Jumping Rope

I went for a run tonight and sat up on top of hill in a pagoda that lets me see all across campus. On my way back to my apartment I was going through the square here and saw a mom and dad doing double dutch with their kid. I didn't even know Chinese knew what jump rope was (apparently they do, they call it tiao shen), so I stopped and watched for a while.

The couple noticed me watching and motioned me over and said something in Chinese. I gave my usual, "ting bu dong" (I don't understand), but then they started motioning me to jump in. I was like what the hey I got nothing else to do, so I started jumping rope with this Chinese family. I figured I would do it for a little while but by the end of it all I had been there almost a half an hour. None of them spoke English and pretty much all I could manage to say is, "Is this your Father?", and that's pretty much all we communicated using words.

It was a blast though. It felt so good to be connected to a little community in a place where it's so easy for me to become disconnected.

Rob Bell says that that's what sexuality is, connecting. One of the reasons people have this desire is because they are desiring connection. He says America isn't over-sexed, it's just disconnected.

I agree. Maybe that's what Families in American can offer. That one little moment of connection in a world that is ever becoming more and more disconnected. They provide a pocket of community to people who are so desparately searching for just that. The feeling of knowing that you have a niche or place in this world can go a long ways in advancing the Kingdom in hearts. Honestly, it doesn't have to be anything big. It can be as simple as jumping rope and letting a stranger be a part of your family for just a little while one Monday night.