Broken Hearts and Empty Wallets
by Tyler Clark
Some folks lives roll easy as a breezeDrifting through a summer night heading for a sunny day.Most folks lives they stumble,Lord, they fall through no fault of their own.Most folks never catch their stars.Here, I am, Lord, knocking at Your place of business.
- Paul Simon
At the beginning of the Lenten season, I saw a caustic little cartoon that read, "I believe I'm getting closer to God by spending a few weeks not eating M&Ms."
As a recovering cynic, I both appreciate and resent the sentiment. What's the point of going 40 days with only water? I could simply write a check and be done with it. It's not like the check will bounce just because it was written by someone with coffee breath. Who do we think we're fooling?
"Oh grand," Cynical Self mocks Hopeful Self. "You get to be part of the Blue Bracelet Club. Good. For. You."
The mere fact that my sardoncism often overshadows my compassion is reason enough to warrant my participation.
Yes, I could have simply written a check, but no amount of cash can heal this beautiful, ailing world of ours. This world is only changed by broken hearts, and my mine is certainly in need of breaking.
So I did something small. I gave up a few small things. Coffee. Coke. Beer. Wine. At first it didn't feel small. The caffeine headaches. The haunting smell of freshly brewed coffee. Pretending to enjoy tap water. It has not been easy or fun, but neither is true sacrifice.
Voluntarily going a few weeks without coffee, Coke and Coors doesn't equate with a life lived without consistent clean water, but it has started to open my eyes to what it feels like to be denied something that is consumed every day without a second thought.
Give generously and often to organizations like Blood:Water Mission, but remember that Jesus didn't come for your wallet. I will try to muzzle Cynical Self and believe that the world can be changed by people as flawed as I. And when my heart is truly broken for the broken, my wallet and everything else will begin to fall into place.
- Tyler Clark lives in Nashville, Tenn with his wife and dogs. Follow him on Twitter at @tylerlclark.
- Photos by Josie from her "40 Days of Water Art" Flickr page.
- Photos by Josie from her "40 Days of Water Art" Flickr page.
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