Denton County Living Well Magazine July/August 2016 | Page 44

What Would You Do?

W

By Michelle Wallace

hen Bono was a little boy growing up
in Ireland, he saw America put a man
on the moon. He said, “I thought these
Americans are mad…they are mad! But I
thought what could this country do? What
could these people do when they put their mind to it?
John F. Kennedy was the one, in 1963, who said, ‘By
the end of the decade, we will put a man on the moon.’
It wasn’t because it was on everybody’s mind––it was
just the right thing to do, it’ what we’re asking now.
We’re asking them to do something extraordinary––not
put a man on the moon. More like ‘PUT MANKIND
BACK ON EARTH.’” He explained how other eras
have had their movements and it was up to us to end
extreme poverty. “That’s what this generation––it’s up to
us––our moon shot––our putting a man on the moon––
we’re going to end extreme poverty––we’re going to
make poverty history. That’s what’s fallen to us to do.
And I believe that is not an impossible adventure.”
Then Bono became discouraged. He grew weary in the
fight. And one day from a park bench in New York, he
told the Lord, “I quit.” Then a man approached him.
Unaware it was Bono hiding behind a hat and glasses,
he began pressuring him to buy an old newspaper.
“I’ve been saving these but my wife told me I have
to get rid of them,” he explained in a heavy Bronx
accent. Bono finally told the guy he’d buy a paper just
to get rid of him. As he unfolded the old, worn pages,
he looked down to read the headline in bold caps,
“MEN WALK ON MOON.” It was the New York Times
from 1969! Bono quickly asked the man about the
large stack of papers. He was overwhelmed to learn
they were all the same paper. He bought them all.
Maybe we’ve grown weary, complacent, or just plain
lazy. It seems few of us know or remember what it means
to sacrifice for the greater good. I believe it’s time to stir
ourselves to wonder again. The story of Nehemiah is
inspiring. Nehemiah is a cup bearer. It’s his job to taste
the food and drink before the king to make sure the king
wasn’t poisoned. One day he learned that his people
were in trouble. The place he was from was in ruins. The
wall had been torn down and the gates were burned.
When he heard about the suffering, he sat down and

42

DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2016

cried. Then he turned his tears to action. The opportunity
came to tell the king what was going on. And the king
asked how he could help. Before Nehemiah answered,
he prayed, he investigated, then he asked more than
a few good questions. He asked better questions. He
asked for letters that would give him easy access. He
was brazen enough to ask for building materials and
a place to stay while he completed the restoration.