Compassion

What does it mean to have it, give it, live it?? 
 
Does it mean generously opening up our checkbooks, spending our precious free time volunteering, or talking to a homeless person on the streets of Detroit?  I'm not sure exactly, but I do know that when I see people recognizing our strengths and using them to give back and help others - all with humility and grace - I am duly impressed and make a mental note to do better and strive to do the same.
 
I was just thinking this weekend that I have several examples of what I believe to be compassion, just among some of my rockstar girlfriends! (and these are only a few):

Sarah & Tracy - heading off to South Africa on Friday to once again be a a part of a medical mission trip to eSikhawini www.livefromsouthafrica.blogspot.com .  For months they have doggedly raised funds, collected and packed meds to spend two weeks providing hope & healing to those in dire need.  Safe travels and God speed, friends!

Alli - easily one of the most steadiest and trustworthy people I know, this lady is an organizational whiz!  She keeps our compassion committee at church right on track, and her servant heart is one that I've always admired.
 
Kate - a woman of faith and action, along with her heart for others - she's a triple threat!  Now overseeing a team of family social workers, in her own work she has peered into some really dark places in people's lives, and is always determined to help them recognize the good that she is convinced lies in us all, gosh darn it!
 
Jenny - her road to obedience of her heart's desire and God's calling was truly one to behold last year.  She fulfilled a longstanding dream to serve on Mercy Ships, and spent 3 months providing her best nursely duties to the people of Liberia.  What's next for her?  Who knows, I just hope she keeps us along for the ride!

I feel priviliged to witness these extraordinary journeys of compassion.  Maybe it's just the company I keep, and if so, keep it coming! :)

The anti-compliment

Apparently not everyone shares my efforts toward being more positive (see last post).
 
Yesterday I was walking out of an upscale grocery store towards my car, which was in very the first spot so I didn't have very far to go.  I was just holding my bag, not on the phone, minding my own business and my car beeped signaling the unlock mode from my remote.  A guy in his 40s was walking past me and says loudly, "look at your foreign car, I should jump up and down on the hood of that piece of s--t!".  Now while I'm sure some of you might agree with his sentiment, I am (fairly) certain that no friend of mine would condone his approach and disrespect.  And because I hold some pretty strong opinions myself, I walked around behind my car to tell the guy to say his statements to my face or keep them to himself, but he'd cowardly jumped into his car with his cackling cohort and drove off.  Certainly not necessary to explain to that guy or anyone else why we've recently decided to sell my car (which I love, by the way) and get a new one that he'd likely approve of. And since I didn't think it'd be good for my rep to be on the evening news whacking away at a beat-up truck with my oversized purse, I got into my "foreign car" (if anyone can offer up a reasonable definition of what that really means in a global economy).
 
Sometimes the actions of my fellow man can surely disappoint... 

It's complimentary, folks!

I was thinking about compliments this past weekend, mostly because my husbands gives them to me often (I know, I'm such a lucky gal, he even still buys me flowers often! :).  Also I heard some story on NPR on my drive home Friday evening that featured two guys in college at Purdue who stand outside for two hours every Wednesday afternoon shouting compliments at fellow students and passersby.  Now that may be a bit extreme, but its a nice sentiment and it got me thinking that I don't give them out enough.  I even sometimes squirm slightly when people give them to me, even though of course I'm secretly pleased.   But that's the point, right?  That you pass along some positive energy to your loved one/friend/colleague, or even a perfect stranger.  Who knows, you just might make someone's bad day a bit better.
 
So here's a happy Monday to all of the beautiful people in my life, especially my hunky husband! :)

A different kind of March madness

Boy, have things been busy.  Transition in the workplace etc, and now it is time to dust everything off and get rejuvenated for spring.  Truth be told, I've felt a bit like my life has been on autopilot for a couple months now, and I've often said that I start to unravel around the edges come late winter.  I'm tired of reading the tips in the magazines about how to put the "zing in the spring" of your life/job/workout/relationship, and ready to get out and do it!  I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that way, so feel free to share what kind of things you do to get yourself out of a rut.
 
I can't wait for the weather to truly break for spring, we went for a walk Monday after work, and I went out again on Tuesday for a nice bike break while the Barton was out with the boys.  By the way, ladies, I started to spring clean by weeding through (one of) my overstuffed closets and the first thing I did was thin out the purse collection, so there's some for the taking before they are donated...
 
So here's to spring (officially starts tomorrow - Mar 20)!
 
"A little madness in the spring
Is wholesome even for the king,
But God be with the clown —
Who ponders this tremendous scene —
This whole experiment of green —
As if it were his own!" ~ Emily Dickinson


 

Yeoman's work

My old boss used to use this phrase all the time for those who took up tasks at work that were not exactly easy or glamorous, and the origin actually comes from tenant farmers that were reputed for honest, hard work. 
 
And I use this phrase to commend the volunteer group from our church Genesis who came out Saturday morning to the Detroit Rescue Mission, were we ended up cleaning dirty bathrooms, wiping down the shelter beds & furniture, sweeping & mopping out the floors from the mess left from their unfortunate recent plumbing disaster.  Thank God for rubber gloves, that's what I say!  And thanks to our DRMM contacts Bruce & Marci, for Rob & Sarah & Alli for coordinating our service there, and I'm sorry that I can't remember everyone's names but we were a group of about 15 and boy did we get a ton of work done in a couple of hours!
 
After helping to serve dinner at one of their other buildings for a few years, our monthly service there has now evolved to facility work, organizing, assistance with chapel service, and the medical professionals among us helping out a new 24/7 medical facility.  Everytime we do a service project with them, I come away feeling humbled - by the many blessings in my life, and for God's grace in helping them to carry out their mission.  So the true yeoman's service award goes to the men & women on staff for the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries www.drmm.org, who are celebrating their 100th birthday this year!  WOW.  I'm currently mulling over ideas about how we can celebrate this amazing milestone with them, so stay tuned :). 

Timing

Or, more specifically, God’s timing. The story of us is a story of how God’s timing is perfect, how God took us at the right time when we were at the right place and brought us together. Our marriage is a good example where it’s obvious (at least to us!) that God’s perfect timing is a part of God’s plan that is to our good. But recently we’ve seen a number of events in the lives of our friends where it’s harder to see that God’s timing is to our good – losing jobs, losing love ones, at times that don’t fit into our plans.

While we are fortunate not to have to directly deal with issues as rough as these, circumstances have made it such that we will have to delay our plans to move from our condo into a house this year. It’s always hard when you have plans, when you want things to happen to a certain timetable, when you want one thing to happen before something else, and those plans turn out not to be God’s plans. But in this case, God has given Liv and I wisdom to see that waiting a year to move is the best move for us. God’s timing doesn't always agree with our plans, but it’s for our good – and as the entrance song to our wedding reception says, “I know that God, my God, God is good.”