I have a confession to make. I am not a Christmas person. I know people who are just gaga over the entire Holiday season. I am not one of them. I am more of an Easter person. Easter is by far my favorite religious holiday. Does this make me morose? I don't think so. I think it is just that I am a person who thrives on contrasts. I need both darkness and light in my world. It is precisely because of the darkness that I can experience the light.
I am reminded of reading something recently by one of my favorite bloggers. She was discussing the poetry of William Butler Yeats and how his writing is breathtakingly painfully beautiful to read. But for her, the way he breaks her heart over and over feels so wonderful that she is drawn to his poetry again and again. I can so relate to this sentiment. I feel this way myself much of the time.
I have never understood people who demand sugar all the time. Who insist on sunshine every day and revile gray,rainy days. Who push away every emotion that is uncomfortable. Who want everything to be pleasant and cheerful all the time. To me this is such a fake way to live. Life is made up of both happiness and sadness. Joy and sorrow. New life and death. Sunshine and rain. In short, it is a life of contrasts. And in these contrasts, true beauty is found.
The Irish understand this. This is why there are so many amazing Irish poets and writers. The Irish all have a wee bit of melancholy in their souls. Which explains much about me in all probability. You can't escape your gene pool!
All this reminds me of something my mentor wrote to me in a recent email exchange. He was talking about how one dimensional and fake much of our "worship" is. He said that people confuse the happy feelings they have in worship for some kind of authentic experience. And if they don't have a happy feeling that day, for whatever reason, they think something is wrong. Because worship should be happy, right? His point is that true worship, like real life is made up of many facets. There is joy, there is sorrow, there is repentance, there is anguish sometimes as we realize our failures and acknowledge that we need to change something in ourselves. This is so true. True worship should be a multifaceted experience. But more often than not, people want one thing and one thing only. A feel good sugar high. All light, no darkness, thank you. Can anything truly grow in such an altered environment? Can a plant exist with only sunshine and never a drop of rain?
Which gets back to my original point about Christmas versus Easter. I am in the minority as an "Easter" person. Most people would rather focus on the joy of the birth of the newborn baby rather than the anguish of the crucified Christ. For me the former has no meaning without the latter. So while I can celebrate Christmas, my eyes are ever fixed on the purpose of the birth which is the cross at Calvary. Yes it is sad. Yes it is painful. But it is a thing of unspeakable beauty. It is a journey from darkness into light. Shalom!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Giving Thanks
This past Thursday was Thanksgiving. This is a time of year when, hopefully, we all take stock of our lives and realize, indeed, how truly blessed we are. As we prepare for the upcoming Advent Season and the anticipation of the arrival of Christmas I realize that another year is drawing to a close. It seems a good time to look back and reflect on the events that have shaped my life this year.
Some years are more life altering than others in our lives, to be sure. Some years change and remake us. Some years are years of transition. 2010 has been such a year for me. In addition to hitting the Big 5-0 this year, I also launched my youngest child into the world and faced down the proverbial empty nest. The long journey with my best friend who is grappling with advanced breast cancer is now in its final stages, and I have faced transition issues both at work and at church which have been stressful. I won't pretend that any of this has been easy, but what I have found is that out of darkness comes light, and that there is truth in what scripture teaches: "My grace is sufficient for thee".
The biggest lesson this year that I have learned is that of God's provision. And it is this that I am most thankful for. For when I began to falter, and when it all just seemed like too much, into that space God reached down and extended His hand. He provided for my need. He saw me struggling and interceded. This is both humbling and awe inspiring to realize. It reminds me so much of what we sing sometimes on Sunday- "Who Am I ": "Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth, would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt? Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star, would choose to light the way, for my every wandering heart? ". Never have these words come more alive for me than in the past several months. This I have found to be absolutely true- "still you hear me when I'm calling, Lord you catch me when I'm falling, and you've told me who I am- I am yours".
This has been brought home to me in new and wonderfully personal ways recently. I always believed it to be true. But this year I have experienced it firsthand for myself. Thus making a much more powerful impression on me. It is always the things that experience teaches that we retain, rather than merely what we have read or heard about.
The lasting impact of the lessons I have learned is that I know absolutely that God is good in all circumstances, and that He wishes to bless us. He will provide for all that we need. Sometimes even without us having enough sense to ask Him to do so. If that is not something worth giving thanks for, then I don't know what is......Shalom!
