What I'm waiting for

I'm waiting to get back my heart for the poor. The kind that used to make me want to go serve hot food at 5am in the cold. The kind that used to leap into action after talking about it. I don't know where I lost it and I can't bear to think about what I've replaced it with. Please God, I want it back.

This is my first post. My first real post. It's intimidating.

Who ARE these people

The sound of the door opening, shuffling vootshteps, and muffled laughter broke the silence and grabbed me from my sleep. As I slowly gained consciousness, a wave of glorious music washed over me. “Glory, Glory, Halleluiah.” Wait a minute, maybe it wasn’t so glorious, and maybe it was 12:30 in the morning, and maybe I had to get up to throw my paper route in a couple hours. And maybe I was thinking “Who ARE these people?” Well folks, these are my housemates, the crazies that live on the north east corner of Sumner street and 29th. Why were they invading my space at 12:30 in the freaking morning? Because they love me. They came to say how much they love me and that they are glad I live with them. We talked for a little while (I was still a little groggy and they were a little giggly, so I can’t say it was the most profound conversation) then they headed to bed, leaving me alone again with “Glory, Glory, Halleluiah” stuck in my head and a sweet reminder of how amazing this house, this “Sumner Community House” thing is. How in the heck did I end up here? How did I get so lucky? As I sit in my bed reflecting, I realize most people would think an invasion of privacy at 12:30 incredibly annoying. But for me, I cherish it.

Why am I here? Why have I chosen to live in community? To be honest, I don’t know where else I would go. This is where life is found. This is where I am challenged to give myself to those around me, to die to myself, to live out loud, to love beyond my ability to love. This is where people come into your room at 12:30 to tell you they love you, or to ask you to pray with them. This is where love is born. I need my space invaded, I need to learn how to let others come in and tell me they love me. Where else could I go to find this stuff?

I have to go work now. Hopefully this is somewhat intelligible, seeing as it is a bit early in the morning and I may or may not be fully cognizant.
Who are these people? They are my fellow housemates and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

For your viewing pleasure

Not for the faint of heart...
http://home.comcast.net/~sumner_community/sumner.htm