new | Russellings of the Spirit

Posts Tagged ‘new

Feb

A Changed Life

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: change, God, Guatemala, Jesus Christ, John 3:3, life, new, Nicodemus, perspective, transform

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;

Jan

A New/Old Look

By revruss1220 Leave a Comment

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: beard, new, old

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I grew a beard!

(Going by spelling alone, that sentence seems as if it SHOULD rhyme. But of course, it doesn’t. English! Bah humbug!)

Why did I grow it? No… it wasn’t because I got a part in a movie that required it… as was the case with my blogger friend Mitch Teemley (whose work can be found here, by the way. Check out that link if you want to see an example of a REAL blog!)

I am not actually sure I can give you a good, solid reason why I grew it.

Perhaps it was boredom. Perhaps it was a sly way to hide the flubbering wattle my neck seems to be acquiring. Beards, as they say, are male make-up.

Perhaps it was because – after all these years – I am getting tired of shaving. Or maybe it’s because I want to fit in a little better here in my newly adopted state of Colorado.

Whatever the reason, here it is.

Some like it. Some don’t. Some (**Cough, cough, “Joan.” Cough, cough**) say it makes me look older than I actually am. NO ONE has yet responded to the beard with the phrase I’ve longed to hear: “Oh, Russell! That beard makes you look SO dashing and debonair!”

I suppose I just decided – after more than 30 years with the same look – it was time to shake things up. You know… try something different.

In doing so, I find myself grateful to remember that God doesn’t feel this same need.

Let me explain. A long time ago, I carried around the idea of two Gods: God #1 was the OLD Testament God. God #1 was harsh and angry. God #1 rained down fire on pagans and non-believers. God #1 meted out swift and severe punishment on followers who screwed up. God #1 also had some pretty strict worship rules. Yes, even stricter than, “No talking in church!”

When folks back then saw God #1 coming, they wanted to pack up their children and RUN!!

Then Jesus was born and along with him came God #2. The NEW Testament God.

God #2 was cool. God #2 was love, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, and mercy. God #2 was totally OK with talking in church. God #2 hung out in beautiful places like forests, waterfalls, beaches, and golf courses. God #2 even stretched out God’s hand to pagans and non-believers and said, “Hey! Why don’t we sit down and have a cup of coffee? You tell me about your beliefs and hang-ups and I’ll tell you all about Myself. No pressure.”

But then I discovered something that seemed big and important: There is only ONE GOD! There has only EVER been ONE GOD. The idea of a God #1 and a God #2 (the new, improved version) is just ridiculous.

From the very beginning of the first spark of the universe, God has been creative, loving, forgiving, omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), full of grace, full of truth, compassionate, tender, merciful, and righteous and 100 other adjectives my brain is too small to concoct right now.

In fact, right up to today – January 13, 2022 – God is STILL all of those things. And more.

God is, however, no pushover. As the ultimate architect of the notions of RIGHT and WRONG, God certainly knows the difference between the two.

In both Testaments, we see that God wanted all people to choose the right and reject the wrong. But when it comes down to the question of what to do about folks who consistently choose wrong, God does seem to have changed tactics between Testament #1 and #2.

When God put on a suit of flesh and blood and chose to walk around with us, God set the record straight. He gave a very instructive word of guidance about his plans to deal with people who refused to “get with the program.” In John’s gospel, we hear Him saying, “I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47, NRSV).

That has always been God’s mission… yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. And even though you and I change – habits, jobs, places of residence, hairstyles, spouses, whatever! – God never does.

Praise God!

Abundant blessings;

Jan

Happy New Day

By revruss1220 3 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: beginning, freedom, fresh, God, hope, joy, new, page, year

So here we are… sitting in front of this gigantic, mysterious package; trying to figure out where and how to begin opening it… wondering what surprises, delights, horrors, or joys it might contain.

The mysterious package I refer to is, of course, the New Year.

