SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Category: Perspective

  • Advent 2: Peace

    Peace…it is a word we talk about a lot but don’t really see much in our world.  It is a concept that seems out of reach all too often.  We live in a world that we cannot even disagree on a subject and get along…and since we are not all the same and don’t all think or believe the same…it seems that peace is out of reach.  To even consider what peace might look like and what we might do for peace…that brings anxiety…there is so much division and hatred in our wold…politically, religiously, and any other way you might think.  And we might think peace would come if we could just be still and have a moment of quiet.  When my children were really young, I craved quiet and silence because it never happened.  There was always something to do and places to be…I thought that just a moment of quiet would be peaceful.  The problem is that this type of peace is temporary.  And if you have spent a significant amount of time alone, you likely know that even being in quiet and stillness does not mean that you will experience peace.  We can experience turmoil all by ourselves…in the quiet…of our own home.  So what is the deal with peace and how do we look expectantly to something that seems so far out of reach?

    I think one key begins with a hymn which you may or may not know or have sung.  There have been some absolutely beautiful arrangements of this particular song…one of my personal favorites is by Casting Crowns…and the hymn is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” – hear the words of the song:

    I heard the bells on Christmas day
    Their old familiar carols play
    And mild and sweet their songs repeat
    Of peace on earth good will to men
    And the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
    Like a choir they’re singing (peace on earth)
    In my heart I hear them (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    And in despair I bowed my head
    There is no peace on earth I said
    For hate is strong and mocks the song
    Of peace on earth, good will to men
    But the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
    Like a choir singing (peace on earth)
    Does anybody hear them? (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    Then rang the bells more loud and deep
    God is not dead, nor does he sleep (peace on earth, peace on earth)
    The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
    With peace on earth, good will to men
    Then ringing singing on its way
    The world revolved from night to day
    A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
    Of peace on earth, good will to men
    And the bells they’re ringing (peace on earth)
    Like a choir they’re singing (peace on earth)
    And with our hearts we’ll hear them (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    Do you hear the bells they’re ringing? (peace on earth)
    The life the angels singing (peace on earth)
    Open up your heart and hear them (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    Peace on earth, peace on earth
    Peace on earth, Good will to men

    A beautiful song with a powerful message…Given that, let’s look at the scripture for today:  Luke 2:8-20

    As we began to see last week in regard to hope…God has chosen the most unlikely people in the most unlikely situation to experience the greatest gift since creation…Jesus.  Mary was chosen as the recipient of hope that was coming to the world.  Now, we see shepherds doing what shepherds do…watching their flock at night.  They are minding their own business, doing the shepherding thing…and an angel shows up.  When angels show up, there seems to be something going on.  Mary was given a message…now the shepherds receive a message.  Different people from different situations in life…brought together by common messengers…with an amazing message from God.  They are receiving GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY!  But the news…the news is that the Messiah has come…is here…has arrived…and with that news…a heavenly chorus sings…Glory to God in the highest…and on earth, peace…

    NOT the peace of a conquering king…not the peace of a ruling emperor…not the peace of lands coming together…not even the peace that the religious people thought they wanted and deserved…but peace from God.  Peace on earth was brought through Jesus…and was a light in a dark world.  Jesus was peace…and yet, not at all like they wanted, expected, or were looking.  So many missed the peace that had come because they were looking for it in all the wrong places.  Will we miss it too?

    Jesus, in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, and in the part known as the Beatitudes, said… “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  Do you think there is a correlation between the angels announcing peace on earth at the pronouncement of the birth of Christ…and Jesus calling those who are peacemakers, children of God?  I think so…Jesus makes the difference!

