A post by Peregrine

Occasionally something happens in the basti that just so encourages and delights me as a picture of God’s dream for the world, already happening in a place of “poverty”.

I was visiting a Muslim neighbor in her mud-floor hut, one of the poorest that I know well. She was having stomach pains (something she’s had since birthing seven kids and having multiple other miscarriages). A Hindu neighbor living in an equally poor home, recently arrived from her village, was also there. When my friend complained of her pain, the neighbor took some of the cooking oil from its container and proceeded to massage my friend’s belly to ease her distress.

I left there feeling humbled that I didn’t know how to help but this neighbor knew the basics of struggle and harsh life, and was quick to serve her neighbor in pain.

I seek to live here with eyes open for those kinds of moments of Beauty, which I do notice nearly daily, usually in far more subtle acts of love, generosity, and hospitality. I enjoy grounding myself as “one among many” of the channels of God’s presence, often receiving so much more than I give.