world beyond mine

what a week. dallas has been good rest. yet, coming back here reminds me of my roots. of course - its where i grew up, but not only that... being in the suburbs freaks me out. everyone is stuck in their own little worlds. i've got friends in several parts of the globe (argentina, ireland, east asia, and taiwan) and i'm stuck here in americaville - where you too can live out the american dream!

i remember the words of igor - one of my favorite people - in kiev: "the biggest difference (between ukrainians and americans is) people in america are caught in their small worlds." in kiev, they have nothing to really even consider a world. whereas in america, our worlds that we see as huge are really just game of accumulation and competition in the name of "prosperity." kiev - the bigger picture is painted by less and less. they are free to look beyond themselves b/c they are not worried about the stuff in their life or their status. their poverty is freedom. how revolutionary.

it's good to be reminded that our worlds are so small in comparison to THE world.

i liked this quote from whatischurch.com because its so easy to fall into this mindset:

I have lost sight of the story of God and replaced it with my own story independent of others, history, time, process. I have forgotten that I am going somewhere, moving forward through time and space connected to the people of God and even more importantly God himself. Sometimes it is good to come up for air. See the light. Remember your position in this whole thing. The big picture fills you with a deep breath so to speak. A relaxed moment in the journey that you have to be willing to go on. And once you are willing, you step into this wonderful picture of a people that are moving forward into God and his purposes