Many of you may be familiar with the term "Great Awakening" from history class or the history channel. Wikipedia claims that there were four such great awakenings in Christianity, where waves of people were revived to "spiritual enthusiasm." People, essentially, woke up. This means that they had to be sleeping....or dead. I've been having many thoughts lately on other ways people are woken up. Alarm clocks. Roosters. Sunrises. Pouncing dogs and purring cats.
Kids. They are little beings that imprint and emulate people around them. Their brains often soak up information told, inferences observed, and incorrect ways of living. When I look back at the past school year and all that happened at our after school program, I'm amazed at the many things the kids learned. Even just after one year, academic ability, knowledge capacity, and kickball prowess showed very visible growth in the kids. They will only learn what is taught them. Before this school year, I don't think any of them ever heard of Argentina, Antarctica, Turkey, Benin (I didn't know this one) and knew there were other cultures. How important is it for a kid to know that the national sport of Argentina is called Pato? Not much, but it opens their minds to learning new things. It seems that the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know about the world. When I first experienced poverty up close and personal, I had a "waking up" moment. When you are dreaming, are you ever confused as to whether or not you are sleeping? Many times, I only know that I was dreaming after I wake up. I can imagine that this is the same with when someone comes to put their trust in God and Jesus comes into their heart.
I wish I could explain with words the way this metaphor of waking up makes me feel when I think of things such as Christ dying and raising on the third day. Awake and asleep. Alive and adead. I'm going to use a fourth grader from our program as an example. I may have mentioned this before but the more I tell people about my year, I tend to share stories about this kid the most. Diallo began the year barely able to read. He would recognize the first letter of the word and guess what the word was (almost always wrong guesses). He did addition by counting on his fingers. A fourth grader. He began the year as a wild child, climbing fences, not following directions, not wanting to learn anything. Who wants to work on things they're not good at? After only one year, God has graced us 2nd Mile Ministries volunteers, interns, and staff with very visible growth. Diallo now loves to learn new things, especially on his own. He is a thinker and is very strategic when it comes to figuring things out. He can multiply decimals and fractions now. He is a stickler for following the rules and even helps other students make right choices. He can read near grade level now, he even reads the Bible during reading time. His choice, not ours. God is definitely doing things we can take no credit for. I feel blessed that God has used us to wake up some gifts and abilities in Diallo that may have otherwise been unseen and unexplored had he not attended the program and gotten personal love and attention from the volunteers.
Our long term dream and vision at 2nd Mile is to come along side people from the community and empower them to lead others in the community forward, not necessarily out of their lower standard of living, but forward and closer to their creator and more like Christ.
Because you are human, I can assume that there are tons of people that you once knew from your past (school, previous jobs) that you haven't seen, heard from, or talked to for years. Have any of those people ever called you out of nowhere just to see how you were doing or what you've been up to? How do you feel when that happens? This past year I've experienced a frustrating and deadening feeling of solitude. Living in a big house, having an entire floor to myself often sucked the life out of me. Without fail, every single time I caught up with a friend from home, I felt encouraged, like part of my past woke up, part of me was encouraged and felt more alive than before. I would just encourage you that if you feel like no one even cares about you or even recognizes your existence, think of someone and wake them up instead. There are so many scriptures where Paul makes an extra journey just to see some Christians in order to encourage them. There's something about reconnecting with people that makes me feel alive. I pray that if I'm able to see you or talk to you at some point this summer that you are encouraged. I know I'd be encouraged.
This past weekend I went to a wedding in LaCrosse, WI for a friend who I met on the Milwaukee summer project summer of '09. I got to see him as well as four other project friends. Reconnecting with friends who went through very life-changing experiences with me was like getting an electrical shock through my in-a-coma self. Ever go through life doing the same old same old, wondering what the heck life is all about? Sometimes last year I felt very much like in a dreamlike state of mind. Please pray that support raising this summer is more than just "fundraising" but an experience that shows mutual encouragement and extreme dependence on God for provision. Perhaps God will put it on your heart to give, or maybe he has already.
Please be blessed by this song by Leeland called "Great Awakening." The lyrics describe so much about what I hope and feel for not only Jacksonville, but for all relationships everywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mj8I1chdB0
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