SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Month: January 2016

  • A Time For…

    What a day!  I’m sure we have all had one of those days that we could not wait for it to end…where nothing seems to go right and we feel like if the day doesn’t end quickly, it may actually all fall apart.  Today was one of those days for me.  But, after lunch, things began to take a turn…for the better.  My afternoon appointments didn’t work out.  I still had a whole list of other things to do…but it was 65 degrees on a winter day.  I had been inside too long and was anxious to get some fresh air.  Emma and I decided it was time for a hike at the Cliffs of the Neuse…

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    The trail was calling
    The trail was calling

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    As I walked through the trail, I began to feel better.  I enjoyed hearing the songs of the birds.  It began to notice the beauty of the trees.  My eyes were opening to the creation that was all around me.  I began to breathe…

    I noticed how different all of the trees were.  There were some tall and majestic…

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    Others were small but alive with potential…

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    Still others appeared to have been at the end of their usefulness…yet contained a beauty that was indescribable…

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    They were everywhere…as I walked to the lake, they surrounded the water in beauty…protecting, shielding, and accepting nourishment from the water…

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    All of these trees…in all their specialness and uniqueness…in all their splendor…are beautiful.  Whether they were just beginning or their time was completed, they are a part of God’s creation.  Not many people know much about the book of Ecclesiastes, but if people know anything, they know this found in chapter 3:

    For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

    2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
    a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
    3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
    a time to break down, and a time to build up;
    4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
    a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
    5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
    a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
    6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
    a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
    7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
    a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
    8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
    a time for war, and a time for peace.

     Today, this writing began to speak to me as it never has before.  I began to see this come to life.  As I looked around at the planted…and the stones…in silence, I also considered that which had died…which had been plucked up…which had been gathered. In all of God’s wisdom, he has blessed us with signs and wonders all around us…if only we will pay attention.

    I will leave you with one of my favorite poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

    Earth is crammed with heaven

    And every common bush aflame with God

    But only those who see will take off their shoes

    The rest sit around and pluck blackberries

    Maybe, just maybe today was one of those holy moments..

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  • Sabbath? Who me?

    What I am still learning about 1 of the BIG 10…

    I really enjoy reading, I find it peaceful and it seems to take some of the stress out of an ordinary day.  The list of books I want to read is long…I have been accumulating the list while in Divinity School.  So far, the books I have chosen are books that I heard about in seminary but didn’t get a chance to read or are by authors I read excerpts from.  I began with NT Wright’s Surprised by Hope.  This is a book that I used in research so I knew just enough about it to know I wanted to read the whole thing.  Wright speaks about a topic that has become very important in my own spiritual walk…creation care and Romans 8.  The book did not disappoint and creation care continues to be an essential part of my walk.  I decided to continue on this same path, but from the perspective of seeing God through what he has made.  I came upon An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor.

    There are so many lessons that I have learned from reading this book.  One of the greatest takeaways, though, is the idea of Sabbath.  I know what the Sabbath is.  I have studied the Sabbath.  I even know its importance.  I have studied the Sabbath as a part of creation and as a command from God.  And, there is this:

    “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.” Exodus 20: 9-11

    Yep, that’s from the “Big 10″…you know, the Ten Commandments.  We know it.  Many of us memorized it.  We learned it in Sunday School right along with the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.  There it is…the Sabbath.  In the book, Taylor points out that the Lord blessed and consecrated the day.  It was more than “good” as the other parts of creation were.  This was something extra special.  Now…I knew this.  This is not something new.  What was different is that someone who has served in parish ministry is writing about it.  She wrote about how she never really got it while she served…it wasn’t until she was no longer in parish ministry that she discovered the Sabbath.

    I have used every excuse I can come up with to show why I do not honor this commandment…and feel good about my excuses.  I am a minister and I am called to work on Sunday.  I am bi-vocational which means I also work another job that I can’t just take a day off.  There are things to be done around the house.  I have a family.  I…blah, blah blah – you get it.  I have as many excuses for not celebrating the Sabbath as Moses had for not doing what God called him to do.  Several years ago, Dad and I had an ongoing “conversation” about the Sabbath.  He would always tell me that I had to take a Sabbath…so I would ask him how his was going.  Neither of us did really well at it.  I’m still not doing really well at it.

    This week, I found myself craving a Sabbath.  I told Wendy I was going to have to take a day and rest.  Not only did God command it, but my body needed it…bad.  I felt myself being snappy with my girls, frustrated at work, and generally angry.  That’s not me.  So – today is my first attempt at taking a Sabbath.  It is Saturday…the day of rest for me.  It has not been easy because there are a million things that need to be done.  I did attend a prayer breakfast at church, which presented an opportunity for worship.  I spent time with a friend on the trails outside…an opportunity to walk in creation and just talk.  I finished the book I was reading…so I could start another.  I even planned out my garden and spent time outside with the dogs in my yard.  I have prayed and I have enjoyed some great coffee.  I must say that although my house needs attention and there are so many things to be done…I am THANKFUL for this Sabbath.  I already know that God is right…but this just confirms it.  That commandment is not to punish me or make me feel guilty…that commandment is for my good – just like all of them are.  

    I’m looking forward to the next Sabbath…and hearing God speak…and just resting.  How are you doing on your Sabbath?

  • Making Time to Breathe

    As this new year begins, there are quite a few changes.  I do not have to return to school this semester, which is probably the biggest change.  Because I spent so much time studying and reading and going to class, you would think I would have so much extra time.  You might even think I would have so much free time I wouldn’t know what to do.  I have already had many people ask what I was going to do with all my extra time.  The interesting thing is that there isn’t much free time…and I’m not sure how I survived with all I had going on.

    Last semester, I often thought of what I would do when I didn’t have to go to school.  The only answer in my mind was…breathe.  I can’t remember taking too many deep breaths in the last five years.  My schedule was so overloaded that I really don’t even remember relaxing at all.  Don’t get me wrong…it is not in my nature to relax too long.  I have to be on the move, doing something.  I loved what I did and wouldn’t change anything.  My experience in Seminary has been priceless.  But I had the desire to…just breathe.

    I looked at my schedule yesterday and it is packed.  I am doing things I wasn’t able to do when I was in school, but the calendar is still full.  I thought to myself…how did this happen so soon?  If I just had more time…or if I could just make the time to do what needs to be done…and…

    And then I heard Jonny Diaz’s new song, “Breathe.”  God has an interesting way of reaching us, doesn’t he?   I have to learn to slow down and just breathe…rest at the feet of Jesus.  His presence is in me…around me…if I will just take the time to…breathe.  He can bring rest to my overstressed life if I will just let him.  I don’t need more time.  I don’t need to “make time” even if I could.  Sometimes, I just need to stop, breathe, and listen to God speak…feel his presence…see his creation.  May I learn to…breathe.