It's been a while since I posted last. All the usual suspects are responsible. This includes all flavors of busy and a muse that likes to play hard to get. A few people mentioned the absence. And yup, I noticed it too.
There is one thing in particular that has contributed to my silence. I've had a lot of partial thoughts, fragments, but nothing that of itself drove me to the keyboard. Years ago, these would have become poems or maybe songs after being jotted down and revisited later. Single thoughts, images that grab the eyes of mind or soul with enough power to slowly pull complimentary thoughts, one from the other. (With apologies to Noyes and his "Highwayman," my own favorite poem/lyric of mine was composed while driving home past a foggy grave yard under full moon. I never wrote it down.)
In response to the nothing, I've decided to do something. Here's the something I'm going to do: Anything. Yes, I may even commit poetry at some point. Don't tell the authorities.
Following is one possible example of things to come:
Item one, containing some rather blunt ideas: Jesus isn't defined by who you want him to be, what your morals, desires and aspirations are at any given moment. He's not swayed by things you think should be right or acceptable and pay close attention here, your sense of social justice. Over the years, I've discovered that Jesus makes you very uncomfortable at times. Physically, spiritually, socially, in every way. His life passion and work is to fulfill himself and each one of us and to have each one of us fulfilled in him. He's very very brave in that he's willing to endure and risk everything (and risk and risk and risk) to make that happen. He doesn't need another street march, protest sign, FB meme, or Snopes patrol to finish his work. On the cross, he has already leveraged the fulcrum of his intent. We must choose each day to work with him to live out our lives with him, to in turn be moved by him, the lever of the spirit.
Item two, endurance: My impression is that we usually think of endurance as gutting or grinding it out. This is a misunderstanding. You might gut out a meeting. You might grind out a home work paper. You don't gut out a roller coaster ride and holding down your stomach contents doesn't count for gutting it out...or in. Never the less, you do endure it. I get motion sick some. I went to a go-cart type of recreation day with work years ago. I made myself nauseous driving as fast as I could. Did I endure the nausea so I could have the fun? Not really, they were both wound up together. They were inseparable. Endurance is more about picking an endpoint and pushing through to it regardless of interim consequences than it is toughing it out.
Item three, completely unrelated and completely related - rules: These were (and the good ones still are) intended for our good rather than as a prescription of things to (not) do. Man, do we get confused about this. Following or not following rules isn't and never has been the salient point of life or Christianity. Rules can be good boundaries. However, they aren't the road and they certainly aren't the journey. Rules can be very very important but they should not be confused with the core. The key arguments about good evil are about the destination and the identity we want to own; that is, who we want to be when we grow up. The journey is beautiful, terrible, humbling, fulfilling and filled with good and bad consequence. It's amazing. Rules are just rules, serving to show us where the road lies.
Item four, a child under a tree in Africa: I don't remember whether she read it somewhere or came up with it on her own but my wife has a wonderful image she trots out from time to time that I find helpful. In considering the goodness or badness of your circumstances or the circumstances of others, think about a child playing under a tree in an arid grassland in Africa. The child is nearly naked, completely poor, at least a little hungry but still happy. How valuable is that child? How valuable is her life? What will she grow up to be? Is your circumstance better or worse than that child's? If you have to consult your checking account to answer that question, you have your answer. Now imagine that child unhappy, crying. Same questions. There's an awful lot here but certainly one component is this: It has much more to do with the person we're considering and how we value them than it does with either their circumstances or ours. People are raging beautiful creations of the living God. We're honored to be among them. And they are honored to know us.
And finally, Squirrel: As I write this, there is a squirrel on top of a telephone pole across the street. He's been there about 20 minutes. It's a pole with no cross bar, just a vertical pole. His head hangs over one side and his tail down the other. Every now and then the wind catches is tail and blows it around a little. I think the little beast is just relaxing and catching some sun. Apparently, the squirrel FDA and/or OSHA has not informed him of the imminent hazard of squirrel sun bathing in a neighborhood where birds of prey live, not to mention fur burn from high tension wires. As I finished that last sentence, the squirrel climbed down off the pole, probably off to complete his many self-appointed tasks. Miraculously, he successfully navigated his sun bath without being molested by those wishing him harm or by those wishing him safety. He just carried on, largely oblivious to all. It is a good day to be a squirrel.
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