To live like this...

When my youngest child was almost 5, she was diagnosed with one of those nasty pediatric cancers. It took her childhood. She relapsed at 8 and somehow - against every odd that there was - survived and is amazingly healthy. She turned 40 on her fifth birthday in many ways and her life has been about serving others. Spends Spring breaks doing service, gets after her parents for waste and consumerism (although she'd really like one of those cool little Macs.) dreams about what a world based on fair trade and compassion might look like. She said once that when you've received so much - so many prayers - so much goodness from others - the only way to spend your life is to somehow pay that forward. Living in a "conservative" worldview or a "liberal" worldview is rather a silly way to determine the way to live this life given to us by the Creator. It becomes narrow and mean spirited and the necessity of accusing others to maintain a sense of being right - well - I'm as guilty of it as anyone. My daughter is not. The transformation of her life rubs off on others and we want to be better Christ-followers. It also requires her to diseent at times. I suppose, I wish for all of us to know such people - they are our hint of the Kingdom, our imitations of Christ sometimes.