Tip of My Iceberg

It was supposed to be a delightful hike through Honey Bee Canyon In Tucson, one that my sisters had walked many times before.

It was a marvelous day for a walk, and the two of them were accompanied by a friend. They maneuvered their way around rocks and the scattering of pebbles all over the dirt as they came to the end of the hike. The path had become narrow and steep, and they offered a couple who had been walking behind them to go ahead because they were moving more quickly.

Because it was a canyon, there were dips and drops that needed to be navigated with care and attention. It became the setting for the perfect storm of the slippery slide.

My twin sister, Gayle, slipped on the pebbles covering much of the ground and dropped about twelve feet to the wash at the bottom of the canyon, her legs and arms covered with road rash, the back of her head covered with rock debris from knocking her head against all the gravel and sand, her body covered with deep cuts and chunks of skin removed because of the fall.

My sister was in a lot of pain, but her circumstances would be worse had the couple who moved ahead of them hadn’t waited when they saw what happened. They helped her get comfortable, the lady putting her backpack under Gayle’s head and getting it soaked with blood. They were the ones to call 911 and engaged in a problem that wasn’t theirs. It takes selflessness to choose to help people you don’t know. It takes compassion to be inconvenienced with no return for your work other than a thank you.

God reminds us that we’re part of a greater community than we realize. One that covers not merely geography, but the whole world.

“So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

Imago Dei is a unique theological term that applies only to people made in a moral, spiritual, and intellectual likeness to God. It’s all of humanity–we’re all made this way. It’s reflected in His desire to know us personally.

His heart is for us to love one another, to care more deeply for others than always thinking about ourselves.

“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:2-3

There’s deep joy in treating others with compassion; it’s paying it forward for when we need such care. My sister experienced that beautifully from strangers who put their comfort aside for her hope.

Life is more than selfish ambition and self-promotion. It’s living in unity with others who are different from us, who don’t know us.

Wouldn’t it be grand to be loved just because you’re you?