DIT: Do It Together!

If Nike and Pinterest got married, we’d get a new slogan: Just Do It (Yourself!) #JDIY. There’s a trend now of DIY projects. DIY stands for “Do It Yourself,” but I’d rather DIT: Do It Together.

It’s easy now to YouTube how to build one’s own coop, raise one’s own chickens, and apparently, make one’s own cupcakes with ingredients from grocery store displays (different than the tried and true box mix…??).

DIY is cool in some sense because it makes people realize their own creativity, practice resourcefulness, and feel a sense of accomplishment. But does it also promote competition and isolation?

DIY successes and failures are posted all over social media…and I love to see them when I’m trying to make gluten-free, organic, clean, paleo, wild-grown blueberry, food-processed raw almond flour muffins, but the thought of “DIY” kinda makes me sad.

I’d rather harvest wild-grown blueberries in community.  And watch close by as plumbers fix my hot water heater, and shine their flashlight on the squash I’m cooking, and say… “Ok if I move your fruit?”… I’d like to DIT: Do It Together!

I think Mary is the bridge for this communion. This past Saturday I had an organic experience of prayer outside an abortion center. Catholics and Protestants prayed for an end to abortion—together.

First, my friend and I arrived and were about the start the Rosary when a Protestant man and family joined. My heart wanted communion, but I didn’t know how it would work.

The Protestant man and the family prayed spontaneously. It was beautiful. Totally life-giving. But I still desired to pray the Rosary.

My friend and I prayed the first decade. The man said, “Yeah this just isn’t for me.” He prayed an incredible spontaneous prayer about family, and the Holy Spirit inspired me to ask, “Why don’t we just do that for every decade?”

He agreed.

We prayed the Rosary with brief scriptural meditations on each mystery. Between, this faith-filled man added spontaneous praise and prayer.

Our little group prayed together for an hour. My friend and I committed to stay another hour, but the first inspired the second: we were so filled with the Holy Spirit from our experience of communion that we sang children’s songs and handed out more crisis pregnancy pamphlets than ever because people were moved by our joy.

We’re made for communion!

Mary, unite Christians worldwide especially this Holy Week. And bring all your broken people to Christ to heal us TOGETHER!

Amen.