More than trendy

I'm not a real big fan of doing what is trendy.  I know nobody is, but sometimes I want to do the opposite of trendy.  I want to role my pants like the late 90's because nobody does.  But then, that is trendy.  Nothing is more trendy than doing the opposite of everyone else so you stand out.  Well, nothing but Africa.

There is an odd little deal going on right now.  Nikki and I work in Ethoipia. If you just came to this planet on a spaceship you would either confuse Ethiopia with the worst place in the world or the most glamorous place ever.  Seriously, there is nothing trendier than Africa.  Well, that is only partly true.  I guess we are even cooler to certain people because we work with orphans.  Even better than that, we work with former prostitutes.  Here's where I think we are getting confused.

The people that God has given us the honor of serving through Eyes That See are anything but trendy.  They are real.  They cry when life hurts and they smile more beautifully than you could imagine.  Serving them is addicting, but it isn't cool.  It is exhausting.  You want to radically change the way you live, spend, talk and dream.  You order the small so you can give away the 59 cents that makes it large.  You pray differently, think differently, and surely you praise God differently.

I once thought Africa was cool.  I liked the trendy picture that I had.  God called me out of that to truly see who was there.  He called me to love the people that He loves.  He invited me to believe that His Kingdom trumps their current reality.  He is beginning to bless my eyes to see.

Some of us get to see in "trendy" places like Ethiopia.  Some of us see "trendy" people like orphans and ex prostitutes.  No matter who we are, we are invited to see His Kingdom right in front of us.  We get to love people in real life, not just in theory.  For me this has cost everything.  For my friends in Ethiopia it has cost more.  I believe this is our honor.