Some years are more life altering than others in our lives, to be sure. Some years change and remake us. Some years are years of transition. 2010 has been such a year for me. In addition to hitting the Big 5-0 this year, I also launched my youngest child into the world and faced down the proverbial empty nest. The long journey with my best friend who is grappling with advanced breast cancer is now in its final stages, and I have faced transition issues both at work and at church which have been stressful. I won't pretend that any of this has been easy, but what I have found is that out of darkness comes light, and that there is truth in what scripture teaches: "My grace is sufficient for thee".
The biggest lesson this year that I have learned is that of God's provision. And it is this that I am most thankful for. For when I began to falter, and when it all just seemed like too much, into that space God reached down and extended His hand. He provided for my need. He saw me struggling and interceded. This is both humbling and awe inspiring to realize. It reminds me so much of what we sing sometimes on Sunday- "Who Am I ": "Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth, would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt? Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star, would choose to light the way, for my every wandering heart? ". Never have these words come more alive for me than in the past several months. This I have found to be absolutely true- "still you hear me when I'm calling, Lord you catch me when I'm falling, and you've told me who I am- I am yours".
This has been brought home to me in new and wonderfully personal ways recently. I always believed it to be true. But this year I have experienced it firsthand for myself. Thus making a much more powerful impression on me. It is always the things that experience teaches that we retain, rather than merely what we have read or heard about.
The lasting impact of the lessons I have learned is that I know absolutely that God is good in all circumstances, and that He wishes to bless us. He will provide for all that we need. Sometimes even without us having enough sense to ask Him to do so. If that is not something worth giving thanks for, then I don't know what is......Shalom!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Mentoring: A gift of Uncommon Love
For the past several months I have been the beneficiary of the gift of spiritual mentoring. This may sound like a foreign concept to some. Everyone knows what a mentor is. Many people have had one. Perhaps a teacher, a coach, a superior at work who has taken you under his wing. But far fewer people are familiar with the concept of spiritual mentoring, though why this is so I don't really know. If you know anything about the New Testament, you can follow the greatest spiritual mentor of all time- Jesus. Why we don't live out his example more often today is hard to understand.
Jesus spent the majority of his ministry on earth devoted to the development of the 12 Disciples who would later take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. During his 3 year ministry he was often followed by great crowds of people. He interacted with these as well as with the Pharisees. But he always retreated from both with the 12. This is where he spent his time. He lived among and taught the 12. Day in and day out for 3 years. For these men were the tools that would build his kingdom on earth. Not the multitudes. If his kingdom were to be brought about by the multitudes, then Jesus would have allowed himself to be crowned King by them as they wished, and he would have brought his kingdom in power rather than by dying a criminal's death. No, his plan centered around equipping these 12 disciples, eleven of whom would go forward and build his kingdom on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps this is why we don't have many true disciples today. Because the church has failed to take an active role in developing and equipping people as Jesus did. The church no longer produces people who then go out and change the world in the name of Christ. I am speaking of The Church Universal here, though individual churches fare no better. You might say, well there really is no need for this today- the church has been well established. I would disagree with you heartily. Never, ever has there been a greater need in the world for the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. The world is hurting and broken. The planet is suffering. Disease and hunger are rampant. Political strife and chaos are everywhere. Divisions both home and abroad are deep and unyielding. Never have we needed The Good News more. Who will take it to the world?
The process of spiritual mentoring is one which builds true disciples. It is the process whereby a mature believer draws alongside a younger believer in need of development and provides one on one intense instruction and relationship. This process is time consuming and labor intensive on both sides. It requires the sacrificial gift of time on the part of the mentor and a willingness to dig down deep and do some intense spiritual homework on the part of the mentoree. Uncommon transparency and trust levels are required on the part of both the mentor and the mentoree. You enter the relationship not really knowing what will happen, where it will go, what you will learn, yet trusting the The Holy Spirit will guide your mentor as he guides you thru the process. If done well, if done under the guidance of the Spirit, the process is life altering. And that is the whole point. To radically change the person being mentored into a mature believer who will then step into their own ministry and begin to change their world for the better.
This process for me took 4 months. From what I have since read about spiritual mentoring relationships, the suggested amount of time for mentoring someone is the span of a year. I got the crash course! Never one to dilly dally around, I jumped in with both feet and began excavating. Fortunately I had a mentor who was willing to match my intensity and give me as much of his time as I needed. Which was a lot! It is the single greatest gift anyone has ever given me. The things I learned and have come to understand have changed the very fabric of who I am. And I have also come to understand that without such help it would have been impossible for me to grow the deep roots of faith which now anchor my life.
I have been very fortunate. God sent me just the right person as a mentor. From this experience I have grown exponentially. I am now ready and equipped to move forward as a mature believer in Christ. I have received a gift of uncommon love. My wish is that every person out there who is hungering for something deeper will receive the same gift. May God bless all great mentors and teachers. May every struggling believer find one.....Shalom!
