Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for May 2012

Think Fast: a review of 58: Fast Living by Scott C. Todd

The poor will not always be with us.

We can end extreme poverty in this generation.

Crazy talk, right?

Wrong.

I have to admit that I was a little bit — okay maybe a lot — skeptical about Scott Todd’s book 58: Fast Living: How the church will end extreme poverty. End poverty? At least he dreams big.

But something happened as I read — I believed it was possible.

Todd issues a challenge to Christ’s church on earth based on Isaiah 58, calling American believers, in particular, to live and give on behalf of the extremely poor. Yes, he talks about money and giving, quoting shameful numbers regarding tithing in America which should make every one of us who call ourselves “Christian” examine our spending. But he doesn’t leave it at that. He challenges American consumers to shop smarter and support products and companies who promote a cause along with their business (like TOMS shoes), bear the fair-trade label (like Ten Thousand Villages) or offer fair wages to workers (like this company).

When we think about lifting people out of extreme poverty, “made in China” isn’t the first thing to come to mind, but Todd offers that our throwaway made-in-China products DO offer people a chance to make a living and take care of their families. (He doesn’t condone poor working conditions but reminds readers that countries like England and the U.S. have deplorable working conditions in their industry history. He encourages we work toward reform.)

If ending extreme poverty truly concerns us and becomes the cause we champion, then Todd says we need to let people know, including politicians. They need to know we care about extreme poverty.

FAVORITES: Todd doesn’t just tell you what you need to know. He offers real, practical solutions. I mean, when you title a chapter “How Mom Can End Extreme Poverty,” you’d better offer me something I can do between diaper changes and during nap time. To join the movement and get more ideas, visit Live58.org.

FAULTS: This book made me uncomfortable. And that’s a good thing! I’m not comfortable with my level of giving to the poor, my shopping habits or even my belief that poverty might actually be history some day.

IN A WORD: Persuasive. I am moved to do something about poverty after reading this book.

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BOOK WINNER: I didn’t forget! Thanks to all of you who entered to win a copy of Teasi Cannon’s My Big Bottom Blessing. Sadly, only one of you could win. Random.org picked Leigh Ingram! Congratulations, Leigh! I think I literally just tossed out a post-it that had your address on it, so e-mail me at lmbartelt[at]gmail[dot]com and I’ll send it your way!

STILL TIME TO WIN:  And there’s still time to enter to win Unveiling Mary Magdalene by Liz Curtis Higgs. Comment on the blog for a chance to win!

Love & Marriage: Reflections on five years of both

Saturday marked our five-year anniversary. Not a major milestone as far as milestones are concerned but certainly something to celebrate.

I won’t tell you it’s been easy or perfect or blissful. It’s had its moments of those. It has also been hard, imperfect and disappointing.

And worth it.

It’s a huge act of grace that no one tells you the WHOLE truth about marriage before you get married. I fear no one ever would take the vow if they knew the truth. (Similarly, I’m thankful I never saw a birth video before I was pregnant and enrolled in childbirth classes.) Had I known how ugly, exhausting and challenging marriage could be, maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to walk down the aisle. Or maybe I would have been too naive and lovestruck to believe it. (Note to self: I was too naive and lovestruck to believe it.)

Three days after Phil and I wed, we hiked a mountain.

Here we are on day 4 of married life, ready for a hearty breakfast before the descent.

When Phil first suggested this part of the trip — a daylong hike up a mountain to spend the night in a primitive cabin at the top — I didn’t hesitate to say, “Let’s do it.” Bear in mind that we are not now, nor were we then, in peak physical condition. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Looking back, our honeymoon prepared us for the next years of marriage in ways I would have never imagined.

We hiked a physical mountain …

… unaware of the mountains we would face in our marriage in the years to come.

 

We pledged to love each other, whether poor …

(our primitive cabin on the mountaintop)

… or rich

(we visited the Biltmore two days after we’d slept in the woods).

A lesson in contrast not easily forgotten.

We’ve had days when marriage feels like this …

And ones where it feels more like this …

We’ve learned that marriage requires sacrifice …

… sometimes even death (of self, of dreams, of expectations).

And it definitely takes patience, acceptance and love. I mean, those sound like no-brainers. They are easy to agree to. Much harder to live out day to day. Especially with a husband like this.

Truly, he makes the journey fun. (When I let him. I’m way more serious than I need to be.)

Five years of marriage feels a little like the morning we woke up on a mountain.

We were tired and achy from the previous day, but we’d seen some amazing views, breathtaking, really. We’d made some new friends. And it was time to move on. To head back down the mountain, continue our honeymoon and get on with our married life.

After five years of marriage, we know tired. And exhausted. And weary. We know beauty. And take-your-breath-away moments. We’re beat from the battles of two individual lives coming together to make one life yet we’re somehow stronger than we were when we started. We’ve reached a peak. And it’s time to move on.

To celebrate, Phil took me back to the woods for a combined anniversary/birthday/graduation/Mother’s Day present. (Wood is the traditional five-year anniversary gift. Isn’t he clever?)

We hiked again. 

Because we’re gluttons for punishment. And because we can’t help ourselves. I connect best with God in nature and solitude. My husband granted me both as a gift.

We found another mountain, different from the one from our honeymoon but not without its challenges.

The sign told us what to expect. “Very steep” is an accurate description.

We went ahead with it anyway. We could have backtracked and taken an easier path. “We’re not in a backtracking phase of life,” my husband reminded me, and up the mountain we went.

I sense another metaphor for our life and marriage.

I’d like to think that in the last five years, we’ve had all the trouble we’re going to have as a couple and a family. That we packed a lifetime’s worth of trials and tears into a short period so we could enjoy the rest of our married days without the hard stuff.

I’m not as naive as I once was. And I hope that doesn’t sound cynical.

We have a steep road ahead. More than one I’d imagine.

We’re going to sweat. And suffer bruises. (I got one on my hand on our latest hike. I have others on my heart.)

We will ache and hurt and moan and complain. (And NOT take anymore pictures of ourselves while hiking. Egad!)

And we will smile at the memories, even the times of not knowing how or when the hard time would end.

Because in the end, we will have seen something beautiful.

The pain will fade. The hurts will heal, if we let them.

And we will sigh in satisfaction, knowing we did something hard and survived.