Stuck in Traffic
At the Ski Lodge
In the Ski lodge
Fried food lingers
to pores, plaster
and particle board walls
it’s a teenage wasteland
of sorts
acne and cells phones
tightly wrapped
in Northface coats
down knockoffs
mittens and scarves
and blistered feet
are engulfed in boots
too tight
strapped, locked in
and ready for
another downward
plunge.
Idle chatter coats
The tables and chairs
Like syrups of soda
Spilled, layered and sticking
To everything it touches.
Youth lined in coats of safety
Safely glance, withdrawing
And glancing again
Lacking confidence
Coughing nervously
Courageously trying, failing…
Picking themselves up off
Of the powered snow
Brushing off illusions
Of rejection, injecting
Infected bruised pride
With another shot of
Laughter, red faced
Not just frost bite
Teasing the cheeks and nose
This is living
ski lifts, hot cups of cocoa
Steaming , engulfing souls in this
Wasteland,
retrieving mitten hands
Gathering up scarves and hats
Destined for that big jump
That may or may not come
Accompanied with chances
Of bruised pride, ribs and
Collar bones… those that
Are free, full of fried food
Ferry up the slope again
Fighting off such feelings
Of failure,
It’s all downhill
from there.
Community…love it or hate?
Let’s be honest, living in community isn’t easy. We all know it, but we don’t say it because it’s kind of a sensitive subject…it effects you and me. We live in community with a lot of people whether we know it our not. Your co-workers – community. Your family – community. Your church – community. Your Neighrhood – yeah still community.
How we interact sometimes depends on how a particular relationship is at that time…if there’s been a falling out or disagreement that community might be strained or awkward. But no matter how you slice it we live in community…unless you’re a hermit in the woods.
With that being said, community can either be a positive or negative experience. Just look in the bible at Acts chapter 2 for an excellent example of a positive experience in community. After the day of Pentecost the early followers of Christ began an amazing house church community in which things thrived and exploded. They shared everything with one another such as food and financial resources. There was harmony and the sense of love was overwhelming. This was and still is one of the most amazing examples of community working, active and thriving in all of history.
I could give examples of unhealthy, negative communities but all one has to do to see this is to flip on a reality television or even experience it (possibly) in a co-worker dispute or family disagreement. It happens.
We are all susceptible to selfish ambitions and pride…the question is do we want to change? Is change possible? Can we grow?
Community isn’t easy, blow outs take place…but is it possible to exist in an Acts 2 community in our world? I believe it’s possible, but in order to get there we have to take off our mantles or pride and selfishness and adopt an attitude of Christ-like selflessness and humility…when or if we ever get there watch out because THAT community will be a magnet to many who witness it.
But first…compassion, selflessness and humility. -Micah 6:8
Just a thought.
Crushed, Mushed, Yet Persistent
Ok I admit it, I used to love this sketch, but today it reminds me of something more than just comedy…although HA! This sketch still makes me laugh.
“In every way we’re troubled, but we aren’t crushed by our troubles. We’re frustrated, but we don’t give up.”
(2 Corinthians 4:8)
This has been one of my favorite passages for a long time, and I’ll tell you why…one word ‘Hope’. Not ‘hope’ in the sense of wishes, like “I hope it will be warmer tomorrow”, but rather the confidence in something so much more absolute and dependable. The hope that is conveyed here by the apostle Paul is a confidence in God and in the mission of this great truth of Christ.
If someone who had been beaten for his faith could relate to such an emotion as hope, then there must be something to it for us as well. Paul had been obsessed with eradicating these heretic followers of Christ when he was known as Saul, before the blinding celestial lights on the highway to Damascus came on. His experience there transformed him into a “won’t back down” kind of missionary and evangelist. He wasn’t in it for fame, certainly not fortune because there was none and his political and notoriety took a nose dive following his decision to declare Christ’s message to the known world. Paul knew that this road he was on would lead him to his eventual death…yet he didn’t take the next exit off this highway.
It kind of boggles the mind doesn’t it? This dude was beaten for his faith; he had been put in chains, and was serving Christ in various house arrests, ship wreaks, and eventually his ultimate sacrifice of execution. If there was ever a “who’s who” of hard-core Christ followers, Paul would most definitely be on that list! Yet in his difficulties, in his personal struggles and leadership struggles, he writes this letter of encouragement and hope to a church he hadn’t seen in a year.
The very first chapter he writes; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in ALL our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, which the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”(2 Cor. 3-4).
Not only was Paul confident in this hope that was in God, but he wanted others to know this comfort, confidence and hope too. His love for others placed him in danger yet he didn’t quit, withdraw, or deny his allegiance to God through the Messiah Christ Jesus.
Have you been crushed, pressed on all sides? Do you feel discouraged, let down, torn by life circumstances? Have you considered throwing up the white flag and giving up? You are not alone! I’ve been there, might be there again tomorrow…I don’t know. But what I do know is that this message that Paul wrote a looooooong time ago, is for me and you too! We may not face certain death for our convictions or declarations of faith, but we do face trouble because of it. Your struggle might be spiritual, physical or a little of both. Whatever you’re going through today, you are not alone, and God does NOT want you to give up either!
I’ve never been or wanted to be on the “who’s who” list of Hard-core followers of Christ, but I know still today, God calls us to take giant stands for Him, and whatever comes of these convictions and proclamations…we won’t back down or quit. This isn’t some call to arms, or some strange militia rant, this is a declaration of faith, and the knowledge that God will comfort you and me even in the most difficult of circumstances.
