When we brought our tandem bicycle to church for our presentation, the main focus of the fellow parishioners was the comfort of the gluteus maximus. This all made sense, considering our church has padded pews. Several individuals were concerned at the narrow features of the saddles, and were offering suggestions about increasing the width, with a queen pillow they would share with us for the tour. I then broke out into an explanation of the high-tech spandex that we wear. I recieved looks of dismay, and likely thankfulness as we chose not to model them for the congregation on Sunday.
So this brings me to my next point about getting uncomfortable. I recently watched the new video put out for Sea to Sea, and in it shares details of the adversity that people around the world face as they live in poverty. It helps me to realize that my relative discomfort, such as tolerating the cold of Michigan, asking people for money, and even sitting on a narrow peice of leather for long hours, is minimal in comparison. Sometimes our culture of seeking comfort (my own included) can lead us to complacency, and to not challenging ourselves to take the risks that God calls us to. Our prayer, is that God will use this tour in our lives to make a difference, and raise awareness in others about God's ordained mission of caring for the poor.
