It was unseasonably warm today, beings that it is January and 60 degrees. Lily and I enjoyed the sunshine and cool breeze by taking a rather long walk around the town, going around campus and looping in and out of neighborhoods with pretty houses and cute families. We passed lots of people sitting on their porches, children playing in their yards, and dogs on leads loving being able to lay in the sun or see all of the people strolling by.
While we walked, we passed the neatest thing I have seen on an adventure in a while - an old mantle clock. It was spray-painted gold with elaborate decorations, leaning against the trunk of a huge tree and for a minute, I felt like Scout and Jem Finch being given a secret gift by Boo Radley. There was nothing drastically profound in this find, save the delighted lover of words and life within me that found the simple pleasure in the irony of "passing the time" while passing the time. We stood for a few minutes just to decide whether or not to take the clock home, but decided to leave it right where it was. It had made a home nestled into the earth, stuck at four twenty-eight. I guess maybe you could stretch it and say there was a message of awareness tucked into that quaint little timepiece - our days will each be the same amount of time, so be cautious of the hours and how you want to spend them. Or something like, "Be sure to love passing the time, and not let the time pass you by instead."
"Be sure to stop and smell the roses - and check the rose-bed for old treasures!"
Or maybe it's just a nice story about a sunny Monday afternoon.
God bless this week!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
A No Drama 2012
I think that the New Year as a whole kind of dupes us. It is at the tail end of Christmas time, and not so far away from Thanksgiving as to separate it from the same holiday season. So the holidays are full of merriment, good food, family time, and most importantly, more free time. People get time off work, they spend hours on a plane or in a car where they can read or knit or do something they enjoy, they get a chance to sit back and watch a sports game. So after all of that hype, we get to December 31st and we think, "Of course I've got the time to ... pray more/eat less/hit the gym three times a week!" But now it is 14 days into the new year. We are back to school and work. Things need to be done and paid and finished.
On New Year's Day, I went to mass (It was a Sunday and it was the first day of the new year, how serendipitous!). I was visiting a friend out of town so it was in a church I was not familiar with presided by a priest I did not know, but it was one of the most inspirational sermons that I have ever heard. The priest, Fr. Patrick, challenged us to live a 2012 free of drama. I wanted to let him know that this idea was nice, but easier said than done. Our society loves drama. Last night Lily and I had some friends over, and her boyfriend told all of us about this commercial he saw for the TV show "The Bachelor" and it was just a seven second clip of a girl crying. All of the girls in the room agreed that the clip was a great way to get an audience because we were wondering: why was she crying, who made her cry, did she lose the game of love? I have often wondered why there aren't any television reality shows about Christians, and I think it's because when you trust the true love of God in your life, it's really hard to lose your cool or get melodramatic about things, because with trusting God comes the awesome peace of knowing that He will provide for you. But that is not the case in mainstream society, because it thrives on drama.
Anyone who has ever been involved with a play or production of any type involving the dramatics knows that drama and attention go hand-in-hand. The world would be a different place if we recognized a plea for love and attention and responded in-turn with love instead of a cat fight, gossip, or anything else you could see on daytime TV.
When I woke up this morning, I had an idea for what I wanted this "No Drama" message to be about. But then I signed online and saw this story about a girl in a public school who wanted a banner of prayer to be taken down, and the follow-up story listing many, many comments from disgruntled people, labeled as Christians, who were saying awful things to and about her and using horrendously vulgar language to make their points known. They were representing God by condemning this young girl and suggesting horrible things to her. It's no secret that there is a chasm between church and state which at many times causes a chasm between citizens, but we have to remember that we are human and we are all doing the best we can. The way to stand up for our religion or our faith is by showing people what it's about - love. I fear for myself and for my brothers and sisters in faith (who we are called to keep accountable) that we get caught up in the dramatics and forget what we're "fighting" for.