Often when presented with a package as monumental as a whole new year, the human instinct seems to run toward the Grand Gesture.

We want to name it. We want to set out a list of goals and projects to be accomplished during its visit. We prognosticate about it and try to guess at its true, underlying personality.

After all, a whole new YEAR is a pretty doggoned big fish to fry. Right?

Well, yes. Sort of.

Except that when the calendar page turned over from December 31 of ONE year to January 1 of the next, we didn’t really get a whole new year dropped in our laps, did we.

We got exactly ONE DAY.

If you really wanted to be accurate, we got one moment. And then we got the next. And then the next, and so on and so on…

I guess what I am trying to suggest here is that instead of spending excessive time worrying about what approach we will take to the living of an entire YEAR, let’s think instead about how we will live the precious gift of the MOMENT we have right here, right now.

In other words, let’s not fret so much about the vastness of the FOREST around us that we forget to tend to the individual TREE we have here on our hands. We don’t want to miss the beauty and uniqueness it offers.

I believe this is the wisdom of the piece of the Lord’s Prayer wherein Jesus advises the disciples to say, “And give us this day our DAILY bread,” when they pray. (Matt. 6:11, NRSV). He intended it as a reminder to them and to other faithful Jews of God’s provision of a one-day supply of manna for every day of the 40 years they spent wandering in the wilderness. (Exodus 16).

There is no doubt we will need bread for every day we live. But isn’t it also a little arrogant to imagine that we know exactly how many days that will be?

What I am suggesting is that we each take on the New Year as we would take on the new day. Begin it with humble gratitude, thanking God that we have received it. Believe that the day – just like the year – will bring its share of both the expected and the unexpected… the sublime as well as the ridiculous. Ask God to help us find a way to embrace both ends of the day’s spectrum of experience.

Imagine what it would be like if we treated every night like New Year’s Eve and every morning like New Year’s Day?

[Without the alcohol or bowl games, of course…]

What if… instead of anxiously wondering when God’s Great Gift will land on our doorstep, we stopped and woke up to the fact that it already HAS!?

Abundant blessings to you and yours in this new year and new day.

Nov

EST-CE QUE TU PARLES FRANCAIS?

By revruss1220 2 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: belonging, blessing, compassion, countryside, foreigner, France, included, inclusion, Jesus Christ, justice, love, new, out

Joan and I have been in the south of France for the past week.

And when I say, “the south of France,” I mean THE SOUTH. As in, imagining we hear banjos and guitars having a pick-off duel as we round every turn in the road.

In French, of course.

Don’t get me wrong… this is a beautiful place. Full of vineyards, ancient stone castles, quaint villages, winding roads and craggy hillsides. It is breathtakingly romantic and serene.

Except that NOBODY here speaks a word of English. As a matter of fact, I am not sure they know any language besides French even exists.

And so, as we have navigated our way through the amazing little towns of Boutenac, Carcassone, Minerve, Lezignan, and Coulliere, we learned to get by with some quick, seat-of-the-pants translating. When ordering lunch, for example, we had to figure out that it would not kill us to choose something off the Poisson section of the menu. It just meant we would get a nice piece of grilled fish.

We also learned that adding a dash of cannelle to our morning coffee would give it a flavorful little kick.

Waitresses and hotel clerks and retailers regularly took pity on us and used their back-pocket English when we appeared to struggle. But for the most part, we were a couple of odd ducks wherever we went. Which – I have to admit – was kind of a new experience for both of us.

Because, you see, most of the time, I am alert, aware, comfortable with my surroundings, and on top of my game. In my native habitat, stuff doesn’t fluster me… unless, of course, we are talking about finding ANYTHING in the grocery store! And so, the experience of being in a place where I am different… where I am lost and unsure… where I am The Other… was unsettling and frankly disorienting.

It also made me realize that it is not necessary to travel in France with a limited-to-nonexistent French vocabulary to feel out of place. Often all it takes to feel like un poisson hors de l’eau is to be a member of any non-advantaged group.

