As some of you may already know, for the last year we have been working on a project called "Compassionate Hands." Our goal has been to send over to Zimbabwe a 40' container filled with medical supplies. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in our warehouse waiting for the shipping container to arrive so we can load our supplies this weekend.  Our whole team is so excited to see this project come to fruition. It truly has been a labor of love with so many different people helping out along the way. Thank you to all of you who gave something.

Now to changing gears. I just had the most interesting sociological interaction that has my mind lost in thought this afternoon. Let me explain…

Our “warehouse” facility is actually in the basement of a building that faces a major street in downtown Kansas City, KS.  As with most all old US cities, the buildings are built right next to each other.  Behind the warehouse is a narrow alley that directs traffic one way. The door for the warehouse opens up into this alley where we load and unload supplies. Soon a large shipping container will arrive and block off the alley for the weekend. At the same time, it just so happens that there is a parking lot adjacent to our building filled with cars of the people who work in the building next door. Wanting to be courteous, I decided to drop in at the company and warn them that a big truck is going to block the one way alley and therefore they are going to have to go in the opposite direction when they leave tonight.

As I approached the front desk there were two women standing behind the counter. One woman was white and definitely the boss. The other woman, an African-American with a friendly disposition, warmly greeted me. I proceeded to tell them what was about to take place and asked if they would mind communicating it with everyone else in the building. What took place next was interesting and quite revealing. The boss’s first reaction was “We can’t do that. We can’t go the opposite way down a one way alley!” She was adamant that this was not the order of things nor a workable solution. Thank goodness the African-American woman jumped in and said “no worries honey, we’ll all adapt.” The other woman with the look of shock on her face then asked “can we do that, can we go the wrong way?” to which her colleague replied “of course we can, we adapt all the time.”

As I turned and walked out the door I realized that in that little moment I was seeing a microcosm of our society. I don’t believe it was a race based issue as much as a socio-economic issue. The obviously wealthier white woman came from a lifestyle that was governed by a measure of predictability and security that her wealth afforded her.  In her world there was a proper way of doing things that if or when the pattern was broken, set off a chain of emotions that started with fear. The other woman, who was obviously much poorer, lives in a world that often times she has little control over. She doesn’t have the economic power to do what she wants, when she wants and is often at the mercy of forces more powerful than she is. She learned to do what she needs to do to survive…adapt!

Here's something to ponder, are the poor actually better equipped to deal with crisis than we are? Are they stronger by virtue of what they've been through and done to survive? Adaptability is a skill set they have acquired in the furnace of affliction. Maybe we have something quite profound to learn from them.

I do think that this plays a significant role in why the African and Chinese Christians that I have met, seem to have a much stronger faith than most westerners I know. We in the industrialized world seem to have more faith in our systems to protect us. When they fail, we hit the panic button and get that "deer in the headlights" look. We have no idea what to do next or how to think on our feet and quickly adapt.

I think that we who consider ourselves strong would be well served to humble ourselves and learn from our bothers & sisters who have been tested in the furnace of affliction. There is a deep strength that develops in ones soul from resistance or situations in life that are unpredictable.

We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit… (Rom. 5:3-5)