You are there.
I am here.
There is a gap.
I cross the gap and I see you, truly see you.
And you live in extreme poverty
The walls of your home are mud and sticks
Your front door is a piece of torn fabric.
My door here…
Well it opens to a very large house
With too many rooms for the few people who live here
The echo of your voice heard in these large spaces
And your family, all of you, sleep on a mud floor in one room
And you don’t have a bed
And you are tired.
I’m tired too.
I’m tired of the huge gap between me and you
Between how I live and how you live.
That’s why I’m moving.
Out of this familiar and comfortable home
Where rooms are plenty and I forget….
How you are not comfortable
And you may only have one meal a day
And you are a servant to the relatives who took you in
When your parents died…
The gap is too large.
I want to mind the gap
I want to do more, and then more, and then more
And acknowledge that you are suffering.
Acknowledge that you are there.
And I am here.
And there is a gap.
Not just in distance
but in tolerance of suffering.
Just enough is not enough
Radical is what God is after.
Minding the gap
So that you will have a place to call home
With a bed
And a family
And I find joy and purpose and I am blessed
Because I know for you, life is better
Because life for me, has changed.
– Susie Stewart
Let us not love with words or speech, but with action and in truth.
– 1 John 3:18 (NIV)
Friends, please search your hearts for ways that you can love radically. There is still so much need in the world. God calls us to different things, but there is no doubt that He calls all of us to DO something. This has been a journey for me of how to live more simply so that others can simply live. I have been inspired by my daughter Nicole, who for so long has set an example of simplicity and a lack of materialism. The book “Crazy Love” has had a huge impact on our family and this sermon by Joshua Clemmons. No judgment cast on anyone else, just challenging all of us to find ways to do more.
http://www.trueimpactministries.com – a ministry that is minding the gap.
* “Mind the Gap” is a phrase that originated in London as a warning to passengers as they cross from a station platform to a train door.
Photos taken by Susie Stewart
A beautiful, profound, much needed challenge for all of us, Susie. Thanks for setting the pace.
Yes, yes! Love it. Beautiful heart, you. The pic, your words, wisdom, your boldness.
I am thrilled to see you live out the truth of what you know in your heart “makes perfect sense” based on what, and who you have seen, really seen, in Uganda
You encourage and challenge me – I am grateful for you and the role your family has played in mine.
Mind the Gap, has been on my mind for days, the picture of the little boy won’t leave my thoughts. My first reaction is to bring him home ,and give him every thing he needs. This little guy pulls at my heart. There is such a Gap. God is teaching me I can’t save the world, but I
can Pray and listen to Him when He asks me to take baby steps one day at a time. Thank you for sharing your heart.