I love God. This morning my man asked if we would have time to take some recycling this afternoon. The place that takes everything has these random, crazy hours which means we regularly wait 2-3 months between visits. Anyway, it worked out that my boy and I had time. He is finally old enough to “help” so it’s a little learning experience.

Anyway, God had something to show me today. In the middle of our Norman Rockwell scene of taking recycling, He wanted to show us His heart. He made us drive near a local high school. By “made us” I mean there was a train blocking us one way and a “Road Closed” sign blocking the alternate route. So we had to go the long way. Right by His children.

I wasn’t looking around. Just singing to my CD. But it’s like He goes, “look up” to my heart. And I saw two sweet high school girls. One of them was carrying both of their bags. The other one was shifting a heavy infant car seat from one arm to the other. And when I thought of how I handle motherhood some days with all the age and support and family and money and marriage I have, I could’ve wept as I looked at this young girl.

We live in a very blue collar neighborhood. But because the houses are small, most families are younger. And we live half a block from an elementary school. And Dan teaches at an inner city elementary school. Which means these days we spend more time breaking up fights between neighborhood kids – particularly of differing races – and gently fussing over the kids in our neighborhood whose parents couldn’t give a crap about what they do, as they kindly let our toddler play ball with them, more than we think about teenage pregnancy. (And if you think I’m looking for a pat on the back, please spare me. We didn’t even want to live in this area. We had a cute little rental on the “nicer” side of town all picked out. But God had this one picked out for us. He let the other one get rented out from under us a week before. Don’t get me started about how we get credit for this.)

Anyway… I’m not compelled to go start a teen pregnancy help center at this high school. I don’t think He wants me to do much but pray since this season of my life revolves around our home and other young moms He’s dropped in my lap. But I do think He wanted to remind me of how there are no “seasons” in His life. He’s focused on all of us. And it’s all part of this beautiful tapestry He’s weaving as He brings His kingdom in our generation.

It reminds me, of course, of a Beth Moore quote. This one I hold pretty close to my heart. I don’t share it blithely. It was the quote that made me surrender my whole life to Him as a 19 year old when He first began to change my heart:

“What do we have to give up or fast from to reach out to the oppressed? God took me to the other side of the world to supply a few answers to these questions. In my two-week stay in India, these verses [Isaiah 58] came to my mind more than any others. If you’re looking for a fun little mission trip, keep India out of your travel plans. You never get away from its suffering…When I returned, people asked me if I had a good time. No. Actually, I didn’t have a good time. I had a profound time. I will never be the same. I can’t forget what I saw.

What kind of fast did God require from me as He sent me to minister one-on-one with the oppressed? A fast from comfort. A fast from my pretty little world. A fast from rose-colored glasses. The fast I enjoy in Houston, as freeways loop around the inner city to keep me from facing the poor. I can live days on end here, stay in my very own neighborhood, and choose to deal only with pretty problems that smell better. I can choose to fast from poverty and oppression. But if I do, I’ll never have a heart like God’s.”