I want to issue the same challenge to you that Fr. Patrick issued to me; the challenge that I remind myself of every day, and a challenge that I think God calls us to in prayer: Live a No-Drama 2012. Love above all else, and if you are going to call yourself a Christian, act like Christ. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think it's really important to know what and who we are up against, but whenever we need to, let's take a serious look at our savior Jesus on the cross, freeing us from our sins, and remind ourselves that real love can truly conquer all.
I recommend all of the first book of Peter, chapter 4 to help guide you in this goal, but especially this verse:
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
On New Year's Day, I went to mass (It was a Sunday and it was the first day of the new year, how serendipitous!). I was visiting a friend out of town so it was in a church I was not familiar with presided by a priest I did not know, but it was one of the most inspirational sermons that I have ever heard. The priest, Fr. Patrick, challenged us to live a 2012 free of drama. I wanted to let him know that this idea was nice, but easier said than done. Our society loves drama. Last night Lily and I had some friends over, and her boyfriend told all of us about this commercial he saw for the TV show "The Bachelor" and it was just a seven second clip of a girl crying. All of the girls in the room agreed that the clip was a great way to get an audience because we were wondering: why was she crying, who made her cry, did she lose the game of love? I have often wondered why there aren't any television reality shows about Christians, and I think it's because when you trust the true love of God in your life, it's really hard to lose your cool or get melodramatic about things, because with trusting God comes the awesome peace of knowing that He will provide for you. But that is not the case in mainstream society, because it thrives on drama.
Anyone who has ever been involved with a play or production of any type involving the dramatics knows that drama and attention go hand-in-hand. The world would be a different place if we recognized a plea for love and attention and responded in-turn with love instead of a cat fight, gossip, or anything else you could see on daytime TV.
When I woke up this morning, I had an idea for what I wanted this "No Drama" message to be about. But then I signed online and saw this story about a girl in a public school who wanted a banner of prayer to be taken down, and the follow-up story listing many, many comments from disgruntled people, labeled as Christians, who were saying awful things to and about her and using horrendously vulgar language to make their points known. They were representing God by condemning this young girl and suggesting horrible things to her. It's no secret that there is a chasm between church and state which at many times causes a chasm between citizens, but we have to remember that we are human and we are all doing the best we can. The way to stand up for our religion or our faith is by showing people what it's about - love. I fear for myself and for my brothers and sisters in faith (who we are called to keep accountable) that we get caught up in the dramatics and forget what we're "fighting" for.
I want to issue the same challenge to you that Fr. Patrick issued to me; the challenge that I remind myself of every day, and a challenge that I think God calls us to in prayer: Live a No-Drama 2012. Love above all else, and if you are going to call yourself a Christian, act like Christ. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think it's really important to know what and who we are up against, but whenever we need to, let's take a serious look at our savior Jesus on the cross, freeing us from our sins, and remind ourselves that real love can truly conquer all.
I recommend all of the first book of Peter, chapter 4 to help guide you in this goal, but especially this verse:
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Here & Now
I have fallen into that all-too-familiar trap again of trying to read God's mind. There are things that I want, things that I think need, and I find myself wondering why God doesn't think I need them too, or if He does, why isn't He giving them to me yet? At evening mass on Wednesday, we discussed during the homily being ready for what God has in store and being willing to answer His call. But we also talked about being where we are, when we are and not living in the past or the future. The priest said, "Our God is a God of the living; of the now." Just because He always was and always will be, doesn't really mean the same applies to us. Our call is to live and love exactly where it is that He has put us. It's an inspirational, though oftentimes daunting, thought when we realize that not only did God design us with a purpose in mind, but also a time. There are things He wants of all of us that wouldn't be possible one hundred years into the past or one million years into the future.
