hedgehogged

I WAS LISTENING TO NPR this morning. No big surprise there - I'm a card-carrying, tote-toting member of WBEZ here in Chicago. But what I heard made me feel a twinge of sadness. They are doing a series on health insurance, and today they were talking about pet health insurance. They interviewed Kristen, a woman with a pet hedgehog, named Harriet. Now I have friends who think baby hedgehogs are quite cute (I'm less than convinced) but I don't know if they'd insure them. I won't go into the details, but sufficeth to say Harriet is the only known hedgehog on anti-psychotics. Wow. *  *  *  *  * We are, I believe, desperate for community, for love, for belonging. We're willing to go to great lengths to get it and preserve it - even if that means spending untold thousands of dollars on the lives of pets. I affirm that community is important, and that it is willing to put resources behind. I'm cool with pets, even baby (or grown-up) hedgehogs. But I think there is so much more dynamic community to be had, and it doesn't have to be insured. No matter our efforts - people and pets will die, will let us down. We have to come to a point where our belonging, community and love are found in something more. Some One more.

I was sitting and listening to the end of the story, somewhat stunned, in the parking lot at work. As I went to open my car door, a car drove by me with a license plate that read IOU LORD. I don't like cheesy, and I'm not huge into vanity license plates (mine's a bunch of numbers and the letter X - make of it what you will). But it struck me - I do. I owe to God even that sense, that desperation for community - I'm made in his image, after all. This weekend I get to spend some time at the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) conference. It will be a time to meet with others who desire to live in community, and to come alongside others to build up those communities. It is a hard balance, in a country where we have so much, to find where we should be investing our time, our resources and our hearts. As a Christian for me the answer to that balance starts with the church, and reaches out into the community around me. To be honest, I'm not sure when or where hedgehogs really fit into that equation. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••