Summer 1996 Newsletter

Formatting Update: July, 1998

President's Corner

By Ed Choe

Whew! Six years on the Board of Seattle Habitat! When I tried to start this last column, I realized that I couldn't possibly capture all that I wanted to say about Habitat in one short article. But I recently heard part of a sermon on the radio in Atlanta, and it really helped to crystallize for me one very special element of what it is we do at Habitat, and led me to this final reflection.

I missed the beginning of that sermon, so I don't know the name of the minister, or even her denomination, but she was speaking about a time in her life when she was very poor. She was waiting for a bus in the cold in New York with her baby. A truck driver stopped and offered a ride, remarking that it was too cold to be out with such a young one. She offered him the bus fare, but he just answered "Nah." He let her out at the grocery store, and as she got out, she sneaked the bus fare onto his dash. As she was shopping in the store, he came roaring up to her and angrily shoved the thirty cents back into her hand, saying "I could kill you for doing that." She still wasn't sure, after all these years, why he was so angry, or even why she had insisted on paying that thirty cents. But I suspect it was the same issue for both of them. The truck driver was seeking to keep his sense of dignity as a good neighbor, paying him probably deprived him of feeling appreciated. For her, the money was an important way for her to maintain her sense of dignity as well, she probably need to feel that she could still pay her own way, that she didn't need charity.

The minister remarked on how terrible it was that thirty cents had assumed an importance far beyond its worth. Like her, I've known poverty in my life, and the worst thing about being poor really isn't the money, it's the sense of powerlessness. She noted that when you you're poor, something you know that is very small to most people becomes very big for you, and there isn't a thing you can do about it. Even small attempts to try to claim your own dignity can often be very costly, and those attempts need to be affirmed by others.

It made me realize what this remarkable thing is that Habitat provides - the affirmation of dignity for those who feel powerless, for those who struggle to hope. Even when we haven't had the land or materials or money enough to build; even when we have been imperfect, for all the mistake we have made, even when we haven't done it intentionally, it is the one thing Habitat has always been able to provide - to recognize and affirm a sense of dignity and respect to those who need it the most, and to give them comfort and support. What is also remarkable is that this doesn't just benefit some, it serves us all.

When things are going well, you know that you matter, you're secure in your human dignity, and you take it for granted. It's easy to believe that your power rests in yourself, and to forget how much we depend on others and on God for all that we have in our lives. We can fool ourselves into thinking that if we're just powerful enough, or smart, or wealthy, or capable, we won't need anyone else. But you know, there aren't too many of us in this world will that day when the load is too much to bear alone. It's been a remarkable thing for me to learn how many of my fellow volunteers at Habitat, whether Board or Committee members, construction or office folks, all capable, self sufficient people have almost universally experienced that moment in life. I avoid suspect that many of us have come to Habitat to volunteer because our experience of struggling to regain dignity lost or to hang on to a sense of self-worth has led us to understand how important that struggle is. It's a wonderful gift to realize that we aren't so self-sufficient, to know that we need each other and that we are in need of the Grace of God. I believe that understanding that is what allows us to accept the comfort of others, and of God. That for me has been the beginning of true Faith, because as I quoted pastor and writer Frederick Buechner in the Annual Report, "Faith is a word that describes the direction our feet start moving when we find that we are loved."

It's been an incredible privilege to serve on the Board of Seattle Habitat for Humanity, and I am so grateful for all that I've received during my term. Just imagine, in the simple (NOT easy!) act of building a house, the abstract concepts of Dignity, Respect, Humility, Faith, Loving and Being Loved, springing to life - What a wonderful thing Habitat for Humanity is!