Day 26 / The Wound

I was working with a Christian school in Indiana, waiting in my office for a sixth grade boy who was having "difficulties getting along." I knew his family, and his disruptive behavior didn’t seem to be a big stretch from the dark environment he faced daily. Everything from his clothing to his posture, to his sullen eyes spoke of the turmoil and pain already clogging his young heart.

As he spoke, his words were surprisingly acidic for someone his age. There seemed to be no filter on what he would say or how he would say it. Of course, he was not doing well among his classmates or with his teacher.

I tried to maintain a receptive demeanor and welcoming posture, but his stance became more and more defiant. He did express that he didn’t want to get "kicked out of school," so I suggested that maybe we could work on a plan together with his teacher that everyone could live by. But I also assured him that his behavior and conversation would have to improve significantly, at least while he was at school.

At this, he looked piercingly at me and growled, "I know what you people are like. I know what you are all about. I know what you are after. I’m not stupid like the others you are used to dealing with. No one is going to make us do anything!"

That is not the worst thing anyone has ever said to me...by far! But it may have been the moment when I felt the most pain for someone. He was only in the sixth grade. Someone was planting deep seeds of paranoia in him. The "us" in his final statement made it clear that some extreme voices had gained traction in his young mind, and their message was clear: "You can’t trust anyone."

Motives are a mystery. Most of us imagine that ours are consistent, readily recognizable, and often exemplary. It is others we have to watch. Our perception of our own motives is often the standard we use when judging others, and of course we often imagine ourselves as more pure and trustworthy. Even when we have clearly done something wrong, we often have "good reasons" for what we did. And when others do wrong, both their deeds and their motives are questionable at best.

Quite a mystery. I am guessing that only Jesus had perfect motives every time. That could probably speak volumes to us, and maybe even bring healing to some of our relationships.

- Don McLaughlin

Day 26 / Spider-Man

So, I was shopping a few days ago for a train for my grandson, Cooper, and I was drawn to the Spider-Man stuff. Because I will happily go off on tangents, chase rabbits, etc., I started thinking about the Spider-Man movies and the background for them. I’m sure I could have saved time and effort if I had just asked some kids to tell me about Peter Parker and his alternate identity.

Simply put, Peter Parker was a nerd...a science geek. He was doing a science experiment and was bitten by a dying, irradiated spider. This would be why we don’t allow live animals in science fair experiments. This dying spider imbued Parker with spider-like tendencies, and (according to the movie) his aunt made him a Spider-Man costume.

Okay, so here's the point of this: Spider-Man and Peter Parker are "do good anyway" kinds of guys. In school, Peter Parker was ridiculed for being a good student; he didn’t stop being a good student because of that, he just kept on. Later on, as a photographer for a newspaper, his boss (the editor of the paper) hated Spider-Man and made him out to be some kind of freak villain; Spider-Man just kept saving people.

No fuss. No production. No shame. He just kept on doing good anyway. Oh, he got confused a few times (they had to have something to make three movies’ worth), and he made some poor decisions. But, on the whole, he did good anyway.

None of us is Spider-Man--although I still see quite a few during trick-or-treat time. But we all have had people make fun of us for something we did--even though our motives were pure and good--we were accused of grandstanding. Most of us likely have just gone ahead and done the right thing. We’ve done good anyway.

- Sheree Yasko Hill

Day 25 / Heart Change

There’s this scene in the movie Scrooged where the main character, Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray), is being shown Christmas present (you know-–Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future?) by the "Ghost of Christmas Present" (played by Carol Kane).

In this scene, they are looking in at Frank’s brother’s home. The brother, James, and his wife are hosting a holiday get-together and James is sharing his hope (that Frank will come to the party) with his realistic and somewhat cynical wife. She is at once protective of her husband and his feelings, as well as somewhat condemning of Frank. The thing that stands out to me in this scene is the hope that James Cross shows...the implacable faith he places in his brother and the unconditional love he has for Frank despite the terrible way that Frank treats him.

Admit it: We all know someone who is really hard to get along with. Everything always seems to be about them. Logic is obviously not even their Facebook friend. They are unreasonable at the best of times. They are hard to love...sometimes really hard to love.

