Magic Dust

I have a lifelong relationship with dust.   

At birth, parents try to keep it out of my mouth. As a toddler, I learned to add: dust + water = mud.  Puberty revealed the indirect relationship between filth and girls.  Personal hygiene was the instantaneous solution I needed; the magic dust.

I look for magic dust when I need to get something done.  I've been using a photo in support appointments that is a couple of months old.  People say the picture looks nothing like me.  I was heavier, less sure of next steps and closer to a painful situation than I am now.  Compared to the picture, I'm  now thinner, more hopeful and happier.  It seems someone has sprinkled me with magic dust.  

The origin of "magic" is magos magus, sorcerer, of Iranian origin; akin to Old Persian maguš sorcerer.  A sorcerer is one using power gained or controlled from spirits to do work in the world.  When we watch a magician, illusions seem otherworldly.  We're left wondering for days, sometimes years, how the tricks work.  The hold on our imaginations can be lifelong.

We have lifelong relationships with dust.  

I look for magic dust when I need to clean the house.  Robotic vacuum cleaners and offspring work in a pinch but both need supervision.  In my search for magic dust, Scripture guides:

  

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

We have lifelong relationships with dust because life began in the dust.   God is Spirit and we are dust.  Magic dust is the work of the Lord in people.  When inanimate objects live and breath, magic dust is made.

Think Pinocchio. 

A deeper dive into Disney animation reveals how a wooden doll actually came to life.  A deeper dive into my weight loss shows actual diet, attitude and exercise changes over time.  The deeper I dive into Genesis 2, the more I learn about magic dust.

Magic dust is hearing the voice of God and obeying what you hear.  When God told Adam and Eve to breathe, they did.  Obedience is the magic dust.  We can still hear from God through prayer today.  

I am raising financial support because I heard the Lord say, "Overcome your fear of the police, as an urban, black male by seeking understanding."  As I began understanding cops, I saw they need Jesus like everyone else.  There are jovial cops, grumpy cops, kind cops and paranoid cops because cops are people.  I gained a deeper understanding of cops through obedience.

Obedience is the magic dust allowing me to respond to needs I've seen among officers.  Building a team of generous monthly supporters with Reliant is an act of obedience. I have suspended my work as a police chaplain to raise monthly financial support.  Resources gathered are for ministering to and following up with officers and members of the communities they serve.  Books, meals, postage, telephone calls, texts, supplies and gifts are needed during and after police encounters.

Post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and suicide rates are too high among cops and the communities they serve.  I join physicians, law enforcement professionals and families in seeking solutions.  We're all looking for magic dust to sprinkle onto a society too often turning against those who serve and protect.  Getting to 100% of my support goal is only a part of my obedience.  Returning to the road to minister is the other part.

Doing what God calls us to do changes things; obedience is the magic dust.  

My ministry coaches don't have magic dust.  Apps don't supply magic dust.  Tips and best practices aren't magic dust.  Even my best efforts, without the Lord, only amount to dust.

With the Lord, things work, including me.  I can do nothing on my own but can do all things - including raise my full support - through Christ.  What a privilege to be used by God to do the work of ministry among first responders.