I Am - We Are...

I have the best kids in the world. I know a lot of parents say that (how I wish EVERY parent would say that, but that's fodder for another post) - and they're all right, too...

But here's my story:

Rachel and Lori were shopping a while back and they were in the snack aisle when Rachel said something like "I want Cheetos." Now, I happen to think that Cheetos are possibly the world's most perfect food (well, perfect might be stretching it a bit...but mmmmmmmmm....), so I was hanging on every word of this story when Lori was telling me about it.

So, Rachel wants Cheetos. She tosses them in the cart (with mom's permission, of course) and then they move on when Rachel holds up a bag of chips. "Look mom. Snyder's. We should get this and help Murray out." Murray is our good friend who is the Wise snacks salesman in our area.

Lori looks at the bag. "Honey, those are Snyder's of Berlin. Murray sells Snyder's of Hannover." (Don't even ask me what THAT'S all about - his product line is more complicated than...um...okay, I got nothing...) Anyway, Rachel looks over the snacks and picks up a bag of Snyder's of Hannover cheese puff snack-like things and puts the Cheetos back on the shelf(!!) snif...

She tosses the bag of artificial cheesy crunchy bits of...something...into the cart and says, "That'll help Murray out."

Here's the thing. I was really proud of Rachel. Not for her snack choice (let's face it - the "other" brands just don't know how to make Cheetos) but for her concern for someone else - even in such a small way. Her contribution to Murray's livlihood (if I've calculated correctly, she made sure that Murray made about fifty cents that day) is pretty insignificant in the "big picture" I suppose. But her concern for Murray and her desire to "help him out" is something that is a big part of her, now.

So, that got me thinking. There are things I don't do because I "won't really make a difference." But I can be a part of something that is much bigger. The week that Rachel picked Murray's snacks over the national brand, Murray brought home a paycheck bigger than mine (I might try to get my fifty cents back, then...heh - just kidding Murray). She was part of something much bigger than just her.

So - I'm going to start being a small part of really big things. I know it's not fashionable for Christians to be worried about "global warming" - but I am concerned about the environment - and there are things - small things - that I can do. Could we recycle more than just newspapers at our house? Yep.

Extreme poverty has been tugging on me for some time now - I can't do much - but I can do something. Parishioners went to Ecuador on a mission trip - and came back saying something like our poorest people in America look rich compared to the folks they were helping in Ecuador. Okay - I'm a "One Campaign" member - but I can do more...

And on it goes. I may even learn to like the fake Cheetos - and help out a friend.

"I am becasue we are" is, apparently, an African proverb. I like it because it points out our connectedness. Our culture (heck, MY personality) is awfully "me" centered. Jesus said (the Bill Beatty paraphrase), "Love God with everything that you are, and love other people as you love yourself." God and us. Not God and me. Not God and you. God and us. So, while it's not all about me, it IS all about us... and our lives in faith.

So, yeah, ask me about my kids some day - but make sure you have a lot of time. 'Cause I have the best kids in the world.