Those of us who – because of our race, gender, ableness, or economic class – begin life on second base, are told (and believe) the story that we hit a double. We inherited the FastPass at Disneyland and can’t, for the life of us, figure out why everyone else is still standing in that silly line. We get the grades, we get the help, we get the jobs, and we get the dream… in many cases all because of factors we have zero control over.

And so, it comes as a very unwelcome shock any time we find ourselves standing on the outside – of ANYTHING! – looking in.

Most of the time when this kind of disquieting, uncomfortable moment happens to us, we moan and wail and kvetch. “This totally sucks!” is one of our more popular refrains.

But what if we used these pinch-point moments for a different purpose? What if we used them instead as a moment of awakening? What if we recognized them as a time when SEEDS are being sown?

Seeds of insight… seeds of compassion… seeds of understanding.

What if – when the time comes when the cards all seem to be stacked against us, we cocked our heads, opened our ears, and heard the voice of Jesus saying, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…” (Matthew 11:28, NRSV) and paid special attention in that verse to the word ALL?

What if?

That would sure be tres bon, wouldn’t it?

Abundant blessings;

Jun

New Glasses

By revruss1220 Leave a Comment

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: beauty, God, Isaiah 43:19, Jesus Christ, new, notice, novel, rich, texture

“He noticed!” said Joan with a hint of surprise in her voice.

“Yes he did…,” I replied, adding, “…That’s because Elijah is a Professional Noticer of Things.”

Elijah, operating the sound board for our church’s outdoor worship service yesterday, noticed that I had a new pair of glasses and commented on them. In fact, he was very complimentary of my style choice.

His comment was noteworthy because in the nearly six weeks since I acquired these new glasses, the number of people who have noticed their newness and commented on them is a very small number indeed.

Elijah noticed my new glasses, I reasoned, because Elijah is an artist. I believe it is the artist’s job to notice stuff… to attune their exquisite antennae to every shape, size, and nuance in their world… to penetrate below the surface of their quotidian environment and see that which is unseen by most… and then use their chosen medium to help the rest of us see it, too.

But then, after making my clever quip, I stopped and pondered a moment: is that kind of “noticing” strictly the province of artists? Are they the only ones tasked with that special “seeing”? Does it require an innate, inborn set of skills to perceive novelty, beauty, diversity, and wonder in our world?

Or is that something any of us can/should be able to do?

If you have a chance to spend even five minutes in the presence of a small child – say three or fewer years of age – you will soon discover that for them, EVERYTHING about the world is amazing, incredible, and totally AWESOME! In their eyes, there are remarkable new discoveries to be found around every corner!

They think the world is a veritable smorgasbord of wonder and delight on which to feast their inquiring little eyes.

Then, at the opposite end of the spectrum, are those of us who have been around the sun a few times… the folks who can come to feel – if we’re not careful – as if we’ve “seen it all.” On occasion it seems to us that all the sheen and luster has worn off our bright, shiny world.

“Been there, done that, got the T-shirt” threatens to become our mantra. Our eyes can glaze over, our perspectives can become jaded, and we can say, “AMEN! Ain’t it the truth!” when we hear The Teacher saying, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NRSV).

We trumpet the virtue of our world-weariness and think of ourselves as, “savvy… sophisticated… urbane… refined… aware.”

Everything we see is SO gauche and jejune and we simply can’t be bothered.

How sad!

How dull!

And when you come right down to it, how utterly ungodly.

Loving God means knowing and loving God’s creation. And central to loving God’s creation is recognizing that God is in the business of Continuous Renewal. The prophet Isaiah talks about this when he speaks on God’s behalf and tells the Israelites, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19, NRSV).

When we allow our hearts to be transformed by the in-breaking power of the Holy Spirit, WE also become new… blessed with the capability to see newness all around us. Paul understood this transformation perfectly. He described it when he wrote, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NRSV).

So, is it possible to be mature, experienced, and wonder-filled all at the same time?

