"All of us have circles: friends, family, immediate and wider communities – the list goes on. Today's act will prepare you for a generous Lent of connecting with and serving these circles of people.
Green: Find a notepad and pen – sketch out your social circles: friends, family, colleagues, sports teams, church. Notice how they might overlap, or be completely disconnected. Stretch yourself – include the circles of people that you *could* plug into a little better, with more effort. Stick your doodle up somewhere in your house, as a reminder for the next 40 days of the people God has placed into your life. They're your opportunity to practise generosity!
Amber: If you've got a little more time today, do the green option and then spend some time praying intentionally for these circles and how your 40acts experience might impact on them.
Red: Want to go all out today? Why not contact one of your circles – start a Facebook group, use WhatsApp or email, or pick up the phone – and let them know about 40acts? Encourage them to join you for the next 40 days, and see if you can find a group of people in your local community to make a generous impact wherever you are."
It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to draw out my circles diagram, and not just because my lack of sight is a challenge. There are so many interactions and overlays and I couldn't make it all work, but I think I was missing the point so I stopped messing with it.
As you might be able to see my life was quite segmented through school, uni and in my work; I kept all the sectors in their places which I'm guessing is quite normal when you're figuring out who you are and what life means. But when I started reaching out through social media and realised that God was calling me to something more, life started linking up in all sorts of ways and cross connections happened. Now life is linked and complicated and yet much more real and meaningful. Really interesting challenge and lots to pray and ponder about.
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