Christians Under Construction - from Faith to Action

Does the Good you believe inspire you to act with gratitude, or to react with attitude? As you roll up your sleeves to get stronger, ask yourself: Does faith inspire you to take positive action? Do the actions you take and the choices you make improve your world?

I began writing my book, Christians Under Construction at the start of a journey in faith. A faith journey starts when we ask why, and begins with great hope to endure and to heal from the inside out. By faith, each day we can become more centered, and better at caring for our hearts, our spirits, bodies and minds. Prayer and meditation can calm us to know that everything's gonna be alright. We can allow the same faith that gets us to that place of peace, to drive us to care for she who houses and shelters us, Mother Earth. No matter WHICH our faith is, it's what we DO that matters, right?

Then let's get to work.

Project management firms know that the construction sites of our churches, offices, hotels, hospitals and residential units have materials like scrap metal, wood and other mixed debris, much of which can be recycled. I found that the average condo construction project in San Francisco generates 600 million tons of debris EACH DAY. Did you know that concrete debris can be reused in road construction, or that drywall can be reused in garden compost? Wood is reused for paper products, but the majority of the debris that comes from such construction is scrap metal. Copper is 100% recyclable, and sells for around $3.50 a pound. Hotels can refurbish and give modern updates to old chests and armoires at about 1/5th the cost of buying new.

The all important work of our sanitation and janitorial professionals is saving Mother Earth with the increased usage of eco-friendly cleaning materials and products that are non-toxic, with no phosphates, that are safe for the environment. We too can do our part by using earth-friendly products at home.

A lot of the plastics we use can be recycled, but all too often end up in landfills and ocean water sources. 500 miles from Los Angeles, the Pacific water currents have created a strange vortex of space that holds a swirling area of accumulated debris twice the size of Texas called the Pacific Gyre. By not properly disposing of plastic trash, this debris trail now litters Mother Earth's oceans, and works to prohibit the ocean's ability to absorb the huge amount of CO2 produced by humans. Yes, I mean you, you amazing creatures.

While the indestructible qualities of plastic are what make it so cool to use in the kitchen, those same qualities are also what make it fatal to our earth.

Put your faith into action. Open your eyes and dive into this age of reuse. The time of extraction and idle waste is over, my friends. There are more than a few great web sites for home recycling tips, and plenty of hidden opportunities to recycle in your work environment. Check out www.planetgreen.com, or www.globalstewards.org for ways that you can go from faith to action in YOUR environment. Relax. You don't have to become an eco-fascist; in fact, that level of intensity only serves to alienate others and creates an UNfriendly environment. That's not the goal here. The goal is to illuminate how when each of us does our part to take care of our own stuff, we also care for Mother Earth, and consequentially, each other. It's funny, but when we do things right by faith, people often aren't sure we've done anything at all.

I speak fondly of gracious Mother Earth in the poem, Mountain. This beautiful planet tolerates human (ahem) shortcomings (aka bs), even as she shelters and takes us along for one more day. The least I can do is respect her as she embraces lil' old me, trudging across her rugged terrain, just one of many student learning to enjoy the journey.

Mountain

I wanted to know
how the mountain coped,
so I fled West on her beautiful face
from a raging heat inside of me-
a sadness effortlessly kept up pace,
I trampled on her rocky gaze,
the very creature, whom she would nurture,
burned as me on the earthly cage

I wasn't invited,
I was sent.
The eruption was evident.
Nothing about a human is dormant,
no rock, no hell thrown,
and I am a woman
wildly volcanic,

crying cradled in a sheltered cave,
realizing sometimes
Life Is Pain,
and anybody telling it different
is lying to make a decent living
selling a selective truth,
but her mountains are solid beneath my shoes,
their flora thirsts for abundant tears,
Only to God are they compliant.
Despite my questions, they remain silent-
and by the time I reached the top of one,
it had been 40 years

© 2006 Arkay Evans