T.S. Tuesday: A Mess Into A Message
"Success is relative: It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things." T.S. Eliot
I've been a thinking a lot about messes lately, trash specifically. Trash and pollution and the mess we make of our world.I just starting helping out Seres, a really cool organization, that is all about making something beautiful out of our messy world. Literally. I learned today that one of their past projects, "Building with Basura" involved students turning trash--plastic bottles--into the building material used to construct a new tree nursery that will reforest devastated landscapes.What's more, their mess became their message as these students used the "eco-bricks" project to educate the community about the waste and pollution problems that threaten air and water quality, and, subsequently, the community's health and wellbeing.
You'll probably hear much more from my Seres Soapbox over the next few months, but I couldn't help sharing this oh-so-tangible example of T.S. Eliot's description of success.And it's not just the environment we make messes of. We make messes of our lives. Our relationships. Our filing cabinets.But there is re-creation. Restoration. Re-visioning.The chance to own up to our messes and begin the hard work of making something beautiful.***Also, check out Hug It Forward, an NGO that builds SCHOOLS out of plastic bottles. Too much good stuff.
Weaving the Kingdom
Today is my first day as a part of the SERES team. Seres is a non profit organization here in Guatemala that focuses on environmental education and leadership development for youth and young adults. For the next six months at least, I'll be helping out with grant writing, marketing, communications, and other fundraising activities.
After non profit hopping for the last six-ish months, I knew Seres would be the perfect fit when I spoke with the Director about their mission to empower local staff and youth to lead the workshops and conferences and foster change in their communities. They talk a big talk about respecting biological and cultural diversity and the dignity of all life; what I'm most excited about is their walk. I haven't even officially started yet and I can say I've never felt more valued or welcomed into a group so quickly and sincerely.Just this morning I received an email from one of the board members talking about the power of using words to build a better world. But she didn't say using words, she said weaving words. About a year ago I was given the vision, the calling, the exhortation, to weave my words together as an act of worship. To use my words to glorify and give thanks, but also to usher in the kingdom. To weave hope and dignity and compassion into the tapestry of this hurting world.So granted I find the right bus and get off at the right stop (I'venever actually ventured out to the Seres office on my own), today I will begin a new pattern in my weaving and my worship. And I couldn't be more excited.I hope and pray this Monday morning that you have a chance to join in the weaving or building or speaking or caring or utilizing whatever God-given gifts spark your passion and imagination to usher in a world of hope and dignity and compassion. To usher in the kingdom of God.