If he/she can do it - I can too
I am just back and recovering (well) from a week of travel. It was physically tiring but emotionally and spiritually uplifting. The trip was to be together for five days as a big group (60-plus people) to plan, have fellowship, and get to know each other. By the end, we had become an “intergenerational connected community.”
It was intergenerational because we had Gen Zs, the majority of Gen Ys, some Gen Xs, a few Baby Boomers, and one or two Silent Gens (who weren’t too silent, but 😊).
We were connected by one purpose – to be a channel of “Healing and Witness to God’s love” in every community and nation. That common purpose knitted us together, even though we were from different generations. (Is this not what the world needs today, too?)
Carl R. Trueman reminds us in his book: “The stories the modern world tells us are powerful: the future-oriented promise of science, the technology that privileges the young, the materialistic paradise offered by consumerism, which is always just around the next corner, the dying of confidence in words, the fragmentation of human nature, the distrust of traditional structures and notions of authority, and the wicked results of saying that somebody else is wrong and does not belong.”
We were connected by an infectious courage—in long-term life choices and immediate physical and emotional risks. We heard stories from people who have taken the “road less travelled” or swam “against the current,” experiencing fulfilment and transformation through these choices. And we decided in our hearts that if he/she has done it, I can too—this is true for both the young and not too young!
We also saw individuals saying, “If he/she can do it, I can do it too,” thereby conquering fears—like jumping into a pool, getting on a very complex and convoluted zip line, or overcoming fears of heights and water 😊.
Did some of us have to do it? Should we have behaved according to age-related expectations? I am still grappling with this question. :)
Community because there was a celebration of diversity in cultures (people from more than 50 nations), competencies, creativity, and skills! Yes, communication differences and expectations were complex because of different contexts and cultures. Yet, these did not prevent us from celebrating each other. It was almost like this picture from the Good Book: “I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages.”
Community because there was a shared dream and hope for today and tomorrow. That one day, we will see beyond the wars some are experiencing, the confusion and complexities their nations are enduring, and the walls of division and perpetuated divides. These will break down one day, and we will celebrate much more because our dreams have been fulfilled!
We were created for this, not what Calvin envisioned, and we do some crazy things, too!
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