Showing up.

We did it.  Again.  Last week the Extreme Response staff, along with a team of 45 people from the US and Canada, and our dogs and cats and kids, gave about 8,000 people a little bit of Christmas.  Sometimes we refer to what we do as “being the hands and feet of Jesus.”  I have been known to use that quote, but I’ve never been entirely comfortable with it.  I did some digging (because clearly The Google knows what I am thinking better than I do) and found this quote, that sums it up beautifully.

“Being Jesus doesn’t mean that I am always at the center, always doing something, always making something spectacular happen. Being Jesus simply means that I show up to be “part of” something. Maybe being Jesus isn’t so much about making it happen as it is letting it happen.”

― Jim Palmer, Being Jesus in Nashville: Finding the Courage to Live Your Life

I haven’t read the book, although I intend to go find it for my Kindle when I’m done with this post.  I just love the words. The thought.  The idea that all I have to do is show up, and God already has it planned.

     80 people showed up last week to be part of something.  They brought their gifts to the “manger”, to be used as He saw fit.  Beanie babies, bouncy balls, toothbrushes, combs, hair clips, paper airplane kits…they tolerated my cooking, no water, no sleep, each other, our staff, fireworks at 3 in the morning, dogs barking, horns honking…and they did it all with a huge collective smile that made me excited to jump out of bed each morning and see what the day would bring.  This team is hands-down one of my all time favorite Christmas teams ever.

     I could ramble on here, but I know you all just want to see pictures, so here you go.  Merry Christmas!

“Maybe being Jesus is simply seeing people as they truly are.”
― Jim Palmer, Being Jesus in Nashville: Finding the Courage to Live Your Life