Last year I met a girl. Before I met this girl, I had been reading books. Books like Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne and Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Books that urge christians to get off their pedestals and start getting busy with the work of Christ. To get involved with the messy business of people's lives. To trade in the American dream for a much better reality - help for the hurting and justice for the oppressed. These were exciting ideas!
But at this point, they were only that. Ideas.
I had heard that this girl, Amy, and her husband Adam, had made the decision several years ago to sell their home and their business and move to a place called West Circle. West Circle is one of the government housing development in our town. I saw Amy every Friday. After I heard this about her, I couldn't wait to ask her about it. So, the next Friday I did. I asked her to tell me more. She was worried she would bore me with the details. I assured her... she wouldn't. So she explained to me briefly what they do and why they do it. It's a long, beautiful story, but the essence of it is this : they wanted to be the presence of Christ to the children and people of West Circle. God had called them there and they were willing to make a lot of sacrifices to go. After she told me this I did the only thing I knew to do....I asked her if I could hug her. I had to hug her. Standing before me was living, breathing evidence that these things I had been reading about could actually be more than ideas. And I needed to wrap my arms around that evidence for just a second.
I believe in divine appointments - meetings inspired by and led by God. There is no doubt in my mind that meeting Amy, and later Adam, was by divine appointment. You can't know them without being changed. For example, when God asks you to adopt a baby from Ethiopia, it's a little less intimidating when you've hugged evidence of his faithfulness to those who take risks for Him. They've inspired me to get off my pedestal and start getting busy with the work of Christ. To get involved with the messy business of people's lives. To trade in the American dream for a much bigger dream - help for the hurting and justice for the oppressed. And they didn't do it with ideas. They did it with their life. With their story.
And I just think that's pretty cool.
Adam and Amy's house is known as "The Brown House". They live there. They do ministry there. They offer Christ to all who come there.
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