#PeopleMatter -stop staring at the problem

Last night I wrote a paper about the problem of evil in the world and the more I study, the more I have conversations with every day people, the more I stare at this computer screen I see more vividly that evil is a problem. But evil existing is not the only problem that I see.

Yesterday at church a missionary said a few words about the work that he and his wife do and about the work of the Church. He gave us the image of the burning buildings on 9/11/2001. The image of so many people running away from the smoke and dust; fear stricken, utter terror, chaos. But while those people were running away there were other men and women running toward the flames. They knew there were lives to save and were willing to do ANYTHING to save them. This is the work of the Church.

Now imagine with me that same scene. Hundreds of people running away. Others still stuck in the buildings. First responders get word, they see on their phones and hear from their friends about this evil that has just taken place, this disaster that was unfolding before their eyes. The first responders then turn and see the buildings, they know people are dying inside, they know that lives could be saved if they did as they were told and helped. But instead, they just stood on the sidewalk and watched. Or maybe they looked back down at their phones to see what other people were saying about it. Would this have been acceptable? You know the answer.

We turn on the news and see the riots and protests happening in response to the man killed in Ferguson, MO. We turn on social media and see #blacklivesmatter trending everywhere. So many events are happening right now and being discussed that show the injustices. So many events right now are proving that the problem of privilege, the problem of racism is still just that; a problem. And believe me, I do see it as a problem.

 Yes. Black lives do matter. But so do Hispanic lives. So do Indian lives. So do all the other lives.
30 million people are trapped in Human Trafficking today. Slavery.
"Almost 1 in every 15 children in developing countries dies from hunger."
Children are being beaten every. single. day.
Elderly. Widows. Orphans.
There are so many injustices. There are so many problems. And we see them as such. We see them. That's the problem. We see them. They are not being overlooked.
We are the first responders. Once you see the injustices you can no longer say that you are unaware.
We have to decide now what we're going to do.

I think the #blacklivesmatter trending everywhere is a beautiful thing. People are standing up for the injustice. People are no longer staring at the problem and not taking action. (whether or not I agree with how action is taking place is a completely different issue)
Would it not be a beautiful thing if that is how we responded to the other injustices?

I realize that a blog post does nothing. But I also realize there are things we can be doing.
For example: Dressember is happening right now.
http://www.dressemberfoundation.org/#!about/csgz
Wearing a dress every day for a month is a little thing. But check out my roommate's blog:
She sees the injustice. She is passionate about the people living in the injustice. She is raising money for the 30 million lives that are trapped in human trafficking.

#PeopleMatter - stop staring at the problem.

Passion is contagious. We need to stop extinguishing our passions for fear of judgment or fear of being uncomfortable. Find your passion and feed the flame. People standing up for people is a beautiful thing. Your voice can be heard if you should choose to use it.

21 years and 10 days

I've noticed a few things about myself throughout the 21 years and 10 days that I've been here. The first is that I don't really like doing what everyone else does/doing what I'm told I'm supposed to be doing. That explains both why I'm not doing homework right now and why I haven't posted for awhile (anyone else notice the crazy amount of people starting blogs after the new year?) The second thing I've learned about myself is that the second I feel an ounce of any emotion it explodes and that emotion overtakes me (whether that be disappointment, joy, or what have you).  The third; I'm really good at jumping the gun and attempting to bite off more of life than I'm ready to chew.

So let's play catch-up. For starters, my last post was about my friend Taylor who passed away in November. When that happened, I experienced something that was completely new to me; I was angry with God. I was more than angry, I was downright furious. I had discussed being angry with God many times with friends and with youth groups and I had spoken to people who were angry with Him but I had never experienced it myself; which was a strange thing to realize. I had been hurt and confused but if I were asked to explain my emotion toward Him until that point "angry" would have been in my word bank. This turned into a turning point in my relationship with Him though, I learned a lot that I'm not even sure I'm done processing but one of those lessons was to present and face my emotions instead of feeling it and refusing to do anything about it.
Also, I'm still in Iowa. Not necessarily my favorite place in the world by any means and I've tried numerous times to leave but God has been teaching me a lot through being here and now I'm 93% sure that this is where He intends to keep me until I graduate. God teaches me a lot through the emotions that I feel so strongly. For example, when I become frustrated that I have 3 different places I'd rather be that I see as more beneficial than being at school but none of the doors open far enough for me to walk through He fed me a spoonful of humility and taught me that it is not my job nor do I have the right to know His plan or tell Him what He ought to be doing. That's part of living by and walking by faith, that's also part of Him being greater than I. So yes, I feel emotion in crazy amounts but I've learned tremendous things through swallowing my pride and bringing my emotions to God (which is something I only learned to do once I got to Iowa, imagine that).

As for attempting to bite off more than I'm ready to chew: I'm currently co-leading the preparation of a Spring Service Project to Lindale, Texas. I'm also preparing to work with the staff of Camp Lebanon as the female lead counselor. Thankfully, because of my lovely friends and very strong and encouraging co-leaders, I'm still very excited for both and am having a blast organizing and planning. BUT in the midst of preparing to go to Texas in about 5 weeks and trying to hold off my excitement and planning for camp (in an attempt not to get ahead of myself) and being a full-time student I decided that I'd try to add one more thing to the load. If I would have had my way, this semester would have been my last at Northwestern and I would have jumped feet first into full-time ministry. That was a bust. But taking a look around me at the things that I have already committed to, I'm glad that didn't work out because I'm just learning how to lead and lead well. Right now, God has given me plenty to juggle that will force me to grow in leaps and bounds.

Turning gears a little bit back toward the fact that I'M GOING BACK TO LINDALE! I don't think I could be more excited. My co-leader, Joey, and I have been planning and our team has started meeting weekly in preparation. This week I called down to Calvary Commission and spoke with Ms. Charlotte Faus about what God has been doing in their lives and what our team will be doing while we are there. I was introduced to the people of Calvary Commission last year and fell in love faster than I ever have before and my faith was refined and redefined. Click HERE to read the post I wrote when I got back to Orange City after our trip last year. It's a new year, we have a new team, and a new dynamic, but we have the same God and His plan will exceed anything I can dream up for the 10 days we will be in Texas. Please be in prayer for our team of 19 as we continue planning, praying and growing in excitement!

God has presented me with many curve balls since the last time I posted but thankfully as I approached them with anxiety He approached me with grace.