Day 6 and 7

Well, yesterday I was sicker than I have felt for awhile (scary but true) so I went to bed at 8:00 and didn't get up until 11:00 this morning... so, no Christmas movie yesterday. Today however, I watched the classic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Yep... truly a classic. My favorite is the elf who wants to be a dentist and his revenge on the bumble snowman... By the way, did you know that Bumbles bounce? hahahaha. Classic. On the more serious side, I got an email today from my boss that really sobered me. In our art room at Siloam there is one painting that simply says:"my mother didn't feed me. 1 Timothy 5:8". I've looked at it many times, but never took the time to look up what the verse was. My boss did today and this is what it says: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." The context is in caring for the widows in our midst, but the rawness of the painting is still as powerful. We are commanded to care for our own, to make sure that they are loved and looked after. When it doesn't happen, deep wounds occur. The creator of this painting feels that wound. This patron feels the abandonment of that, the betrayal of it, and the bitterness of it as well. Five words that speak volumes in the context of the verse. That in many ways is why places like Hope City and Siloam exist. We become family, we become ones who care when many feel like no one else does. It's not about the food, or the clothing, or the services provided. It's about the connections, the friendships, the life that gets spoken into the hearts of those who come in, and the life they speak into me. We say at Siloam alot, we can't save anyone, and we aren't supposed to. We are there to love as Jesus loved, to pray and to point them to the One who can save them, who can heal them, who can change them from the inside out. I believe that in doing so, everyone grows and changes, especially me. I remember Lisa saying that prayer is weakness. It's recognizing there is nothing I can do, and depending on God for everything. Prayer makes more and more sense to me everyday. There is a wind chill warning tonight, as it is supposed to feel like -40 degrees. I can do nothing to change the homeless situation, but I can pray and obey and as my friend Deb says, and then get out of the way. The truth of it is, being weak is exactly what we are supposed to be.