    If Jesus is the peace on earth…that means HE is the peace in us.  If peace was brought to this world at the birth of Jesus, peace continues as long as his light shines on this earth…and that happens through believers…those that call upon the name of the Lord and follow him with their lives.  Peace on earth is not found in political leaders making the right decisions or laws in place to bring peace…if that was so, peace would not have had to be announced by angels when Jesus came.  Peace is here and is yet to come.  Peace is within us and yet we often act like the LEAST peaceful people ever.  We act like we are missing something…and I think sometimes we are…and what we are missing is Jesus and his message…we are missing PEACE.

    We have to stop waiting for others to create peace for us…we have to stop looking forward to a day when our lives might be more peaceful or when our world may have peace…we cannot sit around hoping that someone else will be the peaceful one…all the while claiming that we love and follow Jesus…speaking his name but not following his way.  Peace began with Jesus and continues in US…or at least SHOULD continue in us.  In order to dig just a little deeper…how was Jesus peace?

    He wasn’t peace by allowing things to happen as they always had…he made quite a statement…he confounded the religious, he questioned the rules, he spoke against hatred, he taught what it meant to love, he interrupted the daily lives of people that thought everything was all okay, he poked and prodded the comforts of those that SAID they loved God to SHOW they loved God…he didn’t sit idly by and watch others… Instead, he changed lives…he healed, he ate, he loved, he offered his life, he WAS peace in a world that lacked any sense of it.

    For me, that means we can live in a world of turmoil and have the peace of Christ.  We can function in a world that is divisive with a peace that confounds and confuses others…we can live in a world filled with hate and share peace because we have no reason to hate and no right to hate and no room to hate… We don’t need the world to change us, we need to be the change in the world!  We don’t need to wait until this world becomes more peaceful…we need to bring the peace into this world that is so broken and battered.  We do this by living like Christ…by doing what he has called us to do…by walking in his footsteps…by loving, feeding, clothing, visiting the least of these…by being different.  We do not get there by being another person that hates or feuds or fuels a fire…but by being the light of Christ in a darkness that can be conquered…

    Peace on earth…I hear it, I feel it, it lives in us.  How will you bring peace to someone today?  Remember, blessed are the peacemakers…for they are children of God.  Let us go in peace.

  • There is another way…

    Why do we say hurtful things to other people?  Why do we use words that demean, belittle, and discourage?  What is it that saying things negatively does for us?  What are we trying to accomplish?  What are we hoping will be the outcome?

    Sometimes, we just want to hurt people.  We are in pain and we want to see others in pain.  Sometimes, we feel bad about ourselves and we think that in order to feel better, we tear someone else down…supposedly lower than ourselves.  When we are threatened by someone else, it is easier if we can find a fault or an open wound and beat into those wounds.

    It also sounds so harsh…so evil…so vindictive.  You may be thinking that this doesn’t happen.  But take a moment and observe.  Watch a person that doesn’t get what he or she want at a restaurant…when it is wanted…how it is wanted.  Watch what happens when one person pulls into a parking space that someone else was trying to get.  Watch what happens when there is a long line to check out at the grocery store.  Watch what happens when two people are sitting together and someone else’s name is mentioned and the gossip begins.  Just watch…just keep your eyes open.

    It doesn’t have to be this way.  Bad doesn’t win.  Evil doesn’t prevail.  Gossip isn’t just a part of life.  Anger doesn’t control us.  Words don’t just slip out.  Being hateful doesn’t just happen.  There is another way.  There is another option.  And that is love and kindness.

    To have love and kindness doesn’t mean you won’t ever say anything wrong or you won’t get caught up in gossip or you won’t lose your temper.  What it does do is lessen the chances and opportunities.

    -Love and kindness don’t participate in gossip, rumors, lies.  They cannot go together.  They cannot show up in the same place.  If you gossip, you are not loving.

    -Love and kindness allows us to see others…really see them.  To “see” someone means that we don’t let what is happening in this moment define that person forever.  What the person may be saying in anger to you may be because of something completely different.  Your ability to offer love and kindness in these moments can completely change things.

