Choices

Every day we decide how we will spend our time, where we will invest our money, etc. Many of our choices are "I" centered or "My family" centered. That is why sometimes the other children in our city may be not seen.

In Blindside, a wealthy southern woman sees a homeless black teenager known only as "Big Mike" by her son. She sees that he is cold and doesn't have any place to sleep that night.

The mother, played by Sandra Bullock, makes a choice to "bring him home" rather than let him sleep in the gym. The first thing about a choice to extend ourselves to others may be a "risk" or seeming risk. Will he steal something?

Big Mike has folded the clothes on the designer sofa and started to walk back towards the school when Luanne Foley (Sandra Bullock) goes out after him.  She invites him to stay and have Thanksgiving with them. Eating together is another choice she makes and ones which brings the TV dinner eaters to the table where God is acknowledged before the meal.

Her increasing compassionate choices from guest for the night to "one of the family" with the entire family agreeing not only make a radical change in this under resourced high schooler, but the choices of acceptance and integration change the Foley family as well. Even the Dad becomes aware that he should consider some options beyond throwing out the left over food from his multiple restaurants.

The daughter decides if she studies with Mike at home she should walk across the room away from her girl friends and sit with Mike in study hall. This choice of including him changes him into a "player" from a non player in academic and of course football.

Know your players is one of the mother's admonitions to the football coach. Luanne has done her research on this boy and knows that he scored very, very high in protective instincts. He becomes a successful defensive linesman and is recruited by various colleges.

Does a choice of one person or a few people to step over lines and help the other children really make a different?

After 15 years of experience I can say in Project Lost Sheep that God has been with us as we have been changed and seek to reach out to other cities for change as well.

Are you ready to go out and do something rather than just read the paper?