Becky Douglas Used My Pillow

Have you ever had a wake up call at a time when you didn't realize you had even fallen asleep?  Sometime within the last month I had fallen asleep... not physically, but passionately.  Amidst the trials and set backs I've been facing, my fiery flame of passion for creativity and action diminished to burning embers.  It makes me sad to think that I didn't even notice my flame being snuffed out.  I didn't notice my passion was being put to sleep.

At 3:33 PM today (I know-- I checked the time), I knew that I was fully awake again.

How?

After spending my morning with personal activities such as cleaning at reading, Susie and I received a visit from a very important woman:  Becky Douglas, the founder and president of Rising Star Outreach.  She was accompanied by a woman named Amy.  This wasn't a formal visit, but rather a causal drop in to say hello and build new relationships.  We welcomed them into our small Parakeet room, and I secretly became embarrassed for the scattered clutter!  Much to my relief, Becky and Amy made themselves right at home by sitting and resting on our beds without any signs of even noticing the clutter!  Becky eventually snagged one of my pillows in order to make herself more at home on my bed.

I'm not exactly sure how long we visited for... One hour?  Two hours?  More??!  During this time, we enjoyed an exchange of stories and helpful information for both Rising Star Outreach and Promethean Spark International.  Now as I sit here typing, I wish that I had recorded the entire sharing time so I could reflect more clearly on the wealth of wisdom that was shared!  The stories and insight that Becky offered made it clear that she credits God for everything that has happened with Rising Star Outreach.  He has been the guiding force behind everything.  Becky Douglas-- a stay at home mom who never graduated from college-- listened to the call from God to take action, and she did it.  She jumped in.  And when people have doubted her or asked how things are going to pull through, her response has often been, "I dunno... but we're gonna do something."

I gleaned several valuable lessons from Becky this afternoon as she rested on my bed.  Her body seemed so tired from the recent voyage to India, yet her soul was on fire as she shared story after story, liberally sprinkled with advice and valuable insight.  Even some of the cliche sayings in our conversation carried weight and inspiration.  And here are a few ideas I am walking away with now that my passion is awakened:

1. Change is possible.  When Becky first started coming to India 16 or 17 (or so) years ago, you would see people affected by leprosy and other afflictions at every streetlight corner in Chennai, begging.  Today, you hardly see this anymore.  Although it has taken nearly two decades to observe this change, it is significant.  And Rising Star Outreach has been the driving force behind this change!  Those people who were once begging are now receiving care and various resources in their colonies, and their children are receiving quality education that will set their lives on a course for a better future.  So although I've been discouraged and weighed down for much of my experience here, change is possible.  And now that I'm awake, I can make that change happen.
2. We must create.  We can't just sit back and expect change to happen, or expect someone to carry us through the doors of opportunity.  We must take action and we must create!  Becky Douglas and Padma Venkataraman had to create this organization from the ground up and have needed to create solutions to problems, and create new ideas to improve the future.  The work will never end.  The need to create will always be there.  And it's interesting... creating isn't always a fun and jolly experience, although it can be.  Sometimes the journey of creation is painful and disappointing as we have to throw away the poor parts that don't turn out right.  Although I have had some incredibly joyous experiences in India, I allowed my focus to dwell on the pain and disappointments of some of my creations not turning out right or simply being unappreciated.  But we must create.  We must keep trying.  Because when we do, miracles happen.  God pours His power into the process of creation, and He enables us to do things that we could never accomplish on our own.  Amy even said at one point in our conversation, "The phrase 'If there's a will there's way" should actually be, 'If God has a will, there is always a way.'"  And sometimes we have to begin the journey of creation in order to discover the way.  Just like Becky's mantra, "I dunno... but we're gonna do something."
3. Don't be afraid to jump in.  I have noticed a pattern in my life where I am often too afraid to jump in due the fear of needing to jump out later.  I don't want to make mistakes.  But it's just like Babe Ruth said, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."  Sadly, I've let that fear of striking out keep me from too many things.  It has stopped me from exploring potentially good relationships.  It has stopped me seizing opportunities around the world.  It has stopped me from repairing things I've literally and figuratively broken.  It's like I've developed a bad habit of dipping my toes or maybe even a leg into the water as opposed to really swimming.  Sometimes I even justify this by telling myself that I just want someone to test the waters before me.  But now that my fire for passion is ignited once more, I know that I can't wait.  I need to jump in.  When I receive the call from God to jump, I don't want to just ask Him "How high?"--- no.  I want to create the most dynamic personalized jump that proves to Him that I'm all in.  

I need to keep my flame awake and alive.  Please help me stand accountable for this.  Don't be afraid to ask me-- quiz me-- on how I'm doing with this.  I don't want my fire to shrink to only memories locked in embers again.  

Today, Becky Douglas used my pillow... and she reignited my flame.