That Which Connects Us

We've all been through tough times.  None of us are immune from pain, struggle, or brokenness.  The commonality of pain and brokenness binds us together as humans.  We may not all be in the same socio-economic bracket or drive the same car or live in the same suburban neighborhood but it's the reality of pain, struggle, even death that binds us and reminds us all of the fragility of life.  

I'm reminded in my own life of what was once strong and vital becoming weak and powerless.  My mother gave life to me, raised me, soothed my hurts as a young boy.  She calmed my aching heart when my dad died when I was ten years old.  She listened to me non-judgmentally when I was 11 and told her that I had stolen a toy car from a local neighborhood store.  She stood proudly as I graduated from high school; the first of her children to do so.  And when her life became too weak in that she could no longer take care of her own needs she trusted me to care for her, love her, watch over her.  She trusted me to make the tough decisions that pertained to her physical health and when she could no longer offer me wise counsel she became a child; my own.

Pain and struggle come to us all.  We might be fit and active today but there will come a tomorrow when the strong become weak, when the independent become needy, and when the proud are humbled.  It's what connects us as human-beings.

I'm reminded in the Hebrew Scriptures in the book of Isaiah of these words:  

"...those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
they will walk and not be weary." 
(Isaiah 40:31 Contemporary English Bible)

May you fly with the eagles.  May you run and not give out of breath.  May you walk the path that God has laid before you.  May you see your life in holy connection to those around you which ultimately binds us together even in the face of pain and struggle.

You Have Something to Say

It has been a while  since I last posted anything here, and it is not vital that one should always have something to say or write.  It is important, though, that one's voice not go silent because one believes there is nothing to say.  We all have something to say.  We all have feelings to share even when we want to keep those feelings close.  We all have thoughts and opinions.  Some of us have learned there is a timing in sharing thoughts, opinions, and feelings. 

What stirs in your heart?  What gives you cause to proclaim your station in life?  Society is filled with people wanting to be heard.  Just read the newsfeed on your Facebook page or give a few minutes to read the 140 word blurbs that your friends are "tweeting".  Introverts and extroverts alike want to be heard from on occasion, but the question that hits at the heart of matter is this:  are we saying anything of substance?  Do we make noise simply to be heard?  Are we like prisoners trapped in the dark cells of our souls clanging a tin cup along the prison bars?  Trapped.  Forgotten.  Can anyone hear us?  Will anyone help us!

I guess what I am seeking to say is that it is painful to speak and not be heard or worse, ignored.  It is painful to feel deeply, desire longingly, think openly and come to the conclusion that it does not matter what one thinks or feels.  Each of us by virtue of our collective share in humanity have value and worth and something to say about life and living.  Perhaps, what we say will not make any sense to the casual hearer but is it not better to seek to speak and risk being misunderstood than to give up and believe there is nothing worth communicating?

You have something to say.

Speak.  Write.  Share.

Be heard.

Spring at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens

                 

                                                                                               

Life Gets in the Way of Life Sometimes

You know sometimes life just gets in the way of well, life.  You live each day doing the things you think you should do and before you know it the things you want to do are pushed to the edge.  Yes, sometimes life gets in the way.  Should this stop us, however?  Should we just throw our hands up and say it's of no use; of course not.  We take each day as it comes.  We let each person that we meet become small reminders that we are not alone; that others are experiencing the busyness of life, too.  We seek to find our purpose in the midst of living.

Finding our purpose can be challenging, though.  Henri Nouwen has written that we live like overstuffed suitcases "bursting at the seams".  Perhaps life getting in the way is exactly what we need.  We only have this one life in which to raise our children, attend to our jobs, go to school, attend worship.  Life is going to be what we make of it.  Sometimes we need to step back and take a "life inventory" to examine whether we are making a life or life is making us.

In the days following Easter I am reminded that life changed for the followers of Jesus Christ.  And here's the thing:  life didn't necessarily change for the better.  Granted, their conviction of who Jesus was (and is) changed exponentially and their commitment to spreading the gospel was unflappable.  However, their lives often met with derision and ridicule from others who were opposed to their message.  Most of the followers of Jesus in the early days of Christianity died as martyrs for the faith.  Yet, they could choose no other life because they lived and breathed the message of salvation that they had experienced first-hand through Christ.

