INTRODUCTION:

This spoken-word poem was originally written for some of the missionary work that I am doing in Wales.

I hope that this simple testimony encourages you, and inspires you to transition from a “me” focused lifestyle to the community that resides within the “WE” of Christ-centered community.

FROM ME TO WE:

By Shane M. Oberlin

I was born in America, in a very nowhere place.

Quite often, people would look at me like I was from outer space.

Their pace was not one that I would chase, emulate or embrace.

I had a bad case of never fitting in.

Rarely did I win at the popularity contest that consumes our society.

Inside of me was a vibrant imagination.

An instant transportation away from the struggles and the strife.

An inwardly focused life of excitement, adventure, and intrigue.

A glistening city with population: Me.

You see, my constant companion was loneliness.

Isolation was my closest friend.

I had built an inward temple with gates that would not bend.

I was easy to offend, quick to pretend, and slow to make friends.

Why embrace the pain of rejection when I could avoid it instead?

My internal palace of thought had become a prison of emotional rot.

I was king over a village of one, master of all but ruler of none.

But all of that changed when I met God’s Son.

When I encountered what only God alone could have done.

Jesus healed the wounds of my past.

He gave me a taste of true freedom, at last!

I moved past many struggles at a startling speed.

No longer in prison, my heart was now free.

Free to see, free to be, free to live, free from me.

Ransomed from a captivity of my own design.

I find that life is no longer just about me.

You see, I made the switch from “me” to WE.

There is more to life than the easy to see.

Most of it is found in community.

Most of it is connected to family.

And this is what I have found.

I see life through a brand new lens.

Now I am surrounded by family and friends.

Brothers and sisters across the world who understand.

I am accepted and loved and valued for just being me.

Through God, I have made the journey from me into WE.