"Quotes"

Quotes have often been the source of chatter. Sprawled in media to coffee shop talk, our culture lives for those little punctuation marks. While I would like to hope it's to glean goodness and points of reflection, that remains in question. Often times the wildfire of words we hear more about is spread purposed to the obliteration of an image or the speculation of one's character. More time spent on self. More time judging. More time comparing identity. A perpetual cycle of image idolatry and consumption of humanity. It's unfortunate, especially when so many wonderful quotes exist.

Simple phrases that can enrich our lives... those that enlighten; those that uplift the hopeless and encourage the defeated; those chanting us to the finish line of what race has been set before us; those that prop us with strength and power when when opposition fights our success... these are my pursuit.

Quotes can truly be personal. However, the trend of spurning a phrase because of instantaneous disagreement does not mean it cannot be a useful reflection tool or used to gain perspective on the lens others (reached, unreached and/or potentially reached) view the world in which we live. Does this mean let garbage into your mind? Does this mean disregard any form of guarding your thoughts or filtering what you allow to take hold in your mind? Absolutely not, but rather approaching such comments with caution.... taking in or tossing aside.

All of this comes up as I ponder quotes from time to time - thinking through various interpretations and deciphering the "weightiness," if you will. May it or may it not hold insight?Relative to my life is not the key factor. Is it relative to life in general? to others? to pursuing life in community?

Here are a few quotes. Like them, dislike them, find them useful, find them relative... that's an individual perspective. As for me, I am still processing...

"I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it."

--Maya Angelou

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

--Mother Teresa

"Bread for myself is a material question. Bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one."

--Nicholas Berdyaev

"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without heart."

--John Bunyan

"Some minds are like concrete - thoroughly mixed up and permanently set."

--Anonymous

"I have learned that sometimes the things we want to forget are the things which we most need to talk about..."

--Alli Newton

Mourning

The topic has been close in thought for many reasons over the last year. Whether it be mourning the loss of a loved one, mourning the loss of proximity to those dearest to your heart, even mourning the season of life that may be trying in every decision, maybe even in every moment, it's there. It seems our society allots the term "mourn" for the first circumstance in the list above, but by definition it means to show grief or sorrow. Sorrow in it's essence is distress because of "loss, affliction, disappointment; grief, sadness or regret." Mourning - it's everywhere. With this somewhat revelatory thought, I started thinking about if taken in a different light - we might perceive ourselves differently, cut ourselves some breathing room and lessen how we try to psycho-analyze everyone. Why can it not be acceptable for one to struggle through a season without feeling like something is "wrong" with them. In our sin-filled world, we will face these times. With "the fall" came heartache, came struggles, came pain. We don't need a label for such occurrences. We need encouragement. We need prayer. We need love fashioned without conditions. We need hope. We need faith. I say "we" throughout because times of "mourning" are inevitable for all. Some may struggle to escape the rut and hopelessness more than others, but that does not mean each of us will not face the bleakness at some point.

So, along with the thoughts of mourning another point pushed forth. For most of us when specifically dealing with the loss of a loved one, given the relationship is healthy, it's as if our hearts seemingly break. The pain is deep. It's wrenching. It's overwhelming. As this sits fresh on my experiences, I have come to wonder if these same sensations resonate with God when one of his children drift. When we deliberately make choices not in line with his good, perfect and gracious will... when one of his very own creations rejects him obstinately, leaving hope, leaving unconditional love, leaving salvation... does he experience these same pangs deep within his very essence? Is the mourning we experience a reflection of his despair? "Made in his likeness" and "As an image bearer"... that's what the Bible says. So, I cannot help to believe that my willfulness and disobedience causes grave pain. My lack of discipline, my lack of desire, my lack of pursuit obviously creates a feeling of loss, of mourning. The very thought of invoking such pain within my Creator every single time I sin is mind bending. While I don't claim to know how God feels when we blatantly, or for lack of discernment, sin against Him... I truly believe he is grieved.

