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Sunday, September 7, 2008

Same or Different? That is the Question

This has just been a crappy week for me health wise. I am so thankful to have been healthy all spring and summer, not even a cold, but I guess it was about time for me to remember the, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything” rule. After wrestling a panic attack last Monday, and finally feeling “normal” on Wednesday, my back decided to teach me a lesson in humility and put me flat out on Saturday. I have never experienced the kind of pain I experienced on Saturday, not even during childbirth. A heating pad and strong painkillers were my best friends although they did very little good. I missed Church on Sunday which I dislike doing especially since I am responsible for teaching a great group of Middle School girls. I prepared my lesson, had it all ready to go for Sunday morning, but couldn’t stand up. I am feeling some better this evening and hope with another nights sleep and rest, I will once again speak without moaning or slurring my words in a drug induced stupor. So there you go, enough about my ailments. Don’t you just want to say, “shut up” to those people who talk about their aches and pains all the time? For you youngsters under forty – just wait, your time is coming!

I’ve read three books in the past two weeks and am working on a forth. I get in a Non-Fiction kick occasionally and want to read what is really happening in the world rather than what is imagined. To feed my curious appetite for world events, Joel Rosenberg’s Epicenter closed some gaps I had in my understanding of the happenings in Israel, Iraq, and Iran. Although this author has written mostly fiction material, some of his theories in his fiction work have eerily come true. His book Epicenter explains his conclusions of these theories and I believe it is because he is truly tuned in to the happenings in the Middle East. I become very tired of the bias national news so it is refreshing to read a different perspective from someone who has a heart for the nation of Israel. I think he is worth reading, so I also read his blog. You might check him out if you are interested in this topic.

I also read Mistaken Identity, which is the true story of the look-alike girls who were switched after a tragic accident a couple of years ago. This is an incredible story of two families who rejoiced and grieved over the loss of a daughter. If you missed this story in the headlines when it happened, then you are especially in for a real shocker if you read the book. Without giving the story away, let me just say, it is totally unthinkable that this could happen. God has a plan; only through Him can great good be brought from such tragedy. Have some tissue handy.

Occasionally an amazing book will slip under the radar from me, thus is the case of Same Kind of Different As Me. This was recommended to me by a childhood friend who had read my review of The Shack. Since I work in a library, I don’t usually purchase books. If our library does not have a book, I can usually do an Inter Library Loan (ILL) from across the state and find any book I am interested in reading. However, since this book was recommended from a friend whom I highly regard, I bought the book for our library collection. Thanks “A” for the tip.

My goal here is not to tell you all about the book, but to inspire you to read the book. With that in mind, I can honestly say Same Kind of Different As Me is one of the best Non-Fiction books I’ve read in a long time. Of course that is my humble little opinion and everyone has a different idea of “best”, so when I use this term, I use it in the context of what makes a book “best” to me.

First, setup is an important structure to me, especially in a non-fiction work. To pull a reader into a story, the book should have a good setup. The authors of the book alternate chapters in their own voice in an open and candid way. Since the authors are a homeless black man (Denver Moore) and a wealthy white art dealer (Ron Hall), the books tone is different from chapter to chapter.

Secondly, how relevant is the story and why should it be read? If the author can persuade me in the first few pages the importance of the book, then he has me hooked. Since the story is about racism, a controversial topic in this country at the very least, the bait had to be tasty to catch me. The bait turned out to be Ron Hall’s feisty wife Debbie. There is no “catch and release” in this story.

Thirdly, will the story cause me to think outside my comfort zone? It is a comfortable place indeed to read a book that confirms all my traditional ideas, but truthfully, I do not like to read books where I always agree with everything the author writes. I like the challenge of critically thinking about a subject and developing my own ideas and then I like my ideas to be challenged by an author to the point where I begin to think differently about the topic. I find that in my safe little conservative world my ideas need to be challenged occasionally to remind me how to relate to broken, lonely, confused and searching people. Believe me when I say I run into these broken, lonely, confused folks often and sometimes it is easy to brush them off and ignore their need. Calluses around my heart and their heart are easily formed from the continual brush-off received from others and myself.

This book reminded me that this world is all about relationships. How does my relationship with Jesus Christ change the way I develop relationships with the discarded people in our world? Am I forming relationships with the people God wants me to or am I playing it safe by keeping my relationships with people in my comfort zone?

I sometimes read a very liberal blog I’ve found. Even though I do not agree with the bloggers ideas, her thoughts keep me relevant as to what a large majority of our world thinks. Recently she wrote:

“Any time I engage with one of my conservative friends or family members, or sometimes the conservative commenters on this website, it usually devolves into them screaming about WELFARE! and TAXES! and THE GOVERNMENT IS TAKING MY MONEY AND GIVING IT TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T WORK! And what they don't understand is that this is not the issue at all. What I and many of my more liberal friends want is to HELP people, not give them a free ride, but also not to ignore those who would benefit from us tossing them a life jacket……..But what about the family who cannot afford insurance for their child? The family who can barely make rent, and if they stretch the budget they can eat three meals a day all week, let's hope nothing bad happens to their kids because then they're screwed. Kids, go hug your father, he's off to one of his three jobs, none of which provide him insurance. And it's not because he's lazy or unwilling to work, it's that his family couldn't afford to send him to college, or he came from a family that didn't know they should encourage him to go to college because they were busy trying to survive. If giving up more of my paycheck could help get this family adequate healthcare, then PLEASE. TAKE MY @#$&* MONEY.”

This made me so mad (actually I fumed for a few hours) especially since I had just finished Same Kind Of Different As Me only hours before. After I calmed down, I realized that the majority of people think the very same way. Let’s just toss some money in the offering plate, or hand them a few bucks on the street corner or give them some good advice about getting their lives straightened out or hand them a Bible and walk away. Truly, I find that is what most ministries do. It is safe and it doesn’t really cost us anything personal. Not until we begin to form relationships with those of a different race or economic class will this world be different. “Relationship” means more than saying hello at the grocery story or inviting someone to church. A relationship means becoming emotionally involved with someone. That is an easy challenge when the person looks, thinks, smells, lives, eats, and sleeps as I do. But what if they do not?

So now what do I do? I’ve been handed a challenge and so I hand one to you as well. I challenge you to read “Same Kind Of Different Than Me” and not be changed. Then your challenge, along with mine, will be to take what you learned and apply it to your world.

Thanks for reading Rosie.

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