surely this is not THE Jericho Road

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

-Luke 10:25-37

At the end of the street where I lived in Madrid, the same man sits on this corner of concrete that forms the entrance to a metro station. He has folded cardboard on this little corner to form a seat. When I started my walk around 8 am, he wasn't there, but by the time I came back in the afternoon, he was there. He had the same quick little remarks as I walked by, "hello pretty" or "good afternoon!" and a smile on his face with his metal cup in his hand hoping I would put in some change.

In my twenty minute walk, I made only three turns. On the main road, after passing this first man, I also passed another woman who sat in the same spot every morning. She never spoke, she just had her little dish sitting there waiting to be filled. As people walked by, she would make eye contact and follow them with her eyes as they approached and as they passed her.

By the time I walked home, she was still there but she switched to the opposite side of the road. An accordion player, who always started conversations with me at the stop light where he sat, joined the commute. A few times there was a man in a very ragged suit who had a cardboard sign that just said "I am hungry." He stood about two blocks after the accordion player. Yet another man, also sitting with a cup in front of him, sat in between them.

Several mornings, I walked just inches away from a man's "home" where he kept his suitcase of belongings and was wrapped in a blanket on the same step of a car dealership. He was always gone by the afternoon. I never saw his face. Sometimes in the afternoons, a man would be on one of the street benches, barefoot, with beer cans under the bench, sleeping. I wondered if it was the same man or two different men.

Surely, this road, this road that I walked everyday isn't THE Jericho Road. Oh no, it's not possible because its Calle Isaac Peral. Its not called Calle Jericho. Surely this is not where I am called to stop and ask how am I to help? Surely, I am not the Priest or the Levite who walked by heartlessly, who walked by without caring or noticing. I noticed!

I don't have any change.
I don't have coins, nor the ability to bring about change. 

Is the parable about giving each of them money everyday as I walk past them? Is it asking me to make them all breakfast or lunch, or provide them with groceries? Is it merely telling me that I cannot be hard-hearted and ignore? The one that had mercy inherits eternal life- I have mercy on them! Is the parable about teaching me that these people are PEOPLE, they are humans with stories and struggles, who deserve someone who advocates for them, someone in their corner, someone to help them? Is the parable only about guarding them from my judgment or ensuring I do not turn up my nose thinking I am greater than them?

I want to believe that the parable has real, rich requirements for me. Its just so much easier to think that the only Jericho Road I've been on were on "mission trips" or when I've actually tossed out a few coins or offered whatever food I had in my purse. 

Today, I write to admit that I realize I take the Jericho Road everywhere. I want to be the Good Samaritian, I just don't always know exactly what that means. Thus, I am, in fact, the lawyer who asks Jesus for some clarification. Who says, yes, Teacher, but tell me, where is the line? What must I do to inherit eternal life?

So, what Jericho Road takes you to work every morning? To the gym? To school?
What does that mean to you?

"On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Careful what you pray for kids, you just might get it!

I sat down to write you all an update on Dad - he is doing great!
It's such a joy to have him at my apartment, to be able to be so close and to spend so much time together. In my laundry list of factors going into my decision for law school, it was certainly a goal to be in California closer to where he worked. But New York and Miami seemed so much closer than Madrid, being in California wasn't the only factor. It's been so great over the last two years to grab dinner, to drop Grey off with him during finals, to go to his place for laundry for a weekend, and to play Nurse Stephanie... it should have been one of the only factors.

Since his first strange episode with dizziness and slowed heart rate that sent him to the emergency room, there has been a lot of prayer surrounding him. My thankfulness for the prayers and support that follows us literally all over the world is unwavering. I'm amazed at the people who I cherish so dearly, whose emails or texts really do deeply brighten my day and calm any fear or unease stirring. I am deeply deeply grateful.
But I will state raw honesty to say such a cloud of prayer makes me feel uneasy. Such a cloud hung over us during Mom's cancer. In a month, it will be 6 years since she entered golden gates. Walking down hospital hallways, even for the most minor of surgeries, brings back truly horrible memories. I find as I grow older, those who I cling onto in seasons of change, terror, and challenge are those who stood as giants next to me in that time. It's those who I don't need to tell about the brick in my pocket, making everything weigh heavier than it should, than it would for someone else.
I am grateful for all the unspoken words that have gone back and forth between me and that special crowd, and I will continue to honor our friendship in any way that I can. The North Atlanta family, my closest sorority sisters, our dearest adopted family in Oregon... wow, we have so much love for y'all. 
This is not to say that we don't have some great support out here in California, but times like this, it is tremendously clear to me that real home is Atlanta. No one has showed up with a casserole! Real home is this nonexistent place where all of you are scattered. 
I've witnessed some crazy prayers prayed this last year. From boldly asking for healing, direction, confirmation, arrest of perpetrators, for a Judge to grant a case, for scholarship, for grades, for safety... and I've also seen answers in the wildest of places.

A friend recently inspired me by listening to God in what seemed like an impossible way. People always talk about the "power of prayer" like it is some bold, mystical way of God responding to us. It is. But it is so much more than that. It is, if you really believe, His way of hearing us, smiling and saying, "if you mean that, then watch this!" Or perhaps other times, He hears and responds by gently shaking his head as he looks at the mural of our lives and says, "oh no, this is what you actually need instead." The power, is not in our prayer, its in God's ability to answer it. And what power He has! Thus, what courage we must have to ask Him to use such power to respond to our requests and our questions.

The invisible prayer cloud on Thursday must have been the reason why the Dr implanted the pacemaker underneath Dad's pectoral muscle instead of under his skin. This Dr probably did 20 pacemaker implantation surgeries on that day alone, and of all he has done in his career, easily 90+% have been under the skin. But after just a few minutes of speaking with us, he went in, against his routine and put it under the muscle so it would not interfere with scuba diving gear, a guitar strap, his backpack he uses to travel, or a gun strap when hunting. We were really thrilled, and it comes at a cost of high pain in the short term. A price he is willing to pay to preserve his lifestyle and his many hobbies.
I can't imagine that anyone prayed for the Dr to put the pacemaker under the muscle. But I can imagine that people, possibly hundreds, prayed for the Dr to have guidance, to perfectly perform the surgery, for Dad to be able to return to his normal lifestyle...
Makes me think this tag line would look good on a poster in a Sunday school classroom: "Careful what you pray for kids, you just might get it!"

"This is my prayer in the desert, when all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need, MY GOD IS THE GOD WHO PROVIDES!
This is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain: There is a faith proved of more worth than gold, SO REFINE ME LORD THROUGH THE FLAME. 
I will bring praise, no weapon formed against me shall remain. 
I will rejoice, I will declare, 'God is my victory and HE IS HERE!'
And this is my prayer in the battle, when triumph is still on it's way: I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ!
All of my life, in every season, you are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship
And this is my prayer in the harvest, when favor and providence flow- 
I KNOW I'M FILLED TO BE EMPTIED AGAIN, the seed I've received I will sow."
-Desert Song, Hillsong