SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Month: January 2017

  • What are you looking at?

    There are many things I do not understand.  I realize just how much I really don’t understand the older my children get.  I do not understand teenage girls…and I’m fairly sure teenage girls don’t understand teenage girls.  It’s one of those mysteries I am okay with remaining a mystery…I just pray for endurance to make it through…

    I also had a difficult time understanding verses that I think are actually quite important in the Bible.  Verses like…”forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead”…and “so do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  These bother me.  Okay…so a lot of the Bible bothers me – which is good.  But, these have been bothering me recently.  Why?

    Well, let’s take the first one.  Why would would I want to forget what lies behind?  I know…the past is the past – we can’t change it.  But, what about those valuable lessons learned.  I don’t know about you, but I learned some of my most important lessons through the big mistakes I made…and I have made more than my fair share.  I don’t really want to repeat them, so I need to remember.  And then I am leaning in towards what lies ahead.  I like that, but I would like to lean in with the lessons I learned so my leaning doesn’t become tripping and I just fall right into what lies ahead…it could be smelly crap ahead.  It would be better to lean than to dive head first into that.

    And then, there is the not worrying about tomorrow verse.  Yep, I get that too.  I know I’m not to worry about tomorrow because I can’t do anything about what hasn’t happened yet.  But, the part that bothers me is that it says tomorrow will have worries of its own…and that today has trouble.  Really?  Can’t it say that tomorrow might just be great and today might just be worry and trouble-free?  I know…I’m might be missing the point – but it doesn’t mean these don’t bother me.  It’s probably because I tend to be anxious about tomorrow and I end up face first in poop as I lean too far.

    This week, though, I had a revelation.  I won’t say it was divine…although I definitely think that God speaks so loudly if we will only listen.  I will just say that God made it a little more clear to my simple mind something about these lessons from the Bible.  I decided on Thursday to go run at the Cliffs of the Neuse.  It was a beautiful warm January day – so why not?  These are rare and I really enjoy the change in scenery.  The Cliffs are full of God’s handprint.

    As I was shuffling along through the trails, I realized first that I am not a really good trail runner…but, it’s still fun.  But most importantly, I learned that I had to keep my eyes  constantly right in front of me.  If I look ahead down the trail, I will definitely trip and end up face plant right on the trail.  Yes…I know from personal experience.  If I look behind me, I tend to veer whichever way I am looking.  Veering off a one way trail means you end up hitting a tree or worse yet, falling off the trail.  No…I haven’t yet had that experience…although I’ve had close calls with the tree (a new definition of a tree hugger). Anyway, I have to keep my eyes right where I am.  I can glance around.  I can stop and enjoy.  But ultimately, to keep moving forward, my eyes have to be right where I am.

    And, that is it!   I might forget where I have been, but that doesn’t mean the experiences from my past are gone.  The lessons continue with me, even when I forget exactly where my feet have stepped.  I can glance forward to see what is ahead, but I can’t stay fixated on it…I can’t worry about it.  If I do, I end up falling – and then I’ve made it even worse.  I have to keep my eyes right where I am…one step at a time…trusting that God is with me…knowing that I am God’s beloved…and understanding that no matter what, it will all be okay.

    IMG_1243
    The trail was calling

  • Sacred Steps

    Ever hear or say – “I’m tired of walking…how much further?…do you have to park so far away from the door?…how many steps have you taken today?”   It is as if every step in our world seems to be measured.  I purposefully park far away from the entrance of where I am going…I want to save the closer spaces for those who don’t have those capabilities.  I wear a Garmin and the number of my steps are tracked every day.  My steps lead me to work and around my house…to church… But, rarely do I see my steps as sacred…at least not when I am taking them.  Sacred – connected to God, holy, hallowed, blessed…

    Looking back over the past, though, is a different story.  The sacred begins to appear as I consider where my footsteps have taken me.  I remember taking the sacred steps as I walked down the aisle almost 20 years ago with my beautiful bride arm in arm and we started our forever journey.  I remember walking the steps of the hospital as we made our way to experience the unbelievable birth of our babies.  I have experienced sacred steps in that same hospital of life and death…the long stark halls filled with tears of pain and of joy.  I have watched as God entered a life and as life left…all sacred steps (and a whole different picture all together when those steps are with you on the stretcher).  I have walked the journey with people that celebrated miracles and mourned loss.  I walked sacred steps to be baptized and ordained into the ministry and walked those same steps to baptize others.  I have walked sacred steps as I crossed the platform at Campbell Divinity School to receive the Master of Divinity Degree.  And I walk sacred steps as I begin a new journey in pursuit of another degree.

