Uncomfortability

"God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable." -Irresistible Revolution

Some group shots I'm so glad I saved!

The first time I remember being uncomfortable was at Somerset Beach Campground. Talking one-on-one with girls who came from very different circumstances forced me to recognize my upbringing wasn't the only way people are raised. I heard stories that broke my heart, many I know I will never forget. Low self esteem and self worth were common themes. I learned so much from those summers. Thank you Kyle and Sara Luke, those summers were so great. [Side note: I'm meeting up with Marisa, middle picture, girl in the pink, this week for lunch! I passed her in Fee Hall at school a couple weeks ago and we reconnected on Facebook....small AWESOME world huh!?]

Quoting his teacher, Tony Compolo, Shawn Claiborne says, "Jesus never says to the poor, 'Come find the church,' but he says to those of us in the church, 'Go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned,' Jesus in his disguises." I remember the second time God made me uncomfortable. I know it was God because nobody of this world would have told me there was something wrong with my life. Prior to being a part of a middle school girl's Bible study at my college home church (HFMC!) I didn't really think there was either. Who knew 6th graders were so profound? I remember listening to a young girl talk, without hesitation, about how often she'd leave church or a friends house to arrive to locked door at home. "Sometimes my mom forgets I'm coming home and leaves," was her comment. Other stories followed and after slowly taking it all in I got to thinking:

The middle school Bible study!

Why in the world did I get so lucky? Why do I get to have a great supportive, Christian family, the opportunity to go to a private college, and never have to really worry about money? Then came the medical school acceptance letter and an Air Force scholarship. Why me and not them? Or possibly even more challenging was the question, if I were in their shoes, in their situations, what would my life look like? Who would I be or become?





Answer: Luke 12, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Erin and I sat down this week to work on our "blood pact" I talked about earlier. It's based on Christ's instruction to his disciples in Luke 12 (or check out Matthew 10...). It outlines our desire to serve Christ with all we've been given (see the parable of the talents in Matthew 25), but recognizes the traps and temptations we already face and foresee down the road.

In one sentence, the guilt surrounding my comfortable, nurturing, loving, supportive, basically wonderful life turned into a mission. A part of God's plan for my life. Shawn Claiborne says, "The more I read the Bible, the more I felt my comfortable life interrupted." I couldn't agree more completely. Interrupted sounds negative though. I'd say, for me, comfortability has become insufficient. It didn't and doesn't make me happy. (more proof I attribute to Christ transforming my heart over the years...because even to me, this rationally, or I dare say evolutionarily, doesn't make sense). It's impossible to have a relationship with someone who is suffering or hurting and then go back to living life as before. At least impossible to do with a clear conscience, and more importantly, purposeful life.