Home at last
I landed in Toronto on Sunday night, at about 11:30. I was (and am) happy to be home. It was a long, very busy trip, but it was also a great experience. I won't say too much about it here, as I don't want to spoil anything for my articles! Suffice it to say that I have a lot to write about.
As for the comments on poverty I made in my last posting, I have come to realize that God has been putting it on my heart in the last year or so to figure out some way to help improve the situation. As Greg mentioned in his response to my thoughts (see comments from my last post), it is a challenge to help in a constructive, truly useful way that actually makes a difference long-term. Choosing reputable charities that are doing responsible, effective, meaningful work is one way to do this, but I feel that I shouldn't stop there. I guess this is one reason why I'm becoming a Big Sister -- my "little" (as they are called) won't necessarily be poverty-stricken, but I assume she will have some sort of challenge to overcome. As Greg also mentioned, praying for God's guidance in this area cannot be stressed enough, and is something I should really do more of. Once you start really looking for ways to help, I think opportunities present themselves quite regularly. I currently have a few other ideas in mind, but I'd better discuss them with Joseph before committing myself to anything here!
I think it was Joseph who first kind of tweaked my curiosity regarding the poor when he told me quite some time ago that he wished he could help all the homeless guys on the streets of Toronto, and how he'd talk to each one of them, help them if they asked, and give them whatever tools and resources necessary to get a job and straighten out their lives. (I hope he doesn't mind me saying this!). More recently, I toured a mission of the Presbyterian Church in downtown Toronto called Evangel Hall, and interviewed a man whose life has improved since going there. It made me realize that change is possible.
And of course, my trip to Ethiopia was my first real glimpse into the depths of poverty, and how the desire for survival leads people away from their homes in rural/isolated areas to the city, where they think prosperity is promised, but is never actually realized (much like Natives in Canada leaving reserves to find a job in the city, only to be rejected, beginning a dizzying downward spiral).
All of this said, I'm certainly not of the camp that believes all riches are bad, and that we can't enjoy little luxuries if we really want to help those less fortunate. I believe God blesses us in a multitude of ways, and those of us who are well-off (which we are, compared to most of the world's population) have simply been given the means to help others.
Anyway, I feel like I'm starting to preach again, so I should end it here. I am still learning, figuring things out, and determining what all of this poverty stuff means to me. It's most definitely an interesting excursion.
Until next time,
A.
"He [God] sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky." - The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis
As for the comments on poverty I made in my last posting, I have come to realize that God has been putting it on my heart in the last year or so to figure out some way to help improve the situation. As Greg mentioned in his response to my thoughts (see comments from my last post), it is a challenge to help in a constructive, truly useful way that actually makes a difference long-term. Choosing reputable charities that are doing responsible, effective, meaningful work is one way to do this, but I feel that I shouldn't stop there. I guess this is one reason why I'm becoming a Big Sister -- my "little" (as they are called) won't necessarily be poverty-stricken, but I assume she will have some sort of challenge to overcome. As Greg also mentioned, praying for God's guidance in this area cannot be stressed enough, and is something I should really do more of. Once you start really looking for ways to help, I think opportunities present themselves quite regularly. I currently have a few other ideas in mind, but I'd better discuss them with Joseph before committing myself to anything here!
I think it was Joseph who first kind of tweaked my curiosity regarding the poor when he told me quite some time ago that he wished he could help all the homeless guys on the streets of Toronto, and how he'd talk to each one of them, help them if they asked, and give them whatever tools and resources necessary to get a job and straighten out their lives. (I hope he doesn't mind me saying this!). More recently, I toured a mission of the Presbyterian Church in downtown Toronto called Evangel Hall, and interviewed a man whose life has improved since going there. It made me realize that change is possible.
And of course, my trip to Ethiopia was my first real glimpse into the depths of poverty, and how the desire for survival leads people away from their homes in rural/isolated areas to the city, where they think prosperity is promised, but is never actually realized (much like Natives in Canada leaving reserves to find a job in the city, only to be rejected, beginning a dizzying downward spiral).
All of this said, I'm certainly not of the camp that believes all riches are bad, and that we can't enjoy little luxuries if we really want to help those less fortunate. I believe God blesses us in a multitude of ways, and those of us who are well-off (which we are, compared to most of the world's population) have simply been given the means to help others.
Anyway, I feel like I'm starting to preach again, so I should end it here. I am still learning, figuring things out, and determining what all of this poverty stuff means to me. It's most definitely an interesting excursion.
Until next time,
A.
"He [God] sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky." - The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis
posted by Amy | 7:11 PM
2 Comments:
Love the Lewis quote...
If C.S.Lewis wrote a book explaining to me that I needed, for some reason, to jump off of a bridge, I would probably do it without hesitation. Maybe I think just a little too highly of that guy. Maybe not.
Here's a relevant one that I really like:
"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small."
-Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Definitely food for thought.
Great quote, Joseph. Clive Staples sure had it together.
A.
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