    -Love and kindness gives you the opportunity to look around for ways to give and share.  So if you are waiting in line and someone behind you is struggling, you can help.  If someone takes your parking space, you move on (letting that ruin your day is just ridiculous).  If something is said harmful, respond in kindness.  It can diffuse a situation.  It won’t fix everything…but it can begin to change dynamics.  You might find that there are more opportunities to be kind and to show love…continue to reach down deep.

    What might it look like if you and I choose to go the other way…the way of love and kindness?  What kind of difference might that make?  Let’s try it and see…

  • Gift of Gratefulness

    I love the early mornings…when I sit in my living room, smell the fresh brewed coffee that calls out to me, listening only to the sound of the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the clock.  I think about the day…what is ahead…what needs to be done… Some days, it all seems too much and I just want to go back to bed.  I don’t want to go to that meeting or take care of that task…I don’t want to talk to anyone today…I just want to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head and call it good.  My mom always said that if you are in bed when the sun comes up, you are missing out on your day…wasting precious time.  I thought that was a bunch of bologna when I was growing up.  I was fairly sure she was just saying that so I would get started on the chores she wanted done.  Now her words actually ring true.  There are things to do…people to see…tasks to accomplish while the sun is up.  We are given this day as a gift.  Many days don’t feel much like gifts…they feel more like gag gifts…joke is on me.  But I think that is because I don’t really appreciate what I have been given.  I am reminded that those are the days I approach with a sort of smugness…like I deserve better…like I am not getting what I think I should…and it ends up being a wasted day that could have been appreciated.  But then I think…can’t I just go back to bed and appreciate that?!

    Over the past couple of months, a constant theme has been running through my life…I hear it in conversations…I see it in the pages of the books I read…I feel it in my life when I really sit and listen and pay attention…It is in the sound of the rain and in brightness of the sun…in the smell of coffee and in the stress of everyday life…it is in the sounds of my children’s voices…and in the quiet of the morning run…it keeps following me and reminding me and bringing me back… it is GRATEFULNESS.

    I’m fairly hard headed…stubborn…determined… whatever you want to call it.  So it takes hearing things over and over before it begins to sink in.  This idea of gratefulness is powerful, though.  I find that when I am grateful, I see things around me completely different.  When I am grateful, I may still want to pull the covers over my head – but I realize that in being grateful for the gift of this day…I have to move forward and see what joys and challenges are ahead.  I realize that even though there will be stressful moments and encounters I would rather not have, gratefulness reminds me that God is shaping me, strengthening me, and guiding me to something better.  Gratefulness reminds me that even when life is really tough and I just don’t feel like it…the gifts that I have been given are held in this day…and I don’t get this day again.  If I eat in gratefulness, I really appreciate the access to food that I have…if I exercise in gratefulness, I am not suffering – but growing and getting stronger through it all…if I do my job in gratefulness, I begin to understand that this is a gift that allows me to use my talents and give back from what I have been given…if I am grateful in this moment, I treasure the good and the bad – for I am becoming a little bit closer to that for which I was created.  As Mother’s Day is approaching…I realize how grateful I am for my mom and all of the wonderful women who have been such a powerful, influential part of my life…helping to shape and mold me.  What are you grateful for today?img_0623

  • 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

  • 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

  • Breath and Life

    It just doesn’t seem fair…this whole death thing.  It doesn’t have favorites.  It isn’t particular to a group or even an age.  Death comes and takes those we hold so dear right from our arms…even as we cling to them trying to hold on…to their very last breath.  I read about a  16 year old that breathed her last breath after a brave fight with cancer.  I can’t help but think how unfair that is.  I think of a couple who recently lost a newborn…he didn’t have a chance to make his mark on the world.  I think of people around the world that are starving and thirsting to death…young people who deserve to live just as much as anyone else.  It just seems so harsh, cruel, and unfair.  And, honestly, it hurts.