I can identify with and accept half of this "here & now" idea. I completely understand the not dwelling in the past, because there is no changing it, so that is easy for me to grasp. It shapes us and then it is finished. But trying not to focus on the future? That's definitely new to me and I am not sure how I feel about it yet, but I'm pretty sure I don't like it. First off, I am in college and every day here is another day closer to a world I have never been in before. A hefty majority of what I think about is the future; my next step is not guaranteed. No one's next step is, but here I am at the verge of the "real world" and I have no clue where it will take me. Even more than that, the future is this blank canvas; it isn't tainted or decorated yet and it is at my very fingertips. Why wouldn't I want to think and pray about the possibility that lies there? Try as I may have in the days since that homily to be very in the present, I still find my mind drifting to those prayers of things I would love to have or do in the future.
At work today, I had to make some campus deliveries, which is mostly just a lot of walking around campus in the 10 degree weather. All that time with myself, without iPod or cell phone, makes me think (sometimes more than I should). I was thinking and praying, nearly pleading with God to reveal Himself or His plan to me. I walked into the science building to make a delivery and I was totally lost. I have not spent a lot of time in the building, but that which I have has been spent in the basement, where the labs are, and the first floor, where the lecture halls are. The top floor, full of the offices, is somewhere I had never before ventured. I was disappointed to find that, despite the clean layout of the basement and first floor, the second floor was a labyrinth of hidden classrooms and offices, twisting every which way with a room number pattern that I could not follow at all.
Between classes, building are pretty much devoid of any students, save those who are students who are absorbed in their studies, so I was alone in my quest. But all of a sudden, my chemistry professor from last semester appeared and showed me the way. It was such a small act of convenient kindness for him - he was passing by anyway and we were able to catch up about the new semester for a brief moment. But in my state of prayer, I understood it to be more than that. For me it was a moment of God saying, "Look. I will get you exactly where you need to go, exactly when you need to be there, in ways you may or may not expect. So trust me, because I know that I am doing."
I know myself, and come next month or next week, or even tomorrow, I will get restless again and think about the future and where I get to go next. But for today, and today is all I can promise, I will let guide God me through until tomorrow.
I can identify with and accept half of this "here & now" idea. I completely understand the not dwelling in the past, because there is no changing it, so that is easy for me to grasp. It shapes us and then it is finished. But trying not to focus on the future? That's definitely new to me and I am not sure how I feel about it yet, but I'm pretty sure I don't like it. First off, I am in college and every day here is another day closer to a world I have never been in before. A hefty majority of what I think about is the future; my next step is not guaranteed. No one's next step is, but here I am at the verge of the "real world" and I have no clue where it will take me. Even more than that, the future is this blank canvas; it isn't tainted or decorated yet and it is at my very fingertips. Why wouldn't I want to think and pray about the possibility that lies there? Try as I may have in the days since that homily to be very in the present, I still find my mind drifting to those prayers of things I would love to have or do in the future.
At work today, I had to make some campus deliveries, which is mostly just a lot of walking around campus in the 10 degree weather. All that time with myself, without iPod or cell phone, makes me think (sometimes more than I should). I was thinking and praying, nearly pleading with God to reveal Himself or His plan to me. I walked into the science building to make a delivery and I was totally lost. I have not spent a lot of time in the building, but that which I have has been spent in the basement, where the labs are, and the first floor, where the lecture halls are. The top floor, full of the offices, is somewhere I had never before ventured. I was disappointed to find that, despite the clean layout of the basement and first floor, the second floor was a labyrinth of hidden classrooms and offices, twisting every which way with a room number pattern that I could not follow at all.
Between classes, building are pretty much devoid of any students, save those who are students who are absorbed in their studies, so I was alone in my quest. But all of a sudden, my chemistry professor from last semester appeared and showed me the way. It was such a small act of convenient kindness for him - he was passing by anyway and we were able to catch up about the new semester for a brief moment. But in my state of prayer, I understood it to be more than that. For me it was a moment of God saying, "Look. I will get you exactly where you need to go, exactly when you need to be there, in ways you may or may not expect. So trust me, because I know that I am doing."
I know myself, and come next month or next week, or even tomorrow, I will get restless again and think about the future and where I get to go next. But for today, and today is all I can promise, I will let guide God me through until tomorrow.
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