I don't know about you, but my imagination is WILD. Sometimes it's just downright nuts. Have you ever just sat and let your imagination run wild to see where it would take you? I do that frequently. I used to be afraid of my imagination because I never knew if I would like where it took me. I'm not afraid anymore.
Are you?
Let's take a walk on the wild side for a bit. Not me. You. Go grab a cup of coffee or tea, get comfortable, and settle in for mental journey (i.e. this blog may take a few more minutes than usual). I'd like you to let your imagination go as we follow the story of a man from Canada. We'll call him Ray. The story goes like this:
You find yourself on a missions trip in a foreign country that you didn't sign up for. You were misled into thinking that you were going to this country for one reason, only to find out that you would actually be spending the week starving for a day (actually, they did give you $1 to eat off of for the whole day), only using 3 items to get ready another day (toothpaste, hair brush, deodorant...oops! What about the toothbrush?!), doing prayer walks around a scary city at night, visiting an insane asylum, painting an orphanage & church, and cleaning some man's apartment.
How are you feeling so far? Are you still with me?
So you realize that you are stuck in this situation and the only way out of the situation is to do what you're told and make the best of it. Oh, did I mention that you are only 15?
Let's skip through all the stinky, starving, scary, painting (sorry, ran out of "s" words) parts of the story and skip forward to Ray. The leaders of the missions trip sit you down to explain Ray's situation. He is an extreme outcast who lives in a high-rise apartment. He has a girlfriend who visits often, but no other family or friends. He NEVER leaves his apartment. He has food brought to him and orders out a lot. He is filthy. His apartment is so dirty and nasty that you can smell him down the hall. The neighbors complain, but stay away from him partly because of fear and partly because the smell is repulsive. You are warned about the possibility of rats and roaches, armed with cleaning supplies, and encouraged to hurry along because his apartment is 18 city blocks away.
While you are walking (yes, you read correctly....walking) 18 blocks, what do you think would be going through your mind? Would you be happy about serving the Lord in that moment?
When you arrive and climb the stairs, fear grips you as you as the stench permeates the hallway and triggers your gag reflex. People in the building stare in disbelief as you head down the hallway toward, not away from, Ray's apartment.
Are you mentally running away yet? Stick with me.
You enter the apartment to find Ray. He is surprisingly pleasant and happy you are there to do some work in his apartment, but he wants no part of your "Jesus stuff." You begin the cleaning session by praying for Ray with the other members of the cleaning team and asking God to bless him (while you simultaneously ask God to help you through this without losing your lunch). You look around and are overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done, but decide to start in the kitchen.
The team feverishly works for hours doing a complete overhaul on the apartment, throwing out stacks of pornographic magazines (don't even get me started on that one), and disposing of empty beer cans. The once yellow stove is now gleaming white. You could eat off of the floors and the whole place smells fresh. The sheets and blankets have been washed, but the bed still has a foul odor. Otherwise, the place looks immaculate!
Can you picture this? It's like an episode of Extreme Home Makeover!
You smile because you are proud of your work and the difference you see all around you...until your eyes land on Ray. He looks around at what all had been done and can't believe the way his apartment looks. Tears fill his eyes as he says, "I never knew that stove was white!" At the close of the day, the team gets together once more to pray for Ray, but this time it was a little different. Ray asks if he can join in the circle. Once in the circle, he asks if it would be ok for him to pray as well. With tears streaming down his (and your) cheeks, his heartfelt prayer goes something like this:
"God, um...I just want to thank you for sending these people all the way to my house from the United States. I just can't believe what they have done....for me. Thank you for them and I pray that you would bless them, too. Amen."
Now, how do you feel? Was our little trip worth it?
But wait! There's more! [Said like a true infomercial junkie]
As you leave that day, you see maintenance workers from the apartment building bringing in a new mattress - you guessed it - for Ray. They tell you that they can't believe that teenagers from another country would come help this man they didn't even know when they saw him everyday and did nothing to help. They are now making plans to help Ray, set up his new bed, and get him a job.
One man's world was radically changed that day. One apartment building's tennants were rocked and inspired to reach out to the "lowest and least" of their society.
As you may have guessed by now, the imagination journey you just took was my actual experience. This part of my real-life journey is forever etched into my memory and I will never be the same. Many people ask me why I am the way I am and why I see things the way I do. Ray is one of those reasons. It's easy to judge others and see only what they present to you. It's hard to go in and clean their apartment in humility.
Many will choose the easy path and distance themselves from the dirt, grime, and repulsive stench of other people's messes. Some will see the need and act on it. Others will just watch to see what you will do.
What will they see when they look at you? I hope they see a crazy person, armed with supplies, and heading INTO the mess instead of away from it.
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