People are looking at us. Not us. Me. I look suspicious. A white man driving a car full of black kids. In the most segregated city in the country. But statistics do not make people; people make statistics.
The girl in the front seat? A few nights ago she was crying on our front steps. I wondered how long she’d been sitting there. Kevin asked her what was wrong. Megan sat down and the girl pressed into her, eyes squeezed shut, as if wanting to be absorbed. Someone else’s mother called out. The girl walked over to her. “She just can’t find her mama,” the mother said.
The boy in the back seat? The other night he was holding his baby sister. “’Sup Ben?” He nodded, implying that holding a baby was now cool, because he was doing it. This is the same boy who recently rode his bike right in front of my car without looking. I imagined hitting him, holding his little body in the road, saying, No. No. No.
The boy sitting next to him? A couple days ago he asked, “Could you bring out the hoop?” I followed him to the garage, unlocked it, reached for the handle to lift up the door and stopped. “I’ve got to get a glove to lift it up,” I said, remembering how thin and sharp the handle is. “It’s fine, I’ve got it,” he said, gripping the handle and yanking upward. “You’ve got thick skin.” I told him. He smiled and held up his hand. It was bleeding.
“Does everyone have on their seatbelts?” I ask, checking the rear view mirror. I don’t see any kids. I lower the mirror and three little faces look back. While they are in my car I will keep them safe.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Mattresses and Ministry the life of me.
Mattresses… I had never really given them much thought before. I can sleep on pretty much anything and wake up the next day feeling fine. I’ve always appreciated my ability to sleep anywhere. Airplanes, trains, buses, the floor. I never ever thought that my first big boy job with benefits, insurance, and the delightful concept of a paid vacation would be selling mattresses.
When Meg and I decided that we wanted to answer God’s call on our lives to minister and love children, especially those from tough situations, and live among them I knew I was going to need to get another job as well. But mattresses…Really? Weird? I never grew up thinking about being a mattress salesman…
Having a calling and spending forty hours a week on something that’s not my calling makes for an interesting situation. In some ways it’s fantastic. The kids in the neighborhood see me get up, put on a tie, and go to work every day to provide for my family and that is a wonderful. They don’t often see examples of that type of behavior modeled for them and I love that aspect of my job. I have wonderful bosses that allow me to only work 4 days a week instead of five and still receive benefits and vacation time. They are flexible with my schedule and I was able to come to all of VBS this past week and that was fantastic and wonderful time to see God work. I get each Tuesday off so that I can be here at the house for bible club and be a part of what God is doing through that.
Other days it’s a little tougher. I missed a lot of basketball games that kids in the neighborhood wanted me to attend because I work eleven hours on Saturday and that’s game day. Some days the store is slammed and I come home really tired and all I want to do is sit inside my house and rest, not go and play cans with the 9 year old next store. Having to work the occasional Sunday afternoon and rush out of church as soon as the sermon is over. Less time to spend planning what I am going to teach on a Sunday morning in Sunday school.
All in all being bi vocational is working out really well. Megan and I love being at TCC and being a part of the community. We love being here in the neighborhood, seeing community built and racial barriers being torn down. God is blessing our ministry both here in the community house and at the church on Sunday mornings. We are seeing those two groups interact more and more and it’s a wonderful thing. Our bills are paid and we’re getting the chance to do what we’re called to do with our lives. Some days were tired and worn, but God and the community that makes up TCC fills and recharges our batteries. God has us exactly where he wants us to be and is working in ways we would never expect, like a mattress store.
When Meg and I decided that we wanted to answer God’s call on our lives to minister and love children, especially those from tough situations, and live among them I knew I was going to need to get another job as well. But mattresses…Really? Weird? I never grew up thinking about being a mattress salesman…
Having a calling and spending forty hours a week on something that’s not my calling makes for an interesting situation. In some ways it’s fantastic. The kids in the neighborhood see me get up, put on a tie, and go to work every day to provide for my family and that is a wonderful. They don’t often see examples of that type of behavior modeled for them and I love that aspect of my job. I have wonderful bosses that allow me to only work 4 days a week instead of five and still receive benefits and vacation time. They are flexible with my schedule and I was able to come to all of VBS this past week and that was fantastic and wonderful time to see God work. I get each Tuesday off so that I can be here at the house for bible club and be a part of what God is doing through that.
Other days it’s a little tougher. I missed a lot of basketball games that kids in the neighborhood wanted me to attend because I work eleven hours on Saturday and that’s game day. Some days the store is slammed and I come home really tired and all I want to do is sit inside my house and rest, not go and play cans with the 9 year old next store. Having to work the occasional Sunday afternoon and rush out of church as soon as the sermon is over. Less time to spend planning what I am going to teach on a Sunday morning in Sunday school.
All in all being bi vocational is working out really well. Megan and I love being at TCC and being a part of the community. We love being here in the neighborhood, seeing community built and racial barriers being torn down. God is blessing our ministry both here in the community house and at the church on Sunday mornings. We are seeing those two groups interact more and more and it’s a wonderful thing. Our bills are paid and we’re getting the chance to do what we’re called to do with our lives. Some days were tired and worn, but God and the community that makes up TCC fills and recharges our batteries. God has us exactly where he wants us to be and is working in ways we would never expect, like a mattress store.
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