    It is true that the sting is a little more noticeable this week than usual.  My Grandpa passed away almost one week ago.  He had lived what we consider a long life.  He had lived life well.  He was a wonderful example of a man that loved God and loved his family.  Personally, for me, he is an even better example because he didn’t pretend to be perfect.  He knew he didn’t always get it right.  But, he did the best that he knew how…and as it turns out…he did some pretty incredible things.  He loved others…he cared for others…he shared his gifts…he did what he was called to do.  And, he was okay with breathing that last breath.  That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.  It doesn’t mean I was ready for him to go.  But it at least seems to make some sense in my small, finite, time bound mind.

    So, I hold all these things in perspective.  A young lady who experienced 16 years on this earth…an older man who experienced almost 88.  Both have breathed their last breath.  Life as we know it has left them.  As I looked at my Grandpa after he breathed his last, his body changed.  His body changed because the very life that God had breathed into him was now gone.

    This reminds me that God is still breathing life into me.  He is still breathing life into you.  As long as God is providing life to us…as long as we continue to breathe…we have a life to live.  I’m not talking about a sentimental hallmark card moment with fields and flowers and a theme of “Go live your life…”  I’m talking about taking a moment to feel your breath and realize that you are given this breath so that you truly experience life.

    How many of us have breath…but we are not experiencing life?  How many of us go through our day…the same old patterns…the same work…the same scenery and miss the life we are to experience?  How many times do we miss a sunrise or not hear the birds that sing?  How many times do we fail to tell someone we love them with the idea that they will be here tomorrow?  How many times do we dread our day or resent having to get up in the morning…AND YET WE HAVE BREATH…

    I am jolted awake with a reminder to live life…to appreciate the gift of breath…the opportunity to live…the joy of a new sunrise…the beauty of a day…the song of a bird…and even the struggles.  For there will come a day when my breath will be no more.  I will value the gift until then.

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  • Christmas Do-Over

     

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    Sights and Sounds of Christmas

    It is almost time for Christmas!  It is time for the last minute rush and the kitchen ovens to be fired up.  I love Christmas.  I love the sights and the sounds…the smells of food and Christmas trees bring me so much excitement, even now.  I look forward to time with family and an opportunity to see people I don’t get a chance to see often during the year.  Christmas is good…except when it is not.  Like when someone who should be sitting at the  table isn’t because they have died.  Or when someone you love so much is suffering in the hospital.  Or when there are disputes in the family over seemingly stupid stuff.  Or when you are alone and Christmas just isn’t Christmas anymore.  Those are the times when we long for a Christmas do-over…either to fix what we have or to go back to where we were.

    One of my favorite memories of Christmas time growing up was at my Grandma’s house.  She was, and still is, an amazing cook.  Christmas was a time of desserts…sweets…chocolates…pies…all the stuff I so enjoy…love…crave…seek.  There are special foods that she only made at Christmas.  Because she cooked so many desserts (like a whole buffet of desserts…it was amazing), she would start early and then would put the desserts that were complete in her back bedroom.  This was a spare bedroom and it was one of the coldest rooms in the house.  She would have desserts spread all over that room.  It was like Christmas when I would walk in her house and she told me I could go in that room (yes, I asked permission…I wasn’t willing to risk the chance of not getting to enjoy the sweets).  To see all the goodies wrapped up, smelling good, and calling my name.  I could tell that they were calling me specifically…that I needed to test them out and make sure they were good enough for the rest of the family…I felt it was my duty to check out the food just in case something wasn’t up to standards (As if that would ever happen).  So she would let me taste test a few of the candies that were in that room.  That was Christmas.

    I often think about if I could just go back…if I could just re-create moments like those.  Grandma still cooks and she still has that house.  She doesn’t cook that many desserts any more and doesn’t store them there.  But, she could.  The problem is that we don’t get Christmas do-overs or repeats.  Those were experiences of my childhood.  I can create some variation of it, but one of the things that made it so special is that it is from my childhood.  Memories like these are…just that – memories.  They need to stay sweet memories in my mind because they continue to bring me so much joy.

