walk two moons
No, i'm not going to review the book about Miss Salamanca Tree Hiddle that we all read in 7th grade (back then i would have told you that, unlike the rest of the public middle school population, i was not a fan), but i am stealing its title. And the proverb after which it was adapted (which, in all fairness, the author stole from the Native Americans). But i'll get to that in a minute.
Those of you who took the time to read the journal entries i wrote in Colombia (or those of you who made it to the second entry, anyway) will hopefully remember a particular middle-aged man i encountered at the Houston airport who - unless by some measure God chooses to prove His sense of humor once more in my life - shall forever remain nameless, though never forgotten. Here was a man who, despite all of his imperfections and oddities, managed to weasel his way into my heart in a way that is not often expected from complete strangers. You may also recall my desire to drop everything and accompany him on his journey, wherever that may have lead - even if it meant scrapping my own plans to do it. Well, i didn't scrap my own plans, and i got on my plane to Colombia, and i'm fairly certain that was what God wanted me to do at the time...but in any other circumstance, i honestly believe i would have made the sacrifice to spend time with this man, which probably would not have ended up being much of a sacrifice at all, really.
Lately, similar urges seem to be dominating my daily routine (i say routine, but the truth is i never quite know what's going to happen from one day to the next, and i kind of like things that way). I walk through the deli at the local Super Wal-Mart and feel led to deliver a word to the lady with worn eyes shucking corn by the watermelons. I'm not quite sure what that word is, but i know once i approach her it will come to me. I drive down MA-3 on my way home from work and wonder where the guy cruising beside me is going, who he's going home to, and what he's having for dinner. I can't exactly follow him home and invite myself into his livingspace, but i'm positive if i did, there would be work for me there.
My heart has a train of thought, but my mind is not following. The spiritual wants to act upon these instincts, but the physical recoils. I begin to wonder if i'm not just a nutcase after all (so far, from an outsider's perspective, i'm potentially a stalker with schizophrenic tendencies). But i also know that i've been bestowed the gifts of prophesy and discernment. Does that give me permission to stalk people? I'm thinking not. So, what, then?
"Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." This proverb began haunting me tonight in the shower, of all places. I was thinking about The Simple Way, and about all the nameless faces i come in contact with every day that i could be reaching out to but am not. I don't believe the reason for this is a lack of faith necessarily, but rather an inability to interpret the stirrings of the Holy Spirit within me. By no means am i afraid to make a move (well, okay, sometimes i am). Mostly, though, the ways in which i feel drawn to act upon certain suspicions just seem absurd. But while i understand that this particular proverb is meant to be taken metaphorically, i can't help wondering if it's possible that God might sometimes be calling us to take it literally. And if so, what's stopping us?
How can we judge others if we have not stepped into their shoes (if they have any) and walked the roads they travel every day and slept in the same place they lay their head every night? How can we judge them if we have not endured their hardships or celebrated their blessings? Even now, as my mind is consumed with such questions, i am relatively clueless as to what message God is trying to get through to me - besides the obvious, that is. I know faith without action is dead, but action without direction is also stupid.
Perhaps i'm to start a campaign of some sort, a Walk Two Moons Campaign where i gather a few obliging souls and hit the streets, commissioning ourselves as live-in help for two days to complete strangers. We put away their groceries, walk their dogs, share dinner and exchange stories...? Yeah. Believe me, it sounds just as nutty to me as it does to you.
And yet, i kind of like the idea.
Those of you who took the time to read the journal entries i wrote in Colombia (or those of you who made it to the second entry, anyway) will hopefully remember a particular middle-aged man i encountered at the Houston airport who - unless by some measure God chooses to prove His sense of humor once more in my life - shall forever remain nameless, though never forgotten. Here was a man who, despite all of his imperfections and oddities, managed to weasel his way into my heart in a way that is not often expected from complete strangers. You may also recall my desire to drop everything and accompany him on his journey, wherever that may have lead - even if it meant scrapping my own plans to do it. Well, i didn't scrap my own plans, and i got on my plane to Colombia, and i'm fairly certain that was what God wanted me to do at the time...but in any other circumstance, i honestly believe i would have made the sacrifice to spend time with this man, which probably would not have ended up being much of a sacrifice at all, really.
Lately, similar urges seem to be dominating my daily routine (i say routine, but the truth is i never quite know what's going to happen from one day to the next, and i kind of like things that way). I walk through the deli at the local Super Wal-Mart and feel led to deliver a word to the lady with worn eyes shucking corn by the watermelons. I'm not quite sure what that word is, but i know once i approach her it will come to me. I drive down MA-3 on my way home from work and wonder where the guy cruising beside me is going, who he's going home to, and what he's having for dinner. I can't exactly follow him home and invite myself into his livingspace, but i'm positive if i did, there would be work for me there.
My heart has a train of thought, but my mind is not following. The spiritual wants to act upon these instincts, but the physical recoils. I begin to wonder if i'm not just a nutcase after all (so far, from an outsider's perspective, i'm potentially a stalker with schizophrenic tendencies). But i also know that i've been bestowed the gifts of prophesy and discernment. Does that give me permission to stalk people? I'm thinking not. So, what, then?
"Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." This proverb began haunting me tonight in the shower, of all places. I was thinking about The Simple Way, and about all the nameless faces i come in contact with every day that i could be reaching out to but am not. I don't believe the reason for this is a lack of faith necessarily, but rather an inability to interpret the stirrings of the Holy Spirit within me. By no means am i afraid to make a move (well, okay, sometimes i am). Mostly, though, the ways in which i feel drawn to act upon certain suspicions just seem absurd. But while i understand that this particular proverb is meant to be taken metaphorically, i can't help wondering if it's possible that God might sometimes be calling us to take it literally. And if so, what's stopping us?
How can we judge others if we have not stepped into their shoes (if they have any) and walked the roads they travel every day and slept in the same place they lay their head every night? How can we judge them if we have not endured their hardships or celebrated their blessings? Even now, as my mind is consumed with such questions, i am relatively clueless as to what message God is trying to get through to me - besides the obvious, that is. I know faith without action is dead, but action without direction is also stupid.
Perhaps i'm to start a campaign of some sort, a Walk Two Moons Campaign where i gather a few obliging souls and hit the streets, commissioning ourselves as live-in help for two days to complete strangers. We put away their groceries, walk their dogs, share dinner and exchange stories...? Yeah. Believe me, it sounds just as nutty to me as it does to you.
And yet, i kind of like the idea.
posted by audrey at
10:05 PM
1 Comments:
I read and enjoyed this.
Several days ago, it seems.
Time for something new.
:)
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