Several times in the last few weeks I have talked about people watching. I am a notorious people watcher. I love trying to understand people: where they come from, what they do, why they laugh, or why their style is the way it is. But, all of those conclusions can only come from what I've seen on the outside.
After spending the day at the beach with four of my closest friends, watching hundreds of people enjoy the blazing sun, I realized, these are the people. These are the people God intended for me to live with, this is my society. Each one of the individuals has been gifted something by God. The question is, do they know it? I watched so many bikini-clad girls, and I wonder if they know that they are so irrevocably loved. So powerfully cared for, so incredibly wanted. I watched the little matched twin girls playing in the sand and dream of how God can and will use them. And I see all the guys, and wonder if they know that they can get their strength from a father that wants to provide for them. Or if they know that they have a spirit that can be used for the advancement of a KING! The King.
Then I go to volunteer at the little coffee shop at the corner and I get to work with amazing people. Women who use their gifts, and Teddy who does everything from mowing grass, to painting buildings, cooking (always finding new ways to implement his favorite: lemon) and recording music. These people who are excited to bring their guitars into the shop and sing songs with those who are willing. Or Teddy who works 30 odd jobs all around Grand Rapids and still sends westsiders to the gas station to get kool aid mix for the coffee shop. These people give their whole lives. Use all of their gifts and walk always in the light. I love what I do! I love having a Christ-centered community. I love that while I play speed scrabble, or serve coffee, or talk to the regulars about their favorite books, I can hear, see and feel God moving all around me.
That's just it. He is all around me. How can I know the depths of a person just by glancing at them? I can't, but, God. But, God.. can. All of the crowds around, the couples walking hand in hand, or the people holding signs at a rally, those pierced and tattooed, those who give and then those that take, the people who live everyday with a little stop at the Pavilion. This is the clay God is working with, the clay He is molding, the clay He is transforming. While at His fingerstips, we must also get our hands dirty. Using every bit of the something that God has given us to know these people, and to live among them shining only light.
