Just some thoughts

 I’ve been going to the reservation for nearly two decades now 

and I can’t begin to catalogue all I’ve learned in that time.

 What I DO know, 

above all else, 

is that what began as ‘service’, or Mission trips, 

has morphed into ‘visits home’ 

and ‘seeing family and friends’.

The spiritual life that so many of us long for 

isn’t a life set apart from our everyday existence; 

it’s not found by ‘doing good works’ 

or by convincing another person to worship God 

in a prescribed style that may work for you.

 Henri Nouwen captured it perfectly when he wrote: 

“The spiritual life can only be real 

when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys 

of the here and now”.

A single trip to the reservation can be overwhelming 

when faced with the third world level of need and poverty.

If you let it,
it can blind you to the richness and beauty 

of people and place 

that dwells alongside the brokenness. 

It can make the ‘here and now’ too painful to be fully present.

I’ve come to trust the value of simply showing up  - 

and each time I find myself 

sitting with the pain that some folks on the reservation carry, 

I’m overwhelmed with my own inability to do much more 

than stand in awe, 

struck dumb by the sheer size of their burden; 

more than I’ve ever been asked to carry – 

and I used to think I’ve shouldered my share.

Standing in solidarity with people 

generally doesn’t change the facts of the reality they live with 

but it can change the way that we perceive that reality.

It can remind us of who we are.

We are not what we do 

or what people say about us 

and we are definitely not what we own or have. 

It can remind us that we’re not alone.

We are all the beloved daughters and sons of God.

I don't know about you, but I need that reminder

from time to time -
especially in this political time and climate.