Left to Write: Just Show Up
08-17-2006
by Brenten Gilbert

Redemption comes in strange places, small places, calling out the best of who we are.
Sara Groves - "Add to the Beauty"

Up until this very moment, I couldn't have told you what this month's Left to Write was going to be about. I had several conflicting ideas and plenty of distractions and obviously many excuses. And then I realized that Sara Groves released her DVD, Just Showed Up this past week and it was clear. . . sort of.

But before I get into that, I want to begin somewhere that won't immediately seem to make sense. Bear with me, I'm going somewhere with this and it begins with a new reality television show. The Sci-Fi Channel recently launched a series called Who Wants to be a Superhero? with Stan Lee, creator of many superhero comics including Spiderman. I initially dismissed the series because I'm not that big into comic books and, to be honest, it's on the Sci-Fi Channel and those shows are always so weird.

Well, as I was browsing through iTunes, looking for some free videos, I stumbled across the first episode of Superhero being offered for free and I went ahead and checked it out on a whim - it seemed more interesting than the pilot of a show called Three Moons Over Milford which was also free. And I watched it.

If you haven't seen the show, the premise is basically that there are ten competitors who have each created their own comic book character, costume and all, and, under the guidance and judgment of Stan Lee, they will be submitted to a series of tests and challenges to determine who has what it takes to be a true super hero. As Mr. Lee explained in the first episode, the real qualities he's looking for are that of character and integrity. The winner gets their own comic book series, but that's not what's important here.

The first challenge that these would-be heroes faced appeared to be a simple test of speed and cunning. They were to inconspicuously change into their costume and race to a goal. On the way to the goal stood a little girl screaming and crying for help because she had lost her mother. Six out of ten competitors raced by the youngster without stopping, intent on reaching the goal. Their plans succeeded, but they had failed. They had missed the point.

The point is this: we should never be too busy to help those around us. Missions are never more important than people. In the words of Stan Lee, "Superheroes help people."

These days, it seems that we're not interested in helping others - at least directly. We'll help if it's convenient, if it fits into our plans. Even though experiencing needs aren't generally part of anyone's plans, we feel like helping others in their time of need should be something that fits within ours.

This attitude is problematic. The less we desire to help others the more we stifle the image of God within us all. God is all about helping others. God is all about rescuing those in need. If that's His mission, shouldn't it also be ours?

Just Showed Up is a documentary that details two specific times that well-accomplished recording artist, Sara Groves took time out of her schedule to help others meet their needs. It's a touching project with footage of Sara's caravan of diapers and baby wipes which she delivered to victims of Hurricane Katrina and her missions trip to Rwanda. If nothing else, it's a good reminder that it's important that we don't allow the goals and distractions in our life keep us from "showing up" when there's a need waiting to be met.

Thanks for your time.

- bdg.