Main Street Philanthropy, Week 2!
My life in a Brown Paper Bag
Week Two of Main Street Philanthropy is always one of my favorites. This week we led students through the Brown Paper Bag activity. They were given a small brown paper lunch sack, and asked to bring in three small items that fit in the bag and are a representation of who they are. People bring the neatest things; what a way to learn about someone!
A few items that stick out in my mind:
Stuffed Animals: Representing love for animals and a desire to see an end to animal cruelty (might guess the cause selected by this individual!)
A Charm Bracelet: Multiple charms each representing values of importance and friendships
One entire group all had headphones in their bag! They all love music and the role it plays in their lives (I can relate to that one!)
For my brown bag this session I brought in three items important to me:
A CD from our Quartet, Resolved. This represents my passion for music, and the place I often feel most alive, most connected to God. Participating in worship is an experience I cannot replace with anything else. Participating with these three guys (and Sharon on piano!), whether in complex four part chords, in unison, or even in discussion about the central meaning of the music - I feel connected, inspired, home. There's certainly somthing to the fact that music has deep roots in my family, so there also comes with it a family connection.
A Piece of the Berlin Wall: I picked this up on a trip to Germany a year or so after the wall came down. They were selling authentic pieces of the wall, right there by Checkpoint Charlie. At the time, I don't know that I truly understood the significance. For me, this item represents the importance of freedom. Not the simple freedom we think of and take for granted in the United States, but true freedom. Freedom to make decisions, to succeed, to fail. It's hard to grasp that some individuals aren't given this basic freedom. It's hard to imagine the impact this would have on one's general world view and perspective - growing up with the restrictions of being unable to make certain decisions, unable to cross certain borders. I think it's in direct conflict with human nature.
For the first time in thinking of freedom, I realized that God actually gave each of us ultimate freedom - freedom to accept or deny Him. Freedom to go alone, or with Him by our side. Freedom to make our own decisions. While I often think it would have been much easier if He hadn't, it's this freedom that allows us a genuine relationship with the Creator of the Universe, ideally for eternity! Pretty cool in my mind.
A Picture of our Little Family: There is nothing more special than family. My wife (who is amazing), and our three kiddos. There is nothing that can put to words the love a parent has for his/her children. While they have directly attributed to several of my gray hairs, they are also such an amazing blessing. There is little more special than the little moments spent in conversation, playing, learning, snuggling.
In fact, one of the great experiences of this Brown Bag exercise for me was that I had the items with me while driving Maddox (age 5) to school. I took out the piece of the Berlin Wall and had a wonderful conversation with him about why I'd selected that as an item to share. He had so many intelligent questions, "Why were the people not allowed to leave?" "Who kept them there?" "Why didn't they knock down the wall?" "Why didn't the guards get them when they eventually did get to knock it down?" "Why did the guards listen to the people that put up the wall?" Not easy ones to answer, especially knowing that it's from my perspective that I'm responding. We even looked up pictures on my phone so he could see what it looked like. (Technology these days!) Great conversation, great moment.
I hope these students are having as much fun and getting as much out of this as I am!
In week three, we'll dig into the financials of these organizations. Tax returns, number crunching, formulas and measurable results. Quantitative analysis...
Cheers, RyP
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