All of this points to the very clear conclusion.. mourning is present everywhere. It's in our homes, our family. It's in our community. It's within the lives of those we see in each given day. While it may not be within the present moment or day, it has been or will be there. What kind of compassion would we pursue each relationship with if we first acknowledged the tender love and care we all need when preparing for, dealing with or overcoming a time of such deep pain?Essentially, this means we should constantly nurture relationships in such a way. Pain is real. Pain unfortunately (or fortunately, if looking at it from a character building perspective) challenges each life. May we mourn well. May we nurture well. May we allow ourselves and lead others to the comforting and loving arms of our Father.

Contagion

The demeanor we maintain says a lot about who we are at the deepest core or our being. Whether it be spoken or unspoken thoughts, actions, or even reactions, how we go about each moment tells the story of our personal identity and presents indicators of the perspective we preserve for life itself.

While working through several literary works, a common theme threads them all... gratefulness. At first thought, 'gratefulness' seems easy enough and almost amateur; by no means is the term a novel one. However, upon reflection there is so much more than the blurb found in Webster. Gratefulness, when given time, manifests into a paradigm. It represents a humble outlook generated by acknowledging one's own needs beyond the grasp of self-fulfillment. This same gratefulness surfaces as human depravity becomes clearer. While it often begins with maybe a "thank you," the attitutde can potentially develop into a way of life.

On a daily basis, each of us cross opportunities to express gratefulness, but do we seek them? Really and truly... is this the lens used to sift through the moments? Most of us probably would like to say yes, but in reality, and in all honesty, the answers would be no.

Gratefulness as a demeanor, as a way of life, takes effort. Like other things in life, something upheld as a priority requires time to foster development. This in fact is not much different. Gratefulness grows with discipline, then the habit forms, which pervades life itself. Gratefulness as a paradigm extends beyond circumstances so even when we walk through our valleys, a thankful spirit perseveres.

But such a nature extends beyond us and our 'bubble' of space. While some people will stand on their rights as an individual and argue the very essence of their finite existence, demeanor affects those in our surroundings. Contagion!! Community, fellowship, relationship... we thrive in number.

Keeping this in mind, how differently would we think and respond if all of us pursued a path to affect others in a positive way? How differently would we interact with others if we considered what our words or actions communicated regarding the state or our soul, the very essence of all we are and hope to be? Leaving you with one final question...

What contagion do you instigate?


"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." -Proverbs 17:22 (NIV)

Thus it begins...

... may it be an endeavor worth entertaining!

I recently read an excerpt from My Beautiful Idol by Pete Gall. His words struck the chords of the facade our culture would have us believe - that superficial is enough, not only when relating to others, but equally important... when relating to ourselves.

"I'm stuck there, hiding my inconsistencies in places that feel impenetrable to me, but I know they're plain to anyone who bothers to look. I live on the social meniscus that is the unspoken promise to politely ignore each other's foibles. I fear the breaking of that meniscus, and what would happen to me, and I hate living in that fear. That's the catch with camouflaged hiding places, I guess - they're more prison than protection, locking you away until the day they fail you."

In one way or another, many of us teeter on a 'meniscus' usually fabricated by our own doings. We formulate our paradigm, the idols follow, and then ensues our identity. What are we hoping? That perception becomes reality and unwanted realities dissipate with ignorance? People around us might be fooled, but your Creator will not. Thus, by losing our identity, we create our own chaos. We burden ourselves with constantly attempting to fit within an image. But reality (otherwise known as The Holy Spirit) would eventually point us back to the very essence of ourselves, that our identity was not lost at all; yet, stifled to the point of pain. Fitting into normality does not exist, because "normal" is respective to each person. Why must we insist on placing our efforts into a struggle toward an unobtainable perfection within these tidy "hiding places" as Gall calls it? Instead, how can we look to finding true identity in an accurate reflection... a mirror extending beyond physicality to the soul?