The Wonderful Conversation

As a friend put it, I have been enjoying the wonderful conversation that is so often generated on Facebook, by a status update or a photo or a comment or a note.  I have found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion recently.

Some of you may think that is pretty pitiful - that my social interaction is with a computer screen.  If that were the only place I interacted, you would be correct.  But when the computer interconnects those in different cities and states and time zones and continents, then it is a pretty cool tool.  Our world is so much smaller than it used to be, which means our worldview has opportunity to be so much larger, as we see things through each other's eyes.

That's the same reason I am becoming an avid blog reader - seeing the world through another's eyes.  I have been introduced through blogging to folks I will likely not meet in this life, and I have opportunity to expand my world by seeing theirs - not to the neglect of my own sphere of influence, but with the possibility of interacting with it in more insightful ways as I am challenged to grow my perspective.

Control

I'm ruminating a little bit on Mark 15.  We are finishing up a study of the book of Mark, and all along the way, it has seemed that Jesus was never distracted or hurried as He moved through each day.  He did so with purpose, in total control of his agenda and attitude.

Suddenly in Mark 15, it appears that everything is out of his control.  That's what has amazed me this evening.  That he appeared to relinquish control in a way that made others feel like they controlled him; when in reality, he used all their actions in a way that eventually revealed that he was still in control.

I fight for control in my daily life, or at least I am highly uncomfortable when things feel out of control.  Pretty deceived most days, right?  I am reminded that only God is truly in control, that I rarely see what he is about when it is in process, that he will write the end of the story in ways I can hardly imagine at this point.

Wow.

Rest

Sometimes I am good at "pacing" life, and other times not so good. I am thankful today that I had opportunity to know last week would be crazy, and that I would need today off to catch up. Not with anything in particular... except myself. And, I am off to a great start there.

I am reminded of Richard Swenson's The Overload Syndrome, which someone gave me while I was still teaching. It took me three years to find time to read it. [Yes, there was a problem. :-)] There are a some specific principles I learned from Swenson related to patterns and habits of productivity and rest that I still practice. I don't wear a watch, for instance, and it reduces the pressure of time for me (sounds crazy, I know) and I know I am more productive (and more engaged in the moment) because of it. [Of course, I have to be really careful to set alarms for appointments, or I am very likely to be so engaged that I totally forget, if it is not in my regular routine. My "out of sight, out of mind" nature is on grand display there!]

Maybe it is just my age that is starting to show. Or maybe I am finally figuring out a little more of how God has wired me so that I can be more effective in the long haul.

Change

Yesterday we experienced change that was perhaps inevitable. There were only 14 people at Mom's for Thanksgiving. As compared to the 30 we have frequently had. There were work conflicts (Where did THAT come from?), other in-law gatherings (rarely a conflict for this group before), other complicated "life" situations, and now Grandma-Great (as my nieces and nephew call her) spent her first Thanksgiving with Jesus. [Somehow I doubt that's a day we will celebrate in heaven. :-)]

So, you can imagine the leftovers, even when we knew the crowd would be a little smaller. It's hard to make the adjustments when you have cooked for a certain number for so many years. I think we "missed" Grandma and Grandpa and others more, too. The smaller crowd did allow space for a lively Mexican Train dominoes game and some more personal discussions through the day, so not all the change was bad. Just change.

As one generation passes completely from our lives, the ties that bind seem to loosen more easily. Perhaps it is inevitable, as I said. It makes the time we do have with each other now that much more important.

It only hurts when I touch it

I recall a time while I was still teaching that one of my co-worker's mother passed away.  About six months later, I had occasion to ask how she was doing.  I won't forget her answer. "It's like the little boy with the cut on his finger.  It only hurts when I touch it."

I said bon voyage last night to a friend and her husband who are headed overseas for long-term ministry.   It is a brave and wonderful thing for them and an incredible thing for the Kingdom.  But it is not without significant cost for them and their family, in particular.

Of course I will miss them (I am thankful for technology which will allow some connection in the days ahead!)  and I did expect to experience some emotion, but I was emotionally moved well more than I expected to be.  This morning, I think I can put it into words.  She was the tool God used to begin the healing of the deepest wound in my life, and in the past week, all the gratitude generated by that time has welled up again, and it has been overwhelming.

God's grace in my life has been just that, all along the way - overwhelming.  I am more thankful than I can express for the myriad of people who have been used to touch facets of my life and demonstrate that grace for the "relational" creature that I am.  This morning, I am once again particularly grateful for my friend who today woke up on the other side of the world.  Blessings be on you both.