What are We Building?

    I haven’t written in awhile because I don’t always know how to vocalize what I am feeling, or my understanding of what is happening around me. Words can be powerful but if treated foolishly they can paint obscure and misleading pictures. I think lately a huge word and discipline I have been focusing on is listening instead of always communicating. It’s not an easy thing to do, and I’m not simply talking about listening to people while you talking, that is only a piece of it. I mean asking questions and really listening for the answer. I have been trying to listen…to seek understanding from my Father about many things. It’s been a beautiful time of silence and learning.  

    My friend recently read a book on Native Americans, their stories their cultures. I was inspired to read a book called the Lakota Way, which is a great read and I’d recommend it to anybody. My friend read out loud to me a quote that said something along the lines of, one of the issues with western culture is that we don’t take time to listen, the white man seeks to be understood before understanding. We want to tackle every problem quickly, efficiently; we want to let everybody know what we think and what we know. But rarely do I know any people brave enough to say “I don’t know.” We create rules and systems, we build organizations and projects, we are efficient, and we are knowledgeable.

   But do we ever ask why we are doing something? Is it right?

Many disasters in our world’s history have taken place because humans have followed a rule, or precedent without questioning it. Without going back to the beginning, asking the why.

   Another friend had this dream, it really struck me; In fact, I haven’t felt like writing until I heard this. His dream was of his son building something out of Legos, he had so much joy in the building and it was really beautiful. His friends and siblings were building with him, they did it because they loved it and they loved each other. Then people started to notice the building, they told the boy how good it was, and he should do this there, and change this here to make it REALLY amazing The boy listened and began to feel pressure to make it greater, to meet the expectations, suddenly it wasn’t joyful anymore, he lost patience with others building with him. In the end he built something truly magnificent, but his joy and love were lost.

   This is a warning in my heart for what we are building here, and how we must hold on to love and joy. 

I think of so many big beautiful things that are built. Big churches, big projects, businesses, and organizations. Some do truly wonderful things. But some of them you can walk in and it’s like a well-oiled machine that perhaps once organic has given into the larger system way of doing things. Deep relationship no longer comes naturally but must be forcibly attempted; it has compromised to meet the demands of outside voices. It has stopped listening, stopped asking questions. It pumps out good deeds like an assembly line.

    We do coffee, simple because we love these people, this is an expression of our love. Something beautiful we can build together. There are so many situations that arise whether in coffee, or just the community in general my American efficiency reaction kicks in, our insane inclination to fix everything we can takes over me. And I forget why I’m even here. Thank goodness my father loves me, and reminds me, and a husband who grew up here and knows how to take things slowly and relationally.  

We had several visitors that came to be with us and are full of wisdom in so many ways, they were here long enough to see disasters or hard things happen. And see our reaction to it. In one such situation I didn’t know what to do, I was so upset. One of my friends just said, “Let’s ask, let’s take time to think about how to love this person, and see with eyes of abundance.”

Ask. Listen. What simple things, but how hard it is for us.

When people want to know fully everything we do and cross-examine looking for results, I want to answer with this; come and see. And ask the question with us; what does it mean to build community here? What does it mean to walk with these people? Because I don’t know the full extant to that answer but I will always ask it…and listen. Listen to the one who made them, and love them.

This question of what are we building and way can be put to almost anything we do. If you are a teacher ask the question why are you teaching? Is it to get kids to pass a test? Or to build up a new generation of thinkers? If you’re a parent you’re not making your perfect family, you are raising the next group of humans to carry on the legacy of the world after you are dust. I have had to ask myself a million times why we need to build a home and make sure we are doing it for the right reasons.

Whatever we do it is so important we remember why we are building something, and never be so insecure that we can’t question why, and take heart to listen patiently for the answer.

In the noise of this technological, efficient and sophisticated age we must remember what we are even building because it might not be good if we stop asking. Sometimes we build things just because we can but we must always ask is if it is right and never ever lose our love and joy. Only with those things can we truly build something beautiful that requires deep relationships to complete it.