A Walk without a Map

In the months of this project, I have been walking on sidewalks and praying over houses and people as I encounter them.  I have noticed the outer signs of neglect and care.  I have wondered about the lives of people inside these homes, and I have asked God to guide my feet.

This week, I was guided into one of the homes over which I have prayed, and I was able to be a part of something truly good.  In a world full of complex relationships and conflicting desires, true good can be hard to recognize.  Here are my thoughts about that:

True good is simple and uncomplicated.  It is a situation or an item which is only what it is.  It is a situation or an item which promises nothing, and refuses to change to fit our preferences or expectations.

True good is sometimes hard.  Being so uncompromising, so closed to negotiations and interpretations, means it often requires only a "yes" or a "no" from us.  It gives us no excuses to hide behind, and does not promise anything to suggest which is the better choice.  It makes us act out of who we are, and that can be very difficult.

True good does not care about aesthetics.  It doesn't bother with niceness, propriety, good timing, or neatly ordered plans. That can make it easy to miss, hiding in the midst of that which we deem "wrong."

True good makes something right.  It doesn't necessarily fix anything, or even actually change a bad situation or an injustice.  Nevertheless, something is corrected, some debt is paid, some weight is lifted, or some irrevocable transformation of the moment occurs.

This week, I was invited into one of the homes over which I have prayed, and I got to be part of something truly good.  Something simple and difficult.  Something ugly and inconvenient.  Something which transformed a moment and exposed me to grace: the accidental bounty of the people around us, the strength to take action with consequences, and the betterment of creation.

I could have chosen to stay home.  I could have chosen not to go inside that home.  I could have chosen to stay focused on the good I could not do.  Instead, I showed up; I participated; I cried; I cringed; I acted, and God was there.

May your week be full of Grace, Joy, Peace, and an opportunity to experience something Truly Good.