It feels like a while since this blog has contained some raw footage. Raw exposure to my environment. Raw- unedited. Raw-natural, unrefined, untouched-virtually beautifully pure. Raw-no moral of the story applied. Raw-no life lesson gleaned. Just plain, word pictures of what my eyes have encountered in the eyes of those I've met. Eyes of the orphans. Eyes of the beggars. Eyes of the stressed workers. Eyes of people I haven't seen for a while and reveling in their presence. Eyes of people who know no hope. Eyes of people who have sought but haven't found, and gave up. The cry for love and grace is everywhere. Sometimes it rises to the surface. Sometimes it's buried beneath layers and requires shoveling.
When we meet the raw, we make choices. What will I do with this? Am I willing to feel what they are feeling? Or will I choose to walk away and refuse to offer? Am I going to say this is just how life is and stay out of it or am I willing to get messy?
For the long term, what should my involvement be? What is going to help them and not hurt them more?
In the meantime as I'm contemplating all this, 2 different people pass away back in America. 2 different families are grieving the sudden loss of a parent this week. The children of both are people I've either studied with or worked with for a longer period of time. And I can't really understand how they feel right now or what their description of raw would look like. There aren't any answers. And all this has added a whole new thread to my thoughts on raw reality.
This thread adds an urgency to make the most of life. To love well. To be wise about how I use my resources. To reach out and touch those around me who are seeking for love. To be intentional in loving my family from long distance. To not allow the woes of the world to keep me from friending the people in it. To not allow small annoyances and raw issues to become so Big...
Each of us is an uncompleted story. The raw fibers are still be woven and none of us know exactly what the end result is going to be. None of us know what today's pain will weave into our journal. None of us completely can grasp the raw character of another person. None of us choose the pain, the joy, or the circumstances we experience in life. And that pretty much levels the playing field of life.
So why not enjoy each "raw" individual for who they are? Why not just freely love when the other option is? Why not cut ourselves and others some slack and grant grace where it isn't merited?
Today I choose to believe there is beauty in the raw... I choose to believe that God knows what He is making... and I choose to accept that life will always have pain. I choose to allow God to use the messy things in life to make me a better person. And yes, there's a part of me that screaming, "NOOO! don't say that!" I accept the fact that I'm still raw, unfinished, and unrefined. And I accept the truth that God won't leave me in my natural state. I also accept the truth that God will use me to make a difference even while I'm 'undone.'
