Good Morning Church — We Need To Spend More Time Roughing It!

LaVern Vivio
Jul 23, 2017 · 7 min read

And it is something God instructed us to do.

Or at least He instructed the Children of Israel to do during the Feast of Tabernacles or The Festival of Tents as it is sometimes referred to.

This past week as we wrapped up our work in El Rosario and discussed the struggles we had faced Nathan Hale, our youth minister, reminded us that the festival was observed to remind The Children of Israel of how GOD had brought them out of Egypt — and that part of the festival requires those participating to live in tents during the week long celebration. (So they will remember what life was like for those who lived in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.) He said it served the purpose of keeping the people grounded and reminding them to never take for granted the blessing of the beautiful life they were blessed to lead.

And he added that our work in El Rosario can give us that same experience and remembrance.

Our congregation is sponsoring a congregation in El Rosario and this was our first big mission trip to our sister congregation in the Baja.

As I listened to different ones share their thoughts and experiences my mind continued to reflect on the way we had to carefully guard our exposure to the local water supply and even some of the locally grown produce.

Our sensitive American digestive systems just simply could not handle some of the bacteria found in those things.

At one point during the week I found myself trying to explain to one of our native Baja team members why we had decided against purchasing some of the local corn to include in our evening meal that day.

Our decision to pass on the local produce was simply to err on the side of caution because we could not be certain of the fertilization technique that had been utilized to produce such extraordinarily large ears of corn.

As I explained to my friend — food raised in America is closely monitored by the USDA to insure its safety.

I wish I had a picture of her face when I said exactly that to her.

She could not imagine “dangerous food.”

I told her that in America we have discovered that we can prevent serious illness by making sure food is grown properly without the use of certain chemicals or certain waste product application.

And even-though we do use manure fertilization — it is closely monitored to make sure food products are not contaminated by its application.

I continued to explain that since we could not be certain if or when the local food had been “fertilized’ then we could not use those products.

She seemed to accept my explanation but in the back of my mind I thought “I bet she thinks we are crazy!”

And sometimes I think we are too!

I completely understand the reasoning behind food inspection practices — many problems can be completely prevented if we will simply farm and grow food responsibly.

And unfortunately there will always be those among us that refuse to take the necessary precautions to provide safe produce — (and if left unchecked we would quickly find ourselves with food supplies we could not trust.)

So now — what does any of this have to do with the festival of tents and our need to spend some time roughing it?

I believe that in our ambition to be a ‘perfect’ problem free society we have forgotten to truly live.

This week as I watched the people of El Rosario and prayed for direction as we help them with things we take for granted.

  • Things like tooth brushes and tooth paste.

And of course at the heart of it all — At the foundation itself — Is the love of JESUS CHRIST and our desire to be HIS hands and feet in a part of the world where for many life seems hopeless.

But as I sat back and took it all in all I could think about is how in many ways we are no better off than the people we had traveled so far to serve.

We don’t have to deal with the humanitarian problems they face but as we sit in our comfortable cool homes and lose ourselves in the fantasy world of games and gizmos — entertainments and distractions — we have perfected ourselves into a immunity weakened society that has traded our humanity for humanitarianism.

We have forgotten what it means to get our hands dirty and to grow from the experience.

I believe The Feast of Tabernacles or The Festival of Tents was put in place to guard against that very thing with The Children of Israel and we should diligently seek ways to bring that same type of experience into our own lives — lest we forget where we came from.

It’s funny how things cross our paths in a timely fashion but this week as I made my own observations about the Lives we live I was reminded of a brilliant piece written by the late comedian George Carlin. (Not the sort of guy you would expect to get spiritual advice from but his words in this essay was just the thing I needed to hear and share after spending a week — roughing it — in El Rosario.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

God Bless!

LaVern Vivio

July 23, 2017

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    LaVern Vivio

    Written by

    Christian wife and mother of four boys. Career long Broadcaster, speaker and author. http://lavernvivio.com

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