So stand firm, be bold, and don’t give up!
Soldiers on respite
We comb back our hair
Frayed and tattered by the wind
Greased pulled back stumped fingers
sometimes biting at the bit
checking faces in mirrors
is this really me?
Is my tie on straight?…
It all culminates
Begins
And while battered
And bruised
Blistered and subjected
To cruel worlds of selfishness
We straightened our ties
Exhale,
breathe deeply
Stand up tall
And go back out into it
While in the background
The piano strikes up
A somber tune
Out of tune
Ringing down the corridor
Echoing off of the
“welcome, come again” mat
Springing through ringlets
Primed by fingers with nails
Chewed too low
And we hum along
To the song
Onward we those
Christian soldiers…
Now where did I leave
That war?
“Knock, knock…”
change is constant (background music)
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
Knock, knock…who’s there? Noah. Noah who? Noah a good way to open the door?
Ok bad joke, but change is knockin’ and wants to come in and sometimes we sit behind the door hoping that change will just go away so that we don’t have to open it!
Change is inevitable, yet why is it that most, if not all of us, would rather have a root canal than be forced to change? Perhaps you’re thinking, “but I’m spontaneous, I like change.” Do you really? If change is planned by someone other than yourself do you not feel powerless, forced into something, and maybe a little bit controlled? The obvious answer is yes! In this regard, when change is forced upon us, most if not all would dig in our heels, be dragged kicking and screaming through the threshold of change. Yet is change in and of itself necessarily the villain here? No, it’s not. Change is just the conduit by which realities in our lives are modified, for better or worse. If anything is at fault from time to time in healthy change it’s the attitude in which we receive this change. Our attitudes can make or break decisions and positive directions if we continually have a negative outlook on things around us.
Have you ever been friends with a cynic or a pessimist who were always negative? It’s not exactly a healthy relationship to always be dreary, somber and generally disagreeable. No one wants to be around people like that all the time, because whatever glimmer of hope one might have of life can be sucked out of them by the downer attitude of a naysayers or pessimist.
So why do we dig in our heels when change occurs? Could it be that our own sense of security and comfort is threatened? Substantial positive change has that effect on a majority of us who live and breathe every day…ok maybe that’s too vague. Let me put it another way. Substantial positive change has that effect on all of us in some shape or form. Are you getting the picture now? We are all affected by change. John Maxwell once said, “If we’re growing we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone” Meaning, if we are continuing to modify our outcomes in life for the better, improving our lifestyle, habits, work ethic, then we are going to be uncomfortable, we are going to face challenges…but it is always worth it.
Have you ever kept a journal? A few years ago I opened one of our moving boxes and discovered a couple of old poetry journals that I had filled and written in ages ago. At the time, I thought these poems were fantastic, or at least moderately good. But when I re-read them again, I discovered that as a young adult or teenager, my poems were shallow, simplistic and fairly unoriginal…In it I discovered that I had grown, matured and my outlook on life has changed for the better. It’s funny when we look back at periods of our lives and think about how we were. People change. We, you change! This is a constant. This is a truth we all discover as we age in this life. Have you ever gone back to a school reunion and thought to yourself, wow everyone has changed? You just witnessed this truth of change.
-Back to our heel digging decries of this villain known as change…
Helen Keller once said, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” Change is like this, and so is our perception of our lives or our interpretation of our lives. I can sure identify with this quote. I’ve stared longingly at closed doors of happiness, wishing they would re-open and yet life is forcing me through other doors of possibility. I have regretted some of those doors and my entry through them, and because in my displeasure and complaints I have failed to capture the blessings of those open and new opportunities. I’ve been ashamed of my almost childish protests. My “not gonna do it and you can’t force me to” proclamations to leaders above me and or even God himself. I’m glad no one took pictures of me in those moments, my shame and my arrogance would have been evident and these improper responses, I know now, have been and still are beneath me as a person…as a follower of Christ. once said, “When one door of happiness closes, another
Change is a part of life. If we don’t walk through the doors of change, we will not grow into the people we were meant to be, and
the world will truly be lacking because of it. So when change forces us through another door, may we all walk through it with an ounce of dignified grace instead of kicking and screaming…and who knows, maybe in the process of such moments we might be able to appreciate the beauty and majesty of it.
“The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.”
~Japanese Proverb
“Here I am, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” –Revelations 3:20
- “Knock, knock…”
“On days like this…”
Well it’s really cold here today…although I can’t say its as cold as Alaska or as cold as places in the Arctic circle, but it’s still very cold outside. It’s the kind of day that one just wants to stay in doors for… seeking to pass the time in front of the tube, playing a board game or curled up with a good book in hand, and who knows if a nap comes calling maybe one might answer its gesture into counting forty winks. It’s just that kind of day.
Have you ever had the feeling that there’s too little hours in the day to do what you want to do? Perhaps, you might wonder, what this has to do with this cold day indoors? Well, Indoors on days like this you get to thinking about all of the things you want to do or have to do and from time to time it just feels… overwhelming. We might jot things down in a journal, make ‘todo’ lists, reorganize our shoe rack…I don’t know…maybe this is where cabin fever begins, and the guy in the ‘Shining’ should have found a hobby or made a list instead taking up killing…ok I digress again.
All this to say, its ok to be restless on days like this. Cold, stark wintry days…when the sun sets way too late as does the morning sunrise. It’s ok.
Alright, taking my own advice…deep breaths…shoe rack discombobulated…ready set organize. -Stay warm!
Pastor's Ponderings 