Rocky Mountain Fever

John Wesley’s Rules for Life:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

I left Holbrook, Arizona today headed for Colorado. I cruised over to Gallup, New Mexico and jumped on a road through the desert and the Navajo Nation that takes you right into Cortez. As I listened to Charlie Hall sing about Christ being the center of our lives, Wesley’s rules of life kept coming to mind. As I am here preparing for next summer’s mission trip, I see that the work we are preparing to do falls right into this. Cortez is a nice little town. In many ways, I think it is something like Fairhope was when it was smaller. However, a lack of jobs and rising housing costs takes its toll on the people. While overt poverty is not obvious here, the reservations are just minutes away. Reservations make no attempts to hide their poverty like our small towns do.

I sat in a beautiful park and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. Pink hues painted the snow peaked mountains to the east. I saw kids playing soccer, families walking their dogs and “punks” at the skateboard park. I read my Bible I prayed for the community—that seemed to be all the good I could do at that time. Two Mormons were on their mission and walking by. Right next to this beautiful park, this beautiful piece of Americana underneath a beautiful mountain sunset, sat a rundown housing park. It seemed to be a statement of contrasts. I wonder who was behind those doors. What were their hurts and their needs? What were they afraid? What were they praying for?

I wonder if I did all the good I could today by all the means I could? I didn’t preach the Gospel with words to the unbelievers, I didn’t feed the homeless or visit the sick or imprisoned. But I prepared to do many of those things and began to pave the way for others to do so. This is going to be a good trip. I pray that it will be for those who will serve and those that we will serve. Maybe that is all I can do today.

Be what He has called you, Believe what He has told you, Become what He has for you