I guess you could say that life got in the way but what a life. 

How's your life going?

A Prayer by Thomas Merton for Ash Wednesday

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.  Amen.

Tebow or not Tebow? That is the question.

In his collegiate career at the University of Florida Tim Tebow wore smudge paint under his eyes to help reduce the glare of the sun.  Football players do this all of the time.  It's a normal practice.  What made the smudge paint under Tebow's eyes unique is that he wrote the biblical verse of John 3:16 on the smudge paint.  Now, fast-forward to the present day and Tebow comes to the NFL and plays quarterback for the Denver Broncos and this past Sunday passes for (get this) a season high of 316 yards.  That's not all.  He also, in the same game, set an NFL record with 31.6 yards per completion.  
I find all of this rather intriguing.  Some pundits might say that Tebow has God on his side or that Tebow has some extra special connection to a higher power.  I'm sure some will go to great lengths to purport that God orchestrated the game just so that attention could be paid to John 3.16.  Some will even say that it is simply luck or chance.  What I see in this is (and it's summed up in one word):  connection.  Tebow is connected to God but not unlike anyone else who connects to God.  Yet, there is more to it.  Connecting with God is what it's all about.  It's what life is about.  It's connecting with that which is greater, profound, and mysterious and here's the punch line:  that connection is found personally in God's Son for which John 3.16 so eloquently puts forth.  316 yards passing.  31.6 yards per completion.  Luck?  Chance?  A God thing?  You make the call for yourself but I think I will take a moment and thank God for the holy connections in life:  my wife, my children and family, friends, and my Creator who makes it all possible.   

Hope Will Lead the Way

Author Andrew Lester wrote, "Hope is always moving toward what it can barely see, but yet trusts."  I'll be the first to admit that trusting is not the easiest of endeavors.  For some trust has been broken, reinstated, then broken again.  Brokenness can often lead to mistrust because of spiritual and emotional wounds that are difficult to heal. 

I'm comforted by the understanding that hope moves me forward.  Hope will not allow me to wallow in my grief or tears or struggle.  Hope is like a gentle friend taking my hand and guiding me to take a step even if it is just one step. 

I can't see the days ahead of me nor can I predict what they might bring.  I can do this:  I can hope in the midst of my struggles, doubts, and fears with the assurance that hope give me eyes to see in the darkness.  The light ahead is not an oncoming train but the beginning of a better day. 

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them a light has shined."  These words in the Hebrew Bible are for me words of comfort, assurance, and yes, hope.  Christmas is coming, bringing with it the light of hope into the world.  Let's take a step forward. 

Hope will lead the way. 

It's About Time

As a child I begged (literally begged) my parents to buy me a Mickey Mouse watch. Apparently, I was persuasive because they relented and on my 7th birthday, I received the watch. I believe one of the reasons that my parents had been resistant to the idea of my having a Mickey Mouse watch (the watches were also rather expensive) was out of concern that I was tooyoung and would lose it.

One day, as fate (I don’t believe in fate but this was uncanny) would have it, I was outside with my friends and we all dared one another to jump off the neighbor’s garage roof. Of course, I accepted the dare and before jumping off the roof, I took off my watch and placed it carefully on the ground where I would pick it up after completing my daring feat. I climbed on the roof and jumped landing awkwardly contorted but unhurt. I was proud of myself. Since it was late, I went home. I later realized I had not picked up my Mickey Mouse watch. I went back to the spot where I placed it and it was nowhere to be found. I never found the watch.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son...” (Galatians 4.4). As a person of faith and belief in Jesus Christ I realize that I may not understand all that life is about but I do affirm in my life that God’s Son has entered into the world, broken through our time to usher in the advent of God’s timing, God’s incarnate presence among us.

The days leading up to Christmas and the days following are an invitation to participate symbolically and spiritually in the timing of God. So, take time. Find time. Spend time. Use time wisely. Invite God to enter into the time of your life. Time can get away from us just like a lost Mickey Mouse watch. Life is all about timing. In Christ, the time is now.