    So, I think that Christmas is still good – even when it’s not.  It is just that I am making memories as an adult now.  I am making memories with my kids and wife.  I am making memories with family and I am learning the value of treasuring each moment.  Next year’s Christmas won’t be the same.  This Christmas is what I have…as fun or as challenging as it might be.  So, this Christmas I hope to savor each moment…to breathe and look around…to take in all the sights and sounds (even if they include the beeping of machines in the hospital)…and I will treasure the blessings of this day…for it will not be like this again.

    May the sights and sounds of Christmas bring you much joy.  Merry Christmas!img_0623

  • Why aren’t you here?

    My Dad has been on my mind a little more than usual lately.  Here are my struggles with his loss…even now.  I hope that this helps someone else that may be struggling this Christmas with the loss of their loved one…

    Why aren’t you here?  My heart asks…as I search deep for answers.  I see struggles and conflicts…things you would have resolved.  Where are you with the advice that I seek and need?  Where are you with the help that I look for?  I miss the directions when I am lost (which still happens all too often).  I miss you being here to check out the boys that my girls bring home…to give them your third degree and harassment as you had planned.  And although it didn’t seem like I followed what you said (because you know I like to blaze my own path), I really did always listen.  When I see a picture or think of something you did, my heart aches a little.  Why aren’t you here?  You should be here.  I struggle sometimes because I think there is still work that you were to do and now you are not here to do it.  I see things left undone that you would have tackled and I wonder…am I really suppose to take care of that?  The thought of “God needed you more than we did” really doesn’t bring me comfort because I don’t believe that.  You are needed here…still.  I miss making fun of your sometimes tacky apparel (even though you were trying to be stylish).  I miss your denial that you were losing your hearing…knowing all the time you didn’t hear half the conversations that were going on.  I miss your kind heart and your gentle spirit…with a fight that never gave up.  It would be comforting to hear you say that you are proud of me…knowing that if you said it, you meant it.  We rarely saw eye to eye and disagreed about most everything.  But, we both enjoyed the challenge – and in the end, I grew because of those debates.  And my heart screams…WHY AREN’T YOU HERE?

    I don’t know the answer…I guess I never will.  What I do have though are the memories.  I have the advice that you did give stored away in my heart and yes, I even use it sometimes.  I see the fruits of your labor all around me.  I still talk to people who had their lives changed because of something you said or did.  I enjoy shocking people by how much I look like you.  I am trying to pick up where you left off…yet in true “Brad style”…you know the style that drove you crazy.  That makes me laugh a little…or a lot.  I love to talk about what a great man you were…and I even get a little enjoyment when my girls make fun of the way I dress.  While I will never be you…nor would you want me to…I want to continue on the ministry…blazing that trail…and thanking God that I am privileged to be a Mitchell.  I don’t know why you aren’t here…but I am sure glad God saw fit to send you here for the years that you were.  I am the man I am because of you….Thank you.

    dad-brad

  • Cloudy Mirrors

    Mirrors can be powerful instruments.  They can help us to see ourselves as we get ready to meet the world.  They can help us to identify our “trouble areas” and see where we might need to work on things.  There is a problem though.  It would seem that too many of us have cloudy mirrors.  We do not actually see our real reflection.  We instead see what we want to see staring back in the mirror.

    How can that be?  We seem to have no trouble seeing others.  We seem to have no problem making judgments about other people…the way they dress, the way they did their hair, the way they carry themselves.  We have no trouble identifying others imperfections.  And often, we wonder if they looked in the mirror before they walked out of the house.  We wonder if there mirror was more than cloudy.  After all…we would never leave the house looking like THAT.

    But maybe it’s not our mirror at all that is the problem.  I don’t think it is our eyesight.  That can be a problem as we age, but I’m thankful for glasses to help us along.  I don’t think it is the size of our mirror or where it is in our house.  The problem is with us.

