I come from Texas country roads where you wave when you pass that oncoming farm truck, tap your brakes as a thank you when you pass the tractor driving on the shoulder to let you pass. And with 13 moves in 17 years of marriage, I’ve journeyed to places that don’t have these customs. While incredibly beautiful places, they do often radiate a feeling of disconnectedness, of seclusion, of rejection. Now, in this small town in which we find ourselves, I realize that I’ve come full circle. Because here you offer a friendly nod when you pass the only other car on the road between the corn fields, and you wave at the buggy whose driver is guiding the horse to the very edge of the road so you can pass. Our neighbors wave when we drive down the street and they smile, too. They smile.
We lived then and live now in a place where courtesy is offered in simple ways. They wave here, too. They smile here, too. And they share the road, here, too. Last month, as I drove once again on those long country roads in Texas, offering a wave when I met another lonely soul, I thought about our little Pennsylvania town and I wondered about our community, our nation, our world.
What would happen if we scooted to the edge of our space when someone needed to get by? What if we waved and smiled when we passed one another? Oh, I don’t necessarily mean literally moving over and waving and smiling (although, heaven knows that would be amazing). But I mean what if we made space for each other…for the various thoughts and feelings and goals represented in the mosaic of lives we are each a tiny part of? What if instead of denying that some experience more privilege than others we asked someone how it feels to experience fear? What if we looked someone in the eye and nodded instead of moving to the other side of the street? What if we stood with those who hurt instead of abandoning them out of our own fear? What if we made all spaces safe instead of retreating into our safe spaces? What if we extended the courtesy of the road with all its nods and waves and smiles to the courtesy of living with all its asking, listening, and acting for justice? And what if instead of expectations, we offered grace?
My Step
Today I am asking questions instead of assuming answers, offering a smile, sharing the road.
And I am looking inward and asking for a change within myself.
"Most holy and merciful Father: I confess to you and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart, and mind, and strength. I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I have not forgiven others, as I have been forgiven. Have mercy on me, Lord. I have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. I have not been true to the mind of Christ. I have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on me, Lord. I confess to you, Lord, all my past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of my life. I confess to you, Lord. My self-indulgent appetites and ways, and my exploitation of other people, I confess to you, Lord. My anger at my own frustration, and my envy of those more fortunate than I, I confess to you, Lord. My intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and my dishonesty in daily life and work, I confess to you, Lord. My negligence in prayer and worship, and my failure to commend the faith that is in me, I confess to you, Lord. Accept my repentance, Lord, for the wrongs I have done: for my blindness to human need and suffering, and my indifference to injustice and cruelty, Accept my repentance, Lord. For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward my neighbors, and for my prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from me, Accept my repentance, Lord. For my waste and pollution of your creation, and my lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept my repentance, Lord. Restore me, good Lord, and let your anger depart from me, Favorably hear me for your mercy is great. Accomplish in me and all of your church the work of your salvation, That I may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord, Bring me with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection. "
http://annarborvineyard.org/tdh/tdh-iphone.cfm
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