If God had a wallet, your picture would be in it

After spending my two good young years at the UC School of Planning, here I am landing on a grass-root community organizing organization. I would say that other than the books I read, none of the skills I've learned from the Planning School is applied here at work. Unless, if I have to count the restless hours of working and reading books and writing papers and getting things done under pressure and chasing down professors to meet with us. I would say that I learn more outside the classroom as if bending an iron: persevere and being persistence.

I have done large scale planning with a county level government and that did not satisfy my soul. I crave for a more personal relationship with people that will allow me to get to know them personally.

I've learned that from Jerry McGuire. A movie where Tom Cruise was a athlete manager who realized that focusing on money instead of clients was wrong. He stood for what he believed, wrote a resolution only to be rejected and laughed at, left and got his own client to succeed. The smile of Cuba Gooding Jr in the field when he hit home run, Jerry's understanding of his family's needs, and what's important for his client, was his priority. Their relationship grew from more than a client and a manager, but they became friends.

What I didn't realize was that it was what Jesus was teaching all along. Jesus is always personal. Remember the Samarian woman on the well, or the thief beside him on the cross, or zakeous, every one of them was about SOMEONE. A person. A soul. A heart. He is also a leader who serve, washed the feet of his disciples, one by one. One-by-one also, preparing every character, honoring them to help them to be ready when the time comes for them to build his kingdom. The truth is Jerry McGuire must learned it from Jesus.

It is also one of the key why Jesus transformed countless lives. Because he touches us personally. That, I think, is what He wants from us, for us to know who we are, what our purpose is in life, is to know Him personally, as a creator, a savior, and a guidance-giver. He does not want us to trap ourselves under what we called religion, or denomination more than just the way we worship and build community. And above all, he wants us to love one another, regardless our level of understanding of salvation.

Learning as a community organizer, I work one on one with people to take active participation in their community. The community I work with is a low-income, African American community that is isolated among major interstate exits. They have been fighting to retain their neighborhood from being erased by the City who wanted to expand the industrial area. They have also worked together to reject the plan to erase some part of the neighborhood to build more highway exit. As time goes on, the community has evolved and the new residents sometimes are unaware with these history. To get them involved in the neighborhood activities that sometimes requires more than just time for their family is not easy. I always get into the idea of attracting their own interest. "What's in it for me," "Yes In My Back Yard (instead of Not In My Backyard)" are two keys to get people involved to improve the quality of life.