I’d say, “Absolutely!”

All it takes is a new pair of glasses.

Abundant blessings;

Feb

Something from Nothing

By revruss1220 2 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: create, entrepreneur, God, idea, innovation, Jesus Christ, new, nothing, something

For some time now I have had a soft spot in my heart for entrepreneurs.

Take Frederick W. Smith, for example. While a student in the business school at Yale University, Smith wrote a paper that outlined a wacky idea for an overnight package delivery service.

Smith got a “C” on the paper, along with his professor’s gentle reminder that the assignment was to write about a business idea that actually had a chance of being implemented.

Undaunted, young Mr. Smith decided he really believed in what he had written and decided to go out and make it happen. The business Smith described in that “C” paper turned out to be the blueprint for the company that is known today as Federal Express… the company Smith still serves as chairman and CEO.

Through my undergraduate years, I remember hearing the stories of the steam engine stoker turned insurance salesman turned filling station operator named Harlan Sanders who – in his spare time – tinkered around with different combinations of herbs and spices and a method of pressure-frying chicken that eventually took America by storm under the brand name Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I was fascinated by the tale of the milkshake mixer salesman named Ray Kroc who helped a couple of brothers named McDonald franchise their simple-menu hamburger stand concept that ultimately created an entirely new category of restaurant.

As I began to study them, I noticed that most entrepreneur stories seemed to follow a similar arc. They each seemed to begin with a restless spirit and a curious mind trapped inside a dull, one-dimensional job. That mind asks – and keeps asking – “What if…?” somehow impervious to all of the voices of reason that counsel the safe path.

Bold leaps are taken… usually with disastrously disappointing initial results. Nevertheless, the Restless Spiritsoldiers on. He or she makes major and minor adjustments to the vision before hazarding the climb back up the ladder to the high dive platform. Friends, family members, distant relatives, all offer The Restless Spirittheir sincerely considered advice, saying that it is probably time to discard the pipe dream and get back to work on something proven and practical.

But then, in a scene reminiscent of the movie Castaway (starring Tom Hanks), the tinder of that ridiculous idea suddenly begins to smoke… we see a tiny flame somewhere down there at the bottom. That tiny flame grows and grows until it finally becomes an epic bonfire of business success.

Or maybe it doesn’t. Ever.

But as is the case with most entrepreneurs I have ever met, the lack of a tangible result does not stop or even slow them down. They just keep plugging away.

In that sense, the instinct to entrepreneurism seems to have a lot in common with the instinct toward art. Somewhere, somehow in the deep recesses of the mind of the artist (and/or the entrepreneur), a seed is dropped. There our little seed finds fertile soil, moisture, warmth, and an energizing spark. The seed coat is broken and the radicle, the plumule, and the cotyledons (yes… I Googled all of those words) begin to unfold, gasping hungrily toward the rays of the morning sun.

The artist/entrepreneur nurtures the tender shoot, strategically clearing its path of obstacles and threats until it begins to demonstrate a more robust grip on its surroundings.

And in the process, each of these experiences the sheer joy of creating SOMETHING out of NOTHING.

But you know what else? It is also the joy that motivated God to create YOU and ME and our amazing WORLD in the first place. It is also the joy that God planted within the breast of every one of us. It is the joy that we are each invited to experience… whether we see ourselves as artists or entrepreneurs or not.

When the Bible tells us we are made, “… in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), it means that we are endowed with the same core traits as the One who made us. It means that if God is love, WE are love. It means if God is about relationships, WE are about relationships. It means if God creates, WE create.

What will you create today?

Abundant blessings;

Dec

New Shoes

By revruss1220 6 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: change, courage, faithful, fear, God, new, shoes, steadfastness

This past weekend I observed a personal ritual known as, “The Changing of the Shoes.” It is exactly like the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, except without the pageantry, fuzzy hats, Corgis, Englishness, formality, or really anything else.

My ritual doesn’t even operate by a set schedule.