When I was a young mother, I attended a congregation in which the women had "Secret Sisters." Have you ever played that? You put your name on a piece of paper and put it in a bowl. Then everyone comes and draws a name out, and that person is your Secret Sister. The rules are different sometimes, but the general deal is that you get them a card or small gift on holidays and for their birthday, anniversary, etc. But the biggest thing is that you commit to pray for them for one year. Every day for one whole year, you lift your Secret Sister up to the heavenly Father, asking Him to bless her.

So, I was game. I put my name in the bowl along with many others. When it came time to draw a name out, I drew the name of someone...wait for it...someone I didn’t like. In fact, there could not have been two people any more opposite than Debbie Thornton and me. We had absolutely nothing in common. And here I was, committed to praying for her EVERY DAY for ONE WHOLE YEAR!

At the end of that year, I will tell you that Debbie and I still had nothing in common. We didn’t have the same friends. We didn’t go to the same places. In fact, we never even saw each other very much, except for church--and not even all the time.

But I will also tell you that my attitude totally changed about her. God had worked on my heart during that year.

- Sheree Yasko Hill

Day 24 / Quit Digging

It doesn’t make sense to bury the things that can bless us or bless others, but it happens all the time. Why do we do it? We almost always feel better after we have worked hard for something and given a valiant effort. There is a sense of "good pride" in the fact that we have given our very best to something. We almost always feel good after we have served someone in need. Part of what makes our celebration lunch so enjoyable after Serve Day is that we have worked hard with each other for the good of others.

So why do we bury our talents? One website gave six reasons why we do not give of ourselves to help others.

1. Fear of not measuring up to expectations

2. Insecurity in our abilities

3. Fear of criticism

4. Apathy or laziness

5. The reward doesn't appeal to us

6. We are not connected with the person(s) needing or wanting us to get involved.

Read through the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Now look carefully again at this list of six reasons why we do not give of ourselves to help others. Which of the six reasons are present in the story Jesus told? Can you relate to any of the six, or even with the one-talent guy in the parable?

It seems to me that the key issue is ultimately reason #6. My reasoning for this is that when we have a close relationship with someone, we will overcome all the other reasons that would keep us from getting involved. There have been many times in my life where I thought to myself, "I could never ___________." (You fill in the blank.) But then one of our children may have needed that kind of care or involvement, and the next thing you know, we were right there doing the very thing we thought we could never do.

In the parable, the wicked and lazy servant did not have a relationship of respect or love for his master, so that made it easier for him to just dig a hole in the ground and bury the talent. In our 40-Day Journey we are challenged to use the gifts God has provided for us. We need to put away our "shovels" and stop digging holes of apathy, fear, or anything else. Let’s pray that we will love others fully and actively from the heart, and that will give us the strength to overcome any excuse for not helping them.

- Don McLaughlin

Day 24 / Faithful With a Few Things

When I was four weeks old, my parents moved to south Florida. They didn’t move because they’d always wanted to live in sunny south Florida. They moved because I was born with a lung condition that is now called Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Waaaaayyyyyy back then, it was generally considered untreatable, and many babies died because of it. In fact, when my mother gave birth to me, the doctor told them that I likely would not live. But two weeks later, they were able to take me home. That doctor, as well as a pediatrician, advised my parents to move to a tropical climate.

So, my parents and their four-week-old daughter loaded up and moved to south Florida. No jobs. No house. But my mom’s sister and her husband lived there. So they--we--moved in with them and their three children.

My dad, who was 21 years old at the time, found a job sweeping the floors at night in a tool and die factory. He worked very hard, and while he was there he learned how to run a die press. Older men who worked there began teaching him that trade. It wasn’t long until they passed the word along to the floor boss about this young man who showed aptitude and had a good work ethic. The floor boss decided to give this young man a chance. Eventually, they found someone else to sweep the floors. As years passed, this hard-working man was given more responsibility and he took opportunities to obtain schooling and skill. He was diligent, responsible, and honest. By the time he was 36 (just 15 years!), he was the vice-president of this manufacturing company which had grown and prospered.

Matthew 25:21 and 23 say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things...”

I believe that if we are faithful with a few things (like the gift we’ve been given to bless others with), we will be given more opportunities to use our own resources to help others.

- Sheree Yasko Hill