Russellings of the Spirit

Several years ago, Joan and I took a little vacation trip to Orcas Island.

In case you are not familiar with it, Orcas Island is located squarely in the middle of the Straits of Juan de Fuca in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington. It is a beautiful place where you’ll find trees, mountains, waterways, charming shops, quirky, creative restaurants, and friendly, engaging people. 

It’s so quaint it’s practically Canadian.

We stayed in a spacious room at a local bed and breakfast. Our room featured a wrap-around balcony where we could sit out, drink coffee, and contemplate the miracle of God’s creative genius.

During our time there, we shared this bucolic place with two other couples. As you do at B&Bs, we crossed paths with those couples at the breakfast table. After exchanging introductions, we began swapping notes about our favorite parts of the whole Orcas Island experience. 

One couple – I don’t remember their names, but let’s call them Fred and Ethel, just for fun – absolutely RAVED about their experiences with tandem ocean kayaking around the island. No, Fred and Ethel did not RENT a kayak from a local outfitter. They OWNED their own. 

At one point Fred explained their enchantment with ocean kayaking by saying, “You know… we came up here about five years ago and rented a tandem ocean kayak. And it CHANGED OUR LIVES.”

Joan and I smiled, nodded politely, and shared our experiences about one of the local hikes. But when we got back to our room, I’m sad to admit that we got a little catty. We stopped, looked at one another and said,“Really? Tandem ocean kayaking changed your LIFE? Really??”

Since that time – thanks to Fred and Ethel – I have tried to be especially cognizant of the things I describe as “life-changing.” For me, the bar must be set a bit higher than finding a cool new hobby. For example…

• Falling in love? Life changing. 
• Becoming a parent? Yes. Also, life changing. 
• Accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life? Absolutely life changing!
• Tucking in to a transcendently delicious peach cobbler? Splendid, yes. But not life changing.

In order to say a thing was life changing, something profound and elemental about WHO I AM must shapeshift from THIS to THAT. According to my concise rulebook, a person needs to be able to paint a vivid “Before” and “After” picture of their entire identity and self-understanding before they may use this weighty, loaded phrase.

And it is with this background in mind that I dare to proclaim to you that my first trip to Guatemala was truly life changing. 

It was a trip I took with 11 other seminary students in 2003. It was called an Immersion Trip because the purpose of the trip was to immerse ourselves in the baptismal waters of the stories of the people of Guatemala. From their bloody history of the 36-year-long civil war, to their long litany of exploitation by the American government, to the rich, proud indigenous Mayan culture, to the crushing poverty of 90% of the population, to their endlessly buoyant spirits…

… that trip met all the criteria to justify the label “life changing.”

I went down as one person and returned as someone else entirely. And oddly enough, something very similar happens every time I return there.

Joan and I just got back from spending a week on a humanitarian mission to Guatemala. It was a week that gave us new eyes. New hearts. New minds. And certainly, new backs and hands because of the work we did there.

Along the way, I discovered another quirky quality about life change; that is, its impermanence. 

How often does it happen that we are catapulted out of our familiar orbit, only to fall prey – once again – to the gravitational pull of old habits, old mindsets, old routines, and old beliefs? 

All of which brings me to the subject of Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. Lent is a time set aside in the church calendar to stop… take stock… turn around… and to recalibrate. 

Lent is not just about giving up chocolate or alcohol. It is about being ritually reminded to look at the entirety of our lives and to dare to ask, “Why do I think that?” “Why do I DO that?” “Why am I attracted to that?” “Why does that occupy such an important place in my life,” and “Does it really deserve that place of prominence?” 

Yes. Change is hard. They say that babies in wet diapers are the only ones who actually like change. 

But it’s kind of like what Jesus told the priest, Nicodemus during their famous midnight meeting: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 3:3, NRSVU).

Happy Lent, and abundant blessings;