    There is a Bible verse that has always been difficult for me.  It is in the book of James, chapter 1.  James is writing how believers should be people of action, be a part of the game…not just sitting on the sidelines waiting for others to do the work.  That’s a difficult enough statement.  But, he continues to say that those who sit on the sidelines are like those who see themselves in a mirror.  When they walk away, they immediately forget what they look like.  As I have read this scripture, I always thought…how does someone forget what they look like.  Sometimes we might want to forget what we look like…we all have those “rough” days.  But, how do we forget?

    And it dawned on me…That’s the answer…that’s how our view in the mirror becomes so skewed.  We can be so focused on what other people are doing (or not doing)…we can be constantly criticize or judge…we can point out the faults of everyone else… That we forget who we are…or we create this image of how good or bad we are that isn’t even real.  We forget that we are to be people who are of action.  We forget to take a good long look at ourselves and what we are doing.  If we, as Christians, spent as much time working for God…focusing on what he wants us to do…rather than being critical of everyone around us…we might actually see change happen.

    That image in the mirror might actually become clearer.  We might see the beautiful creation made and fashioned by God staring at us in the mirror.  And that beautiful creation is not only fashioned by God, but created for a purpose.  Our purpose is not to judge everyone else…but rather to do as we are called and created.

    It is true that we can only change ourselves…and to change the world, it begins with me.  Maybe today, I wipe that mirror clean and begin to take a long, hard look at me.  How has God created and fashioned me to do his work?  What am I doing for him?  How am I living?  What message am I sending?  How am I loving my neighbor?  How am I living out what Jesus taught?

    May we stop at the mirror today, truly see ourselves as beautiful and created by God, and walk away serving others… Loving God and loving our neighbor…regardless of what they look like.

  • Even in the storm…

    As I sit here by the light of my oil lantern, I am reminded of my childhood.  When the lights would go out, my mom would light the lantern and that light would fill the whole room.  As a kid, it was kind of exciting to have a house without electricity…at least for a little while.  It was like an adventure – something completely new…sleeping bags and all.  As an adult, it’s not as fun as I remember it.  Today, I sit here without electricity by that same oil lantern – flickering and filling the room with valuable light.  But, today I think about the storm that is raging outside.  I think of the groceries in my refrigerator and freezer that will go bad in a few hours if the electricity doesn’t come back on.  I think of the damage that is happening as the hurricane sweeps over our land.  I see the spot on my ceiling indicating that I have a leak in my roof.  I am reminded of many of my church members that are alone, in the dark, without family.  I am reminded of those who are experiencing flooding in their homes and all of their belongings being destroyed.  And I sit here helpless.  I can’t do anything about any of it.  The excitement of an adventure of my childhood has become a nightmare of my adulthood.

    As I sit here by the flicker of the light, I am reminded that God is still in control.  In my fears, in my worries, in my disappointments…God is still God.  As I sit here, I realize that the things of this world are always fleeting…they are always wasting away.  Nothing is forever that is material.  My home, my belongings, my yard, my cars…all wasting away.  The storm doesn’t change that.  The storm does remind me that the one thing that doesn’t change is God’s love for me.  He is still watching over me.  He is still providing for those scared church members.  He is with those who are working in these dangerous conditions.  Where I am at a loss, God is not.  There are no surprises to HIM.  So, tonight, as I put out the light that I have remembered since childhood, I do so to rest knowing that God’s got this.  I may not understand it.  I may not be able to fix it.  I may be without the material things that I have come to find comfort in.  But, in all of that, God has not left me.  He does understand it.  He is able to fix it.  And, he reminds me that just like he provides for the sparrows, he provides for me.  Tonight, I lay my head down peacefully – even in the midst of the storm – hearing HIM say, “My Peace I give to you…not as the world gives…do not let your hearts be troubled…do not let them be afraid. (John 14)”