Grace and it's Role in Shalom

It's been 10 days since I've posted - I've been on a house rehabilitation mission trip with 35 High School aged persons and about 20 adults. High energy, lower than usual amounts of sleep, many moments of grace were experienced. In fact, as I type this missive this morning, I'm aware that the mental batteries need a recharge. ;-) The week reinforced for me the role of building supportive community for all persons, and how even a small amount of interaction can create phenomenal well-being.

The area that we were working in is economically depressed. The mission team members all come from a highly affluent community where they don't readily encoounter this level of poverty. Though many of them were "mission veterans", this was the first trip that wasn't a Habitat for Humanity-based mission. Habitat trips have not included much interaction with the eventual home owners. In contradistinction, this trip included daily interaction with the folks living in the homes, and the team members all remarked on Friday evening that getting to know these people was a highlight of this trip versus the other trips.

Our theme for this trip was "God's Grace Multiplied". What I discovered during the week, and in my reflection since returning home, was that each individual's act of giving was multiplied by not only the others on the work site, but also by the persons in the home and by their neighbors/community. Each act of kindness reverberated in the group and remained on the worksite. For the Christians who read this, it was truly a "loaves and fishes" event where many were nourished by each little act - God's grace multiplied.

Shalom - God's gift of wholeness to us, is one form of the grace that God bestows. Restoring Shalom to the world will allow us to be healthier and more well, both as individuals and as communities. Acts of kindness and generosity to each other are multiplied many fold over the size of the act, and carry on far longer than the act itself. I began last Monday by visiting each of 5 worksites to offer a blessing. What I told the teams was that blessings are powerful and long lived - once given they can not be rescinded (think of Isaac and Jacob). One of the kids reflected that comment back to me at the end of the week. She said that the act of blessing the site made her feel more safe this year. I'm left to ponder what effect God could have if we blessed everything we did in our lives?

So take the time this week to bless what you do, or to be a blessing to others. Small acts of grace between persons and within communities can be revitalizing. Our health, wellness and wholeness can return as we develop our worldview of kindness and grace.

Peace be with each and everyone of you!
Dan