It happens when it needs to happen.

The Changing of the Shoes is set in motion when my daily walking shoes finally bite the dust. That moment sends me to the shoe store to buy a new pair. My old walking shoes then “graduate” to the status of yard work shoes, and my dirt-and-dog-doo-encrusted-grass-stained yard work shoes go to that happy Shoe Recycling Place in the sky.

And as that ritual unfolds, I learn again the lesson that new seasons beget new roles. New roles beget new duties. New duties beget new self-understandings.

And sometimes, new self-understandings beget new questions about how we each fit into the cosmic scheme of things.

[By now I suspect you have guessed that I am no longer talking about SHOES, haven’t you?]

This time of global pandemic has required the adoption new self-understandings by almost every one of us, hasn’t it? Those of us who derive our identities from our work, or our relationships, our hobbies, or our affiliations have struggled to embrace this New Normal.

And unlike my shoes (who slip easily and without complaint into their new roles) many of us scratch and kick and complain loudly when forced into a new way of being… a new way of seeing… a new way of understanding our place in the world.

Heck, even though it has now been true for 1.25 years, I still find myself resisting the wholehearted adoption of my new “retired guy” identity. “You’re too young to retire!” says the tape that plays repeatedly in my head.

The thing is, CHANGE doesn’t care.

CHANGE rolls on, as inexorable as the seasons… inviting us to either dance or die.

Our gut tells us that CHANGE is the enemy… something to be feared. Our gut wants things to stay as they are; predictable, stable, orderly.

Our gut wants us to worship something besides the wild, ever-renewing, explosively creative God of the Universe.

Our gut tells us not to trust the extended hand of the One who whispers to us, “Come ahead, my child. Don’t fear. I’ve got you.”

But then, if we listen really closely, we will hear our faith speaking up and saying, “The God who brought you TO this, will surely bring you THROUGH this.”

God always has. God always will.

We learn that the God who said, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43: 19, NRSV), is the same God who said, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2, NRSV).

New times.

New roles.

New understandings.

Same God. Same rock-solid promises.

But definitely time for some new shoes.

Abundant blessings;

Sep

The Right Question…

By revruss1220 4 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: adventure, circus, Colorado, Democrat, explore, Jesus Christ, new, political, Republican, Telluride

Since we now live in a new state, Joan and I recently decided to do a little exploring.

We drove to the southwestern part of Colorado and set ourselves up in the lovely little town of Ridgway. We highly recommend it, in case you are ever looking for a picturesque, unspoiled, little mountain getaway town.

On our third day there we asked our GPS, “How far is it to Telluride?” We had heard great things about the town of Telluride and wanted to drive over and do a little exploring.

Our GPS quite accurately told us it was 15 miles from Ridgway to Telluride…

… as the crow flies, that is.

We discovered that if you happen to be a human instead of a crow, limited to traveling in a car across paved roads – as we were – there is a completely different answer to the question, “How far is Telluride?”

That answer is thirty-nine miles.

That trivial little exercise caused me to wonder; could we be in the midst of one of those times when some of us are not asking the right question?

With a major political election looming on the immediate horizon, the question seems obvious; Trump or Biden? Democrat or Republican? Liberal or conservative?

Pick your side. Make your speech. Cast your ballot.

But what if those are not really the right questions at all?

What if the right (better) questions are somehow deeper… more fundamental and essential? And what if these better questions concern the kind of people you and I will BE from here on out instead of which political horse we choose to hitch our wagon(s) to?

Make no mistake… I am watching the current political hullabaloo like a hawk. At times it is more entertaining than an NFL game. At other times, it is more frightening than a Stephen King novel. And I definitely do have a favorite in this race.

But the more I watch this show and the more blood that is spilled, the more discouraged I get about the real benefits of ANY potential outcome.

We can change the political circumstances in which we live. But until we fundamentally change the people we are – the way we think, the way we interact with one another, and the way we live our lives – neither of these would-be political messiahs is really going to make much difference at all.

