One of the first full phrases my daughters learned was “That’s mine!” It is the password into the club of toddlerhood, that declaration of individual property rights. And indeed, it was also one fo the first words our new country spoke to England back in the day. Come to think of it, Adam and Eve were pretty excited about claiming what was theirs, as well. Mine.
Today David and I were eating breakfast in Panera Bread. We’d just dropped two of our girls off for a week of outreach in Belle Glade, FL. Belle Glade is a rough area in South Florida, poor, struggling, not pretty. This year our kids gave up their summer camp in order to travel just 45 minutes to Belle Glade and put on a day camp for the kids there. Christ Fellowship students gave up their right to “mine” and focused on someone else. Now I don’t know if most of our kids would have made that choice without the staff making it for them, but I’m praying for a week of growth on their compassion scale. And while listening to their slight grumbling over the trip, I was tempted to judge their attitudes until I thought about how I would feel when faced with the loss of “mine.”
So there we were, as I said, in Panera Bread. It was crowded, as usual. I pondered this, because our Panera isn’t really all that wonderful. It is pretty standard. And yet there the tables were, buzzing. I realized that the percentage of tables with laptops was extremely high due to the free wifi. And the end result was a room filled with interesting, diverse people interacting and having breakfast together. Most gathering spots tend to protect “their” internet, charging fees or memberships. But not Panera. They gave up their right to “mine” and the result was a community that would never have been formed otherwise.
I’m thinking about the things that are “mine” today. Are there places or posessions that would be better used as “ours” than “mine?” Is there a better result waiting for me when I give up the right to “mine” consistently? Do I have the guts to do that?
No answers, just questions today.