Jesus spent the majority of his ministry on earth devoted to the development of the 12 Disciples who would later take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. During his 3 year ministry he was often followed by great crowds of people. He interacted with these as well as with the Pharisees. But he always retreated from both with the 12. This is where he spent his time. He lived among and taught the 12. Day in and day out for 3 years. For these men were the tools that would build his kingdom on earth. Not the multitudes. If his kingdom were to be brought about by the multitudes, then Jesus would have allowed himself to be crowned King by them as they wished, and he would have brought his kingdom in power rather than by dying a criminal's death. No, his plan centered around equipping these 12 disciples, eleven of whom would go forward and build his kingdom on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps this is why we don't have many true disciples today. Because the church has failed to take an active role in developing and equipping people as Jesus did. The church no longer produces people who then go out and change the world in the name of Christ. I am speaking of The Church Universal here, though individual churches fare no better. You might say, well there really is no need for this today- the church has been well established. I would disagree with you heartily. Never, ever has there been a greater need in the world for the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. The world is hurting and broken. The planet is suffering. Disease and hunger are rampant. Political strife and chaos are everywhere. Divisions both home and abroad are deep and unyielding. Never have we needed The Good News more. Who will take it to the world?
The process of spiritual mentoring is one which builds true disciples. It is the process whereby a mature believer draws alongside a younger believer in need of development and provides one on one intense instruction and relationship. This process is time consuming and labor intensive on both sides. It requires the sacrificial gift of time on the part of the mentor and a willingness to dig down deep and do some intense spiritual homework on the part of the mentoree. Uncommon transparency and trust levels are required on the part of both the mentor and the mentoree. You enter the relationship not really knowing what will happen, where it will go, what you will learn, yet trusting the The Holy Spirit will guide your mentor as he guides you thru the process. If done well, if done under the guidance of the Spirit, the process is life altering. And that is the whole point. To radically change the person being mentored into a mature believer who will then step into their own ministry and begin to change their world for the better.
This process for me took 4 months. From what I have since read about spiritual mentoring relationships, the suggested amount of time for mentoring someone is the span of a year. I got the crash course! Never one to dilly dally around, I jumped in with both feet and began excavating. Fortunately I had a mentor who was willing to match my intensity and give me as much of his time as I needed. Which was a lot! It is the single greatest gift anyone has ever given me. The things I learned and have come to understand have changed the very fabric of who I am. And I have also come to understand that without such help it would have been impossible for me to grow the deep roots of faith which now anchor my life.
I have been very fortunate. God sent me just the right person as a mentor. From this experience I have grown exponentially. I am now ready and equipped to move forward as a mature believer in Christ. I have received a gift of uncommon love. My wish is that every person out there who is hungering for something deeper will receive the same gift. May God bless all great mentors and teachers. May every struggling believer find one.....Shalom!
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Common Thread
I cannot believe that it is the middle of November and I have not written a word this month. Not one word. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, it's just that I can't figure out which of the many situations in my life most deserve commentary. It's all just a swirling mass some days. There's the pain of impending death and loss of the my best lifelong friend. There is the joy of deepening friendship and fellowship with others who have reached out to support me during this long sad goodbye. There is the realization of a ministry that I know God is calling me to. There is conflict which continues to rear it's ugly head every time I think that the waters have finally stilled. And there is new life which I can see all around me even in the shadow of death....
In essence, there is a disparate life. There is joy. There is pain. There is darkness. There is light. There is peace. There is conflict. There is messiness. There is order. The common thread within the chaos is the uncommon grace of God which somehow manages to pull it all together, making sense of the insensible. Just when I think I have figured something out, He shows me something new. When I think that there is something I will never understand, He opens the window of knowledge letting light flow in. When I feel pressed down by the weight of all my concerns, He reaches down and picks me up. When confronted with painful conflict, He shows me how to respond. So truly, though some days I don't seem to know whether I am coming or going, it matters not, for He does. Shalom!
In essence, there is a disparate life. There is joy. There is pain. There is darkness. There is light. There is peace. There is conflict. There is messiness. There is order. The common thread within the chaos is the uncommon grace of God which somehow manages to pull it all together, making sense of the insensible. Just when I think I have figured something out, He shows me something new. When I think that there is something I will never understand, He opens the window of knowledge letting light flow in. When I feel pressed down by the weight of all my concerns, He reaches down and picks me up. When confronted with painful conflict, He shows me how to respond. So truly, though some days I don't seem to know whether I am coming or going, it matters not, for He does. Shalom!
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