I propose that a better question for us each to ask ourselves today might be this one: what kind of edges will my life have from here on out?

What I mean by that is…

Will the edges of my life be made up of a hard, impenetrable shell? Will I pour all of my energy into fortifying myself against anything that might penetrate and possibly harm me? Will I “batten down the hatches” and look upon anything unfamiliar as a dangerous threat? Will I echo Simon and Garfunkel as they sang, “I am a rock… I am an island”?
Or will my edges be soft and vulnerable? Will they be easily punctured by the voice, the views, or the needs of another? Will I/we dare to open ourselves to the stranger? Will I/we dare to occasionally say to someone, “I don’t know. I might be wrong about that. Let me think about it”? Will we be humble and open to the needs of our neighbors?

The temptation in unsettling, uncertain, anxious times is to try and build as strong a wall as we possibly can. To seek safety. To armor-plate the edges of our lives.

And yet, as natural an instinct as shell-building seems to be, it is the polar opposite of the model of Christlikeness.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28, NRSV).

And the writer of 1 Peter said, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NRSV).

Yes, it is a vitally important time in our political life as a country. But I hope we can each find a way to look past the noise and smoke, ask the right question…

… and then perform our civic duty accordingly.

Abundant blessings;

Aug

Clearing the Underbrush

By revruss1220 6 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: California, control, death, fight, fire, Fort Collins, God, growth, Jesus Christ, new, new life, overcome, rebirth, stagnant, suppress, underbrush, wildfire

Wildfire It hit me as soon as I walked out the door.

Patrick the dog and I were headed out for our long Saturday morning walk. But after five steps and two breaths, it became abundantly clear that our walk on this particular Saturday would just be to the end of the cul-de-sac and back.

You see, we have wildfires burning about 60 miles to the west of our house here in Fort Collins, Colorado. They aren’t as big as those currently burning in California (these only cover a mere 17,000 acres), but they are big enough.

At times, when the wind is just right, the city of Fort Collins is blanketed with thick smoke. It stings your eyes and burns your lungs. The air quality is listed as, “Hazardous for all individuals” by the county health authorities.

Not ideal dog-walking conditions.

As we listen to news reports on the status of the fire-fighting efforts, Joan and I were surprised to hear that very little is currently being done to fight this fire. There are teams on the ground monitoring the situation, yes. But there are no air tankers dropping flame retardants, no big buckets scooping water out of the lake to dump on it, no fire hoses being aimed at the flames.

It is just being watched as it burns.

When I expressed my frustration about this perplexing nonchalance to a neighbor, he smiled a knowing smile and explained, “These things happen every couple of years and are a part of the natural cycle of things. Right now, they are just making sure it doesn’t get out of control and threaten any houses.”

I nodded and thanked him for his insight, but inside I was saying, “WHAT? You can’t be serious! Do you really think it is OK to let fire destroy all those trees and choke us with the smoke and ash? What kind of looney tunes philosophy is THAT?”

As it turns out, it is a very sound philosophy indeed.

You see, in the forest, trees die. Leaves fall to the ground. Underbrush accumulates. Dead vegetation threatens to choke out the living. And so periodically, it all needs to be cleaned out. And as it turns out, the cleaning tool that works best for Mother Nature is FIRE.

Every now and then a fire is needed to sweep through and destroy all the dead stuff… to clear the way for something new and fresh and green to be born.

And when I heard that explanation, I began wondering: does God ever take the same approach with us?

What I mean is; do you think we (the human population of Planet Earth) ever get to the point where too much “dead underbrush” has built up in our hearts or in the world? [Metaphorically speaking, of course.]

Do you think it’s possible that this “dead underbrush” ever becomes so vast that it threatens to choke out the possibility of anything new popping up and growing?
Do you think it is possible that God has identified a periodic need to do a massive “clearing out” of this spiritual and emotional underbrush?
Is it conceivable that something that looks like devastation and destruction (something like a global pandemic, for example) might actually be something more like a cosmic press of the “RESET” button?

