money is being promoted. No. I don’t believe in political systems or money. I believe in Jesus. I believe in making myself exactly equal to everyone. Also, I might add that doing this is nearly impossible, which is another reason I believe in Jesus.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Romans 12:2-5
I’ve learned that I believe in the people more than I believe in discussable ideologies (although I do love a good discussion). “[People] are the light of the world.” I want to put down my reasons for not giving someone 50 cents and I want to give them 50 cents. I want to view a friend’s abusive boyfriend as a human being and not only as an abuser (while not condoning his behavior). I want to look at someone, anyone, and see that that person is Jesus, no matter how they are treating me. I am still far from this. I want to make eye contact with everyone who speaks to me. I want to know that the God I doubt in my head is infinitely smaller than the real God.
Last week I was at Cornerstone Music Festival recruiting for Mission Year. The two tables next to ours belonged to two organizations I think have this figured out. One was Random People Who Care (http://randompeoplewhocare.com), an online organization praying for people who ask for prayer. Every morning at the festival they got together and prayed specifically for everyone who asked for prayer the day before. The other organization was ChristCycles (www.christcycles.com). They build bikes and sell them for $250 (it’s worth over $300). They then work with local churches to find people who need bikes and can’t afford them. Then they sell them the very same bike for about $40. Obviously they make no return. They fund it with their own money from day jobs. I asked the owner how long they plan on having a non-lucrative business and he said, “for the rest of my life.”
Today a woman who has had the biggest positive influence on our time at Breakthrough moved out. I couldn’t even look at her without crying because she is an encouragement to me. She thinks she doesn’t know the Lord as well as we do, which is a lie that blows my mind wide apart. She is a saint. During a Come-and-See Weekend she said she couldn’t believe we were making her a part of our lives and introducing her to our families. I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that I want to live a life that never makes anyone feel like they are not worth introductions.
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Mmmm…
I just want to say “amen”!
By Hawley / Jul 14, 09:05 AM / #
thanks for this!
By Claire McCoy / Jul 15, 03:54 PM / #