It really is a magical time in every child’s life. The chance to bring a few items you love dearly into your classroom for all your classmates (and your teacher) to see. The last time (and maybe the only time) I did show and tell I was in Kindergarten and I honestly couldn't tell you what I brought with me that day. However, I do remember the feeling of proudly bringing my items into school. I remember the anticipation of showing everyone the things that defined me as a six year old girl. If I had to guess, I probably brought in my ballet shoes, my ugly green pillow thing I slept with at night, and maybe a Barbie or one of my brothers GI Joe action figures (I remember playing with both. There was one GI Joe that looked like he could almost be a she because he wore a beret and didn't have a plastic beard).
I remember pulling my three items out of the box, excited to share because my classmates were excited to see. How do I know they were excited to see? Because even when it wasn't your day for show and tell, you were excited to know what little trinkets your friends brought in. Would they be the same as yours? Could you perhaps play with it later in the day? Maybe it would be a good thing to put on the next Christmas list.
So then imagine show and tell if one of the kids were to just "tell." That doesn't really sit well with anyone who is expecting "show and tell." We want to see the evidence of this thing that is so meaningful in your life not just hear you talk about it. Let's say I really did bring in my ballet slippers. I think at that point I had been doing ballet for about a year and a half. When I held them up for everyone to see, they would have had tangible evidence that I was really doing what I came to tell them. If I put them on to show my sweet dance moves, one of the students might be inspired to try ballet as well. But if I didn't actually have them, the students would be disengaged and maybe even a little skeptical.
Fast-forward 17ish years to today. I'm reading a book. This book talks a lot about Mother Theresa. It's not a book about her, but the author of the book did missions with her in Calcutta and so of course she is mentioned a few times. When he first got in contact with her he spilled out his desire to go to India and serve with her. Her response was an invitation, albeit, a simple one. "Come." She said. A hundred pages later the author added to this simple invitation with "come and see." You see, this guy Shane is trying to live his life according to a much different standard than anything most of us have ever seen... especially me. He says, "... the only way I know to invite people into... faith is to "Come and see. After all, I'm not just trying to get someone to sign a doctrinal statement, but to come to know love, grace, and peace..."
Upon reading that I was given the thought "it’s like show and tell. You have to be able to show people if you're going to tell them or there is no evidence."
Oh shit. That makes sense.
And then I asked myself, "Catie, are you living a life in which love, grace and peace are immediately and overwhelmingly present?"
Oh shit. No. No, I don't know that I am. I've become really good at telling. Really good at understanding. But showing? Living that way? I'm not so sure. And let me clarify that when I say 'show', I don't mean 'show off' or to 'put on a show.' I mean it as an invitation to "come and see."
Alright. So here is my plan of action. It isn't going to be a night and day change. This is a change that starts with the heart and then slowly and surely moves outward. This is the initial stake in the ground. This part of me has been claimed and there will be future ground breaking and building upon it. I know now that trying to duplicate another person’s work to a T is the surest way to fail. We're all called to the same kind of work -- to love others as we love ourselves. However, we are all very different and so the manner in which the work is done must be as varied and different as the people it is to serve.
My hope is that in five years, someone will read this blog and then be able to look at my life with honesty and a little grace and say, "She made good on her plan. I see the beginnings; I see where she started on a different trajectory."
I would be remiss if I didn't share the title of the book and give a big "thank you!" to the author for his story. It's called The Irresistible Revolution and it's by Shane Claiborne. If it sounds like something you'd like to read, I will go out and buy it for you. Seriously. Let me know. I will buy it. And if you don't live within a 30 mile radius of Cincinnati, I'll ship it to you as well.
I remember pulling my three items out of the box, excited to share because my classmates were excited to see. How do I know they were excited to see? Because even when it wasn't your day for show and tell, you were excited to know what little trinkets your friends brought in. Would they be the same as yours? Could you perhaps play with it later in the day? Maybe it would be a good thing to put on the next Christmas list.
So then imagine show and tell if one of the kids were to just "tell." That doesn't really sit well with anyone who is expecting "show and tell." We want to see the evidence of this thing that is so meaningful in your life not just hear you talk about it. Let's say I really did bring in my ballet slippers. I think at that point I had been doing ballet for about a year and a half. When I held them up for everyone to see, they would have had tangible evidence that I was really doing what I came to tell them. If I put them on to show my sweet dance moves, one of the students might be inspired to try ballet as well. But if I didn't actually have them, the students would be disengaged and maybe even a little skeptical.
Fast-forward 17ish years to today. I'm reading a book. This book talks a lot about Mother Theresa. It's not a book about her, but the author of the book did missions with her in Calcutta and so of course she is mentioned a few times. When he first got in contact with her he spilled out his desire to go to India and serve with her. Her response was an invitation, albeit, a simple one. "Come." She said. A hundred pages later the author added to this simple invitation with "come and see." You see, this guy Shane is trying to live his life according to a much different standard than anything most of us have ever seen... especially me. He says, "... the only way I know to invite people into... faith is to "Come and see. After all, I'm not just trying to get someone to sign a doctrinal statement, but to come to know love, grace, and peace..."
Upon reading that I was given the thought "it’s like show and tell. You have to be able to show people if you're going to tell them or there is no evidence."
Oh shit. That makes sense.
And then I asked myself, "Catie, are you living a life in which love, grace and peace are immediately and overwhelmingly present?"
Oh shit. No. No, I don't know that I am. I've become really good at telling. Really good at understanding. But showing? Living that way? I'm not so sure. And let me clarify that when I say 'show', I don't mean 'show off' or to 'put on a show.' I mean it as an invitation to "come and see."
Alright. So here is my plan of action. It isn't going to be a night and day change. This is a change that starts with the heart and then slowly and surely moves outward. This is the initial stake in the ground. This part of me has been claimed and there will be future ground breaking and building upon it. I know now that trying to duplicate another person’s work to a T is the surest way to fail. We're all called to the same kind of work -- to love others as we love ourselves. However, we are all very different and so the manner in which the work is done must be as varied and different as the people it is to serve.
My hope is that in five years, someone will read this blog and then be able to look at my life with honesty and a little grace and say, "She made good on her plan. I see the beginnings; I see where she started on a different trajectory."
I would be remiss if I didn't share the title of the book and give a big "thank you!" to the author for his story. It's called The Irresistible Revolution and it's by Shane Claiborne. If it sounds like something you'd like to read, I will go out and buy it for you. Seriously. Let me know. I will buy it. And if you don't live within a 30 mile radius of Cincinnati, I'll ship it to you as well.
