Matthew 9:36
King James Version
36 But when he saw the multitudes,
he was moved with compassion on them,
because they fainted, and were scattered abroad,
as sheep having no shepherd.
I've always loved art.
Probably that's why my father made me take up architecture.
Upon graduation, I just can't seem to be like everyone else.
Where everyone banded together, I could be seen at a little distance.
I was the only one not smiling at graduation.
Everyone eventually put up their design offices.
And glorified in contracts, clients, and cash.
I must have been a great disappointment to my father.
Precisely why I asked for nothing at school.
Only in my last year, for my thesis, did I ask to buy the required lettering equipment.
And even that was a pain.
I didn't have the heart to disappoint him.
But I'd gone that far, might as well finish the course.
I knew I would not be like everyone else -- an architect.
There were so many other things to be.
Like to be a journalist, an archaeologist, even a sociologist.
But I bore on, for the sake of my dad.
Mercifully, GOD had me graduate.
For GOD had other plans for me.
My spirit must have known that early on.
And "stuck" to the "plan".
But what plan, only GOD knew.
What my father didn't know, is that I, too, was a "chip off the old block".
Fierce, and independent, was what I grew up in.
How could I be anything else?
Where my colleagues looked to build grand homes or buildings, I was more interested in the tiny home.
Where they looked to have important clients, I was more interested in knowing more about social issues.
Where they looked to mainstream energy, I was more interested in exploring alternative energy.
I was always researching, attending alternative building fairs, checking alternative housing materials.
I stayed in the fringes.
Observing, thinking, dreaming up alternative solutions.
Even focusing on little things, like:
-- Corners of tables and furniture must not be sharp -- it might hurt people.
-- Things must not be heavy -- how could people carry those?
-- Design must be low maintenance -- people have a life, apart from possessions.
-- Buildings must be livable and people-friendly -- we're designing for them, aren't we?
-- There must be sidewalks for people -- not everyone has a car.
-- If they do have a car, it must be compact and yet spacious -- I've seen, and been in such.
-- Cars, houses, and appliances must be energy-efficient -- you know how fuel prices fluctuate.
-- Mass transit must work -- it's something everyone can afford, and saves travel time.
-- Everything must be affordable -- not everyone has tons of money.
So, on and on my mind would work, weighing things, with the intent everyday people have an easier time, considering the elite want us to have a tougher time.
We don't have limos, and private jets, to whisk us everywhere.
We don't have an army of assistants to do things for us.
We don't have tons of money to do the lifting for us.
What people call intelligent buildings, is not what is intelligent for me.
What's intelligent is if it's simple, easy to maintain, and people-friendly.
And doesn't use up much power.
I wouldn't want a mausoleum-like house, with no warmth at all.
My practical designer mind always looks at the "what ifs".
What if there's no electricity, how will you operate your intelligent home?
Oh, you've got a huge generator, right.
What if there's no more fuel, how will you power that generator?
What if the ey-ay messed up?
Well, I've got another house, you'd probably say.
And it's solar.
You've also got wind power.
And you've got those huge RVs.
And other mansions in other countries.
You even own a hotel, wow.
Your private jet can whisk you off to another island, or something.
Might as well check your stash in the Caymans.
Now you see why I chose not to go into architecture.
Now you also see why I chose not to pursue law.
I had no patience for the rich.
I couldn't cater to their whims.
I could not think as they do.
I wasn't cut out like them.
Even as GOD put me in their midst, for a time.
The middle class, and the instant rich, could also be finicky.
My heart was always closest to the everyday person like myself.
I found that this mode of thinking was best.
Our feet's planted firmly on the ground.
Our thinking's not clouded.
We get creative, when we have nothing.
We barter, when we can't afford to buy.
We share, when we have.
We are not possessed by our possessions.
I sure don't envy the rich.
Too many concerns.
Too many hangers-on around them.
Too many who probably don't even care about them.
Too many things to maintain.
It keeps your eyes away from GOD.
I'd much rather look into the needs of the everyday person.
It's more real, more adventurous, more exciting.
Challenges make you creative, and resourceful.
It also tests your mettle as a person.
It tests what you stand for.
Surely you've noticed how bored the rich are.
Why else the parties, the positions, the possessions?
Why else the hunger for power and prestige?
Why else the obsession to outdo others all the time?
Why else this foolish idea of world domination?
Why else the broken marriages, dysfunctional families, and obsession with dynasties?
Why else all the artifice?
I'm grateful GOD made me this way.
A "simpleton", with TONS of creativity.
Caring about others in my own, simple way.
Writing about His laws, which truly benefit everyone.
Holding fast to His truth, which everyone can live by.
All I've come to know as born again, I share with you.
Pure, practical, precise, perfect.
I'm not interested in anything expensive, showy, or trendy.
You are not beholden to the whims and winds of the world.
You are more excited by what GOD wants to tell you, or teach you.
You can't wait for His lessons.
You can't have enough of His truth.
You sit at His feet, listening closely, absorbing deeply.
And you can't wait to share with everyone else.
GOD gave me a vast field to learn from.
And I share all that with you on this blog, and all my other blogs.
There's really much to share since GOD made me born again.
I have a rich material to draw from.
And it's all because of GOD.
Who loved me enough to make me born again.
Allowing all those mistakes and experiences.
GOD is truly MERCIFUL.
Continuing this compassionate "stance", let us now to to the next post.
This tells us how to help those who cannot "help" themselves.
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