A gift to be reckoned with

   InFebruary I was honored to be invited to participate in Beijing Circle training that was connected to the Anglican Women delegates gathering for the UN Commission on the Status of Women.  While at this workshop, I was able to participate in some of the gatherings with Anglican women from around the world as well as attend some of the presentations that were part of the Commission meeting.

   There are times in my life when I know that I am suppose to be at the place I am, and this was one of those times.  Despite my procrastination and reluctance to go to NYC, the trip was flawless and even the problem with no hotel room was resolved without stress or angst for me.  In fact, I sat quite relaxed while the hotel determined they would upgrade my roommate and me to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite overlooking the UN and the Empire State building.  It was beautiful and peaceful. 

   Part way through the first day we broke so we could attend some UN workshops.  I chose one on conflict resolution.  It turned out to be about domestic violence and what Taiwan was doing to reduce violence.  There is a significant imbalance between male and female in their culture.  For example, if the husband dies, the wife does not inherit any property the husband owns, rather his family inherits everything.  If they have owned and worked on a farm, it is gone.  The same is true for their home.  Rather than wait for the slow process of changing laws, this group got lenders to add a second line on ownership documents so that more than one person could be listed as owning the land.  The result was dramatic.  As women became partners in ownership, the thinking of wives as being owned began to shift.    

   The second speaker was a woman from Chicago who is a therapist who goes into war torn countries to provide training for people to serve as listeners and counselors within their community.  She shared stories from many places in the world.  The one I remember most vividly was from an African country that has been besieged by civil unrest and war for many years.  In that culture, children are not exposed to death.  It is believed the spirit of the deceased hovers around for a period of time looking for a vulnerable soul that they might inhabit.  Children are considered very vulnerable so when someone is near death, children are gathered away from community to protect their souls.  White chalk is put under their eyes, as these hovering souls won’t go near it.  So what happens to this culture when not only children see dead bodies littering streets but witness the carnage of war?  No matter what we think of their beliefs, their beliefs are now shattered.  The most moving thing this woman said was about listening to mother after mother lament their loss of ability to mother their children.  They are so focused on the most basic level of survival they no longer able to mother their children.  In that moment, in the large, crowded and noisy room, their was suddenly a heart rendering silence.

   The workshop was humbling for me because I realized just how fortunate I am to have been born into a first world country, a country where women can own property and have voice.  A country where most mothers are able to mother their children. 

   Later that day as I was walking with a woman from an extremely poor African country who was part of the Anglican delegation.  I asked what it was like coming to NYC.  She spoke of the noise, the bustle, the cars.  And then she spoke of the abundance, especially the abundance that was treated frivolously and even wasted.  Food unconsumed.  Stores filled with plenty of things, plenty of food.  Water that is drinkable everywhere.  Luxury to her were things we so often take for granted. 

   That gave me significant pause.  How much do I take for granted the food on my table?  How much do I take for granted that we have hospitals that serve not just a select few?  How much do I take for granted that by in large I can move around without fear?  How much do I take for granted I have a multitude of choices and options in my life.  I have the luxury of not having to live my life struggling for the truly very basic necessities of life – water, shelter, food for surviving.  And my response is often to be wasteful of that abundance. 

   There is an ad for nets to protect people from malaria called “nothing but nets.”  For $10 one can buy a net that will go to someone in need to protect them.  $10 can make the difference between life and death.  For me, this has become my reminder of the wealth and abundance I have.  When I spend money I make myself realize how many nets that money would buy.  It isn’t much and yet it is a means of beginning to be aware of the abundance in  my life and in turn, just perhaps, I will become more generous, more willing to share more of the abundance I have been entrusted with.

   It is said that we in America, and perhaps other places as well, look around and see what we don’t have.  We see those who have more – more toys, more clothes, more money, more, more, more.  We are a country where even those who have much often believe we don’t have enough.  But if we were to look around the world and see the poverty, the lack of medical care, the lack of water, food and shelter that so many live with, just perhaps, realize our abundance.

   For whatever reason, we are blessed to live where we do.  Life can be difficult at times, challenging and painful.  Yet for most of us, it is unlikely we will live in true poverty, seeking food from dumps, using run off water for drinking, or watching our loved ones die from the lack of medical care.  The challenge for us is to become mindful of what we have, the abundance in our lives and how little so many others have in their lives.   And in that knowledge and experience, to choose to live our lives faithfully.  Our abundance isn’t to be ignored nor are we to pretend we don’t have the abundance.  Rather we are called by God to reckon faithfully with the gift.

Faithfully, Priest Joanne