And finally;

Do you think it is possible that the way is being cleared for something new and fresh and vibrant to emerge on the other side of the current devastation?

Please understand, I have grave hesitations about asking these questions. They could sound like I’m saying that God brought about the death and destruction of COVID-19 in order to bring about something new. These questions might make it sound as if I’m saying that God is indifferent to human suffering as long as there is a “greater good” to be accomplished on the other side.

That is not what I am saying at all.

Rather I am trying to point to God’s unlimited capacity to REDEEM. That is, to take a dire and disastrous situation and use it as the fodder for something wondrous, new, and remarkable.

You know… sort of like he did with his son who died on a Roman cross?

In the short run, that thought doesn’t make it a whole lot easier to put up with the coughing, stinging, fear, and wheezing.

But it does offer us the hope that – in the long run – all of this misery just might not be wasted after all.

Abundant blessings;

Jun

Order out of Chaos

By revruss1220 Leave a Comment

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: abundant, blessing, chaos, community, creation, creativity, enforcement, faith, God, Jesus Christ, justice, law, love, neighbor, new, order, police, world

Extension cords Look at this.

Isn’t it amazing?

My organizational genius of a wife took our laundry basket full of a mishmash of all sizes and styles of extension cords and – armed with only her labelmaker and a few plastic containers – turned it into this miracle of peace and harmony.

Ahhhh! Satisfaction.

So inspired was I by her de-cluttering, systematizing prowess that I immediately turned my attention to the task of taming the long-ignored Garage Beast!

Mission accomplished!

Satisfaction AGAIN!

In spite of the fact that I occasionally seem to be content to wallow around in an untidy environment, there remains something deeply satisfying about bringing order out of chaos.

It seems almost as if this ordering drive might be hard-wired into our humanness, doesn’t it?

Some theologians, in fact, have argued that the Genesis creation story begins, not with God creating SOMETHING out of NOTHING, but rather with God creating ORDER out of CHAOS. Indeed, we read in Genesis 1:2, “… the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep.” (Gen. 1:2, NRSV).

But I wonder… if it is true that the impulse to ORDER our world is an essential, defining quality of the human experience… can we ever go overboard with this impulse? In other words, can there be such a thing as TOO MUCH order… and not enough CHAOS?

Lately we have certainly seen a whole lot of chaos in the streets of our major cities. Violent protests have erupted in the wake of murders by armed police officers. Chaos erupts. Order is imposed. MORE chaos erupts. And even more order is imposed.

But then sometimes… somehow… something new gets born out of that chaos. Ask anyone who has ever been present at the moment a brand-new baby is delivered into the world; it is a moment with more chaos and mess and disorder happening all at once than you will likely EVER see anywhere else!

And lest we forget…

From the chaos of 40 years of wandering in the desert, the new people Israel was born.
From the chaos of the American Revolution, this country was born.
From the chaos of riots and unrest in the early 60s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was born.

There is no doubt that this moment is calling forth the need for something new to be born in the way our governments go about the work of ensuring public safety. The day when we need heavily armed, militarily trained phalanxes of police officers to keep the peace is gone… if indeed it ever existed in the first place.

Yes, we need order. Yes, we need peace. But not at the price of our freedom. And not if it means whole segments of our population end up living in daily fear of the very institutions appointed to ensure their safety.

You see, God has been trying to teach us this lesson from Day One… first through Abraham, then Moses, through the judges, the prophets, the kings, and through his only begotten Son, Jesus. God desperately wants us to understand that the only sure path to both peace and freedom is by following the Big Two… 1.) Loving God, and 2.) Loving Neighbor.

Loving our neighbors… WHO they are, AS they are… can be a little chaotic at times. Because let’s face it, some of them are just not that lovable.

But it is also an essential part of the people we are each made to be.

Abundant blessings;

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