    Do steps become sacred simply because of that particular moment?  I don’t think so.  I think steps become sacred because God is in them…because we are walking a little closer to him…because he is guiding us.  When I consider sacred steps, I am reminded of some of the most sacred recorded in the Bible.  Adam and Eve walking with God…Imagine actually taking steps WITH God…that had to be sacred.  Moses had an experience with God and God told him to take off his shoes, he was on Holy Ground…sacred steps before a burning bush.  It is recorded in Romans that the feet of those who bring the good news are beautiful…I have to imagine that the steps they take are also sacred.  Jesus took the journey on the road to his own crucifixion and then on the road with friends after his resurrection to Emmaus…sacred steps.  Those who walk by faith, not by sight are walking a sacred journey.

    It is important to also understand that some sacred steps aren’t actual steps at all.  Some are traveled in a wheelchair or even on a hospital bed.  Some are traveled in the hearts of those who cannot move physically.  Sacred steps take us on a journey to and with God.  Know that they can be frightening….painful…tiring…sorrowful.  They are also peaceful…joyful…rejuvenating…enlightening.  These are steps taken with our Creator.  They carry you somewhere you have never been before or places you have visited many times, just in new ways.  Where might your sacred steps take you today? May we find our way on this journey…no matter the bumps, bruises, scrapes, hills, or valleys…just step forward…God is there.beautiful-feet

    image from Google Images

  • I can’t hear you…

    So much of my day is filled with noise.  I wake up to an alarm clock (if I’m not awake before it starts)…I grind the coffee beans and start the coffee (an essential if I’m going to become sort of human)…I mix my protein shake…I turn on the shower…and the day goes on with noise.  There are even noises all night…the dog jumping up in the bed and having to adjust way too often…my mom’s dog next door barking incessantly at everything (only the Lord knows what annoys that dog all night)…I’m even looking at getting a noise machine to block out the noises all night.  We grow accustomed to noise.  It is every where.  And we get worried when things are quiet…something has to be wrong if there is silence.  The TV must be broke or somebody must be mad…  Rarely does someone point out how much someone talks but will quickly point out how uncommonly quiet someone was.  If we aren’t talking, then we are rude or trying to make a statement.  And yet, most of what is said is so unnecessary…it is just filling up empty space…space that is actually better empty.  Even in church, we begin to squirm if there are times of silence (doesn’t the preacher know what to say? how long will this “moment” of silence last? doesn’t he know people go to sleep if there is too much silence for too long?  do we have to be quiet to actually hear God?  Lord…is this silent time done yet??)

    The interesting part of it all is that we miss so many important things because of all the noise.  This morning I went for a run…and it was raining.  Now, I’m not much for running in the rain, but I’m trying to stick to this challenge…and blah blah blah…I ran in the rain.  It was quiet because it is a holiday and not many people were out and about.  There were no sounds of cars or talking or even hunting.  So, I noticed something special on the run…birds still sing in the rain.  If I wasn’t out running and I wasn’t paying attention, I would have missed the beautiful songs being sung by God’s creatures.  It was peaceful.  It made me slow down and just enjoy the song… (I can hear you now…do I have to go on a run to hear birds?  Aren’t there birds on the sound machine?  Can’t we hear birds on the TV?  who cares if birds sing in the rain?)  The songs of the birds are priceless…and I love that God put a song in their heart…I’ll leave it there.

    I am often reminded (and have written about it before) of the scripture in James that says we should be slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to listen.  From this scripture, I am reminded that we cannot listen if we are talking…and that is so true.  So many times I find myself half listening until they stop so I can say what I wanted to say.  It is like a competition to speak.  I’m even formulating a response while they are still jabbing on.  And yet, no one is really listening.  We aren’t listening because we want to be heard.  At the end of the day, we make much more of an impact when we listen.  It is different…it is unique…and it takes practice.  Arsenious, a Desert Father said, “I have often repented of having spoken, but never of having remained silent.”  From personal experience, I can definitely relate.  There have been many, many, many (you get the idea) times that I have needed to repent when the words flowed faster than my mind could hold back.

    In The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen writes, “We speak about the events of the world, but how often do we really change them for the better?  We speak about people and their ways, but how often do our words do them or us any good?  We speak about our ideas and feelings as if everyone were interested in them, but how often do we really feel understood?”

    So, I’m trying to learn to be slow to speak…and quick to listen.  It is causing my tongue to bleed from biting down (ok…not really bleed, just be really sore).  It is causing me to breathe a lot deeper because my smart mouth is about to bust wide open.  But, in the end, I realize that I can’t really hear any one if I’m not paying attention.  I miss what people are really trying to say (because often it is much more than the words that they actually speak) if I am already thinking about my response.  I am missing out on the gift of being with people if I can’t be quiet and listen.  And…at the end of the day…I can certainly feel better if I’ve kept my mouth shut and heard rather than said things I regretted.

    Side note…if you see me after reading this, please don’t try and test how good I am at this…I’m a work in progress…and I could end up needing to repent if pushed.   image