Where my soul is

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19bono.html?_r=2

This is a link to an article a friend of mine posted on Facebook. It's by the one and only Bono, whom I am secretly (no more, I guess) crushing on! Always have been. Yes, Robert knows :)

But more importantly this article made me think. Bono asks the question where is your soul? He talks of aid money congress is giving to help the third world countries, he talks of listening to the sound of praise in a small stone chapel, and he talks of the wonder of the Easter story. He says "Of all the Christian festivals, it is the Easter parade that demands the most faith — pushing you past reverence for creation, through bewilderment at the idea of a virgin birth, and into the far-fetched and far-reaching idea that death is not the end. The cross as crossroads. Whatever your religious or nonreligious views, the chance to begin again is a compelling idea."

He mentions that many Americans are turing to service since they don't have the finacial means to donate cash to charity. I think this is a wonderful thing. In this recession I see many people turing back to Christ. Perhaps that is a trend for recessions. I'm not to sure... but it sure sounds logical. In a time when people can't make sense of a lost job, or not being able to make ends meet on a regular basis, they turn to Christ, they turn to something bigger than themselves. Christ has always been there for us. Always has his arms open wide for us. No, I can't explain why my friends at Pier One lost thier jobs and the store closed, but I know they can find comfort in Christ and in the Easter story, the idea that this life on earth is not the end.

I find comfort in that story. As I awoke the other day from a bad dream (which I've been having a lot of lately) I stood in the shower and worried. What if I was in a bank when it got robbed, what if someone kidnapped my kids, what if someone goes crazy and tries to shoot my husband during a service? I worry a lot. It's kind of my thing. I'm a worrier. But the worry of these things... worry I can't do anything about. Sometimes it overwhelmes me. Makes me cry, makes me sad, makes me scared. And the only comfort I have is the promise that this world is not the end. This is not all I have. When my time comes, it comes, and God has a place for me, and for you, in heaven. To experience something beyond our human comprehension. That promise of my sins forgiven, Jesus on the cross, and then rising again, gives me hope to press on. Hope to not hold up in my house and never let my kids out of my sight. It gives me the hope to live, not in fear, but in the love of Christ. What an amazing gift He has given us to live this way.

So where does my soul go with that? What do I do with that hope? Give it away of course. Share it. Share the news that Christ is risen, we are forgiven, and God reins in Heaven for all of us. Sharing the faith is the best way to begin again, begin again with that hope.

Okay. So now I need to do it. I've never been much of an evangelist. I'm really not even good at living like I should as a christian. A true christian, not those people who claim to be, but are really judgemental jerks, giving us a bad name. So what does that look like? I think I need to change a bit. I need to work on my walk with Christ, and my walk for Christ. Self preservation and focus is an important thing, but I might take it to the extreme. Being more selfless, I used to voulenteer, and use my "busy" life with children as an excuse not to anymore. That's ridiculous. I have all the time in the world if I make a commitment to it. Time for a change. Priorities. That's where my soul needs to be... in service. That's how I can show I am a true christian, how I live my life. Show others that hope in Christ, that he died and rose again, for our forgivness. That they are worth it, and that he loves them. Service, that's where my soul is.