Life at Maryland

sitting in a coffee shop downtown Vancouver this morning i see the city outside my window, spinning with life.

moms with little children,
a homeless man strumming away for tips,
construction workers,
cyclists,
a middle-aged couple walking hand in hand,
businessmen clad in west coast casual,
and hundreds (no exaggeration) of tourists… fanny packs and all.

i’ve really never seen such a mix of people.. even in the dc metro area. i’m remembering this morning, God’s great love for the city (people) and feeling a small pang of that love as well.

i am just passing through, but God’s eye and His heart are upon this place every day, every hour, every moment. how His heart must break…

the other day, we drove through a section of the city called east hastings, and it’s difficult to relay what i saw. known for it’s poverty, despair, homelessness, drug addiction, and prostitution, east hastings is considered the poorest neighborhood in canada. i stared out the window, a queasy feeling sinking deep down inside. and then in a moment, we turned a corner and found ourselves in the business district, the streets lined with beautiful glass high-rise buildings as busy professionals bustled down the sidewalks.

disparity.

i can’t really begin to imagine how God’s heart throbs for broken people. we are broken people. the poor. the wealthy. the hopeless. the self-sufficient. the mentally ill. the witty. the abused. the spoiled. we are broken people. to the core. some of us know it. some of us don’t.

my coffee misto is cold now. i’ve been too caught up. you know, i think of people like amy carmichael or mother theresa who loved with gritted teeth, their love flowing from a known and adored Savior. they knew themselves to be broken, flawed, needy. and as they found healing, perfection, and delight in their Lord, they were able to go out into the world and love other broken people, just like themselves.

me, i’m generally afraid to do this. maybe I do not understand myself to be as broken as I truly am. the Bible tells me there is no fear in love. no fear to enter in. no fear to help, to touch, to listen, to give, even to suffer with others. Christ came to lay down his life and when my identity is found in Him not only do i find it my duty to love others, but it becomes a spirit-empowered delight to love and follow in the footsteps of my humble King.

As for my clumsy feet, I can only trust that grace will be their guide.