Get Some Skin in the Game

My husband had an interesting flight last week.  He flew down to Charlotte on a small plane with two co-workers and the pilot, for a business meeting at the Charlotte office.  The flight down was uneventful, but the landing was not.  When landing in foggy conditions, the plane overshot the runway, skidded down the field, went off another 30 foot embankment and did what amounts to a big belly flop at the bottom.  Very scary stuff!  And Jeff (my husband) had a front row seat for all the excitement, since he was sitting up by the pilot.  Needless to say, grateful doesn't even begin to express the feeling we all have at the fact that everyone walked away relatively unharmed.

While recalling the accident, my husband said to me, "There was a moment when I looked down, and I could tell that we were too far down the runway to land on it.  I don't know why I didn't just pipe up and say something to the pilot about it.  I guess I figured that he knew what was going on and that he had it under control.  Or maybe we were landing on another runway or something."

Now, I invite you take a leap with me here and apply this to our everyday lives.  Have you ever felt like you could see the plane wreck coming, or even taking place, and yet you just stood there on the sidelines, not saying or doing anything?  My guess is that we do that all the time.  We all see situations that are going badly on a daily basis.  We may even say something like, "That's too bad"  or "I can't believe that this _____ is happening."  We may go so far as to put a name to it.

But, just having empathy or putting a name to it doesn't really change the situation.  Change requires action. And in the action part, I know that I often fail miserably.  Sometimes my inaction is caused by feeling overwhelmed by the situations I see.  Sometimes, my inaction is linked to my own sense of inadequacy.  Sometimes my lack of action is due to my lack of empathy.  And, if I am being honest, sometimes my inaction is due to my aversion to putting myself on the line for something.  Or straight up laziness on my part.  In other words, I want to complain about it, but I don't really want to be the one that does the hard work of changing the situation.  It is simply easier for me to let someone else is take care of it, believing that they have it under control.

But I'm here to tell you something.  If there is something that you believe needs to be changed, the only way to really change the situation is to "Put some skin in the game."  You can't just "call the situation out" and expect change to happen.  You have to do the hard work of putting your shoulder to the ground and pushing forward.  And the problem with that is that while you are putting your head down and gritting your teeth to push foreword, you are leaving your back vulnerable to attack.  And no one enjoys that feeling.  It is human nature to protect our back.  No one likes to feel vulnerable. To leave your skin exposed in a way that someone can come along and cause harm.

But that is exactly what it takes.  It takes opening yourself up, being vulnerable, and letting love pour out of you unheeded to bring about change.  And I think this is the scariest thing in all the world to do.  It is definitely one the hardest things to do.  It is for me, anyway.  And I'm not talking about action that is loud, or big, or extreme.  Sometimes the action is as simple as contacting people you know to start an encouraging letter campaign for the staff of a local school.  And yet, that process of simply reaching out to others to join you can feel like a position of great vulnerability.  What if they think you are weird?  What if they criticize you?  What if no one else joins in?

And yet, here is the great thing I have discovered about love.  True actions of love seem to self multiply.  By that I mean, that people sense when love is being poured out, and they are drawn to it like bees to honey.  Those moments when I have made a few, small, brave steps forward to enact small, seemingly insignificant, changes, people have responded and stepped up in BIG ways.  Yes, there have been some that have criticized the action.  There have been doubters.  But by and large, those that have stepped up in love have far outweighed and out numbered the critics.

I'm telling you that actions of love can do incredible things.  This is a God principle.  He knows that small actions of love multiply.  Why do you think that he commanded us to love one another?  Love in action can break down the biggest walls, break through the thickest of chains, and can cause changes so big that the ripple effects are seen throughout generations.

I'm not telling you to go out and tackle the biggest social issues around you, but I'm not telling you that you shouldn't either.  I am telling you to not discount the "small stuff."  The seemingly insignificant stuff.  Do small acts of love.  Find ways big and small to create positive change right where you are.  Quit complaining about the problems around you and get some skin in the game. If we all just practiced small acts of love on a daily basis, the impact we could have on our families, communities, nation, and our wold could be limitless.  It could be world changing.  It could be life changing.

I'll leave you with a photo of my handsome husband!  I am so beyond grateful that God had his hand of him last week.  He is a source of great joy and love in my life, and he probably has no idea of the ripple effects his love for others brings into this world.  I'm so excited to see what God has in store for him!