BST's Blog

Tuesdays are usually full of meetings for me. It begins at 8:30 and usually goes all day. The one break I usually take is during lunch when I go to my spin class at the Y. Our normal teacher wasn't there today. In place of him was a woman named Deborah. Deborah is like the Tazmanian Devil. She is an ex-military officer and has probably .01% body fat. She likes "fast flats" which means she likes bike sprinting. A lot. I got my tail kicked today by a woman named Deborah.

I was zoning this morning a little during staff meeting thinking about the lists of things that need to happen before this time next week when ZOE stuff will be kicking into high gear. I felt my blood pressure rising and my anxiety levels beginning to bubble over. Then Doug told us about a 20 year old woman he's helping who has 5 kids. She can't read or write and they live in a car when they can't find a place to stay. I immediately snapped out of it. The more I hear about families in crisis like that the more I feel burdened by the things we spend so much time and energy on that are only marginally helpful to those truly hurting. I thought about Larry James today of Central Dallas Ministries and how patient he is in online discussions where people pontificate on social justice (like me) while he's out there in the trenches.

Sometimes it's good to be snapped back into reality. Today 2 women did that for me. One whose name I don't know but whose story moved me. And another named Deborah who showed me how it feels to want to pass out on a bike.