I'm Never Gonna Leave Lemon Grove Avenue

As I was finishing up last night's post, Heather called to say that there was a group of people going to the Iceburgh (Lance, Brandon, Garrett, and Will's house for the uninitiated) to watch "Hotel Rwanda."

The amazing thing about this is I had just been reading about Paul Rusesabagina, the central figure of the film, in We Wish to Inform You. I had wanted to see the film when it originally came out in theaters, but for various reasons that did not happen. I resist using the word exicted about viewing a movie with such subject matter, but there was great deal of anticipation on my part.

For those of you who do not know Rusesabagina's story, I will not tell the details here, but I would like to comment on the movie and the work of Terry George. As the director, George did an incredible thing showing Paul as a man who did not go about performing extraordinary acts of heroism, but as a man who did the ordinary in extraordinary circumstances. Paul took in orphans, cared for his family, and stood up to those who sought to oppress others. I think this can be the most powerful message to those who watch the movie and wonder "what can I do? "

We do not have to go about the world individually eradicating injustice and suffering, but we can do our part in our small section of the world. Again, doing the ordinary in extraordinary circumstances. The work of Christ in this world is not anything that is beyond what we can do when we have been empowered by him, and to see someone like Paul Rusesabagina commit himself to small acts of service in order to do his part in a revolution of love was inspiring.