Sunday, August 28, 2016
Facing the School Year (Or Whatever Life has for You)
For the last few weeks I've been noticing summer/school countdowns and first-day-of-school pics galore on social media. My schools started classes this last Wednesday, and I am psyched! People keep asking, "how were the first few days of classes?" And let me tell you, they have gone really well...once we got past all the groaning...oh yeah, and the kids were groaning too. Seriously though, I get excited when school starts because these students are what I live for. I certainly need a break from teaching by the time we get to summer, but I really miss my kids during those months. So by the time we reach the first day of school I am way too excited for my students to handle. They are still in the process of mourning the end of summer. I get that.
This could be a post about "New Beginnings," but it's not. As I have begun this new school year (which is really the only kind of year that has meant anything to me, and I don't understand why we are still following that calendar Gregory gave us) I've been thinking a lot about the purpose of the year. If you are going to start something, there should be a reason. There may be times in your life when you need to start small things--like hobbies--just for the sake of doing something with your time, but most things you begin should have meaning in their future. No one starts school just to collect thirteen or fourteen first-day-of-school pictures. No one starts a job for the sake of saying they showed up on their first day of work (or at least no one should start a job for that reason). No one--or should I sadly say "very few"--gets married just for the sake of having a wedding. No one climbs Mt. Everest just so they can hang out at the base camp. I want to start this year of school with a purpose; a goal to be achieved; a challenge to overcome.
The scary thing about starting with a purpose, however, is that you then start looking into the future--an unknown realm of mystery, tragedy, suspense, and horror...okay I'll stop listing movie genres. If there is a goal, a purpose, or a challenge, that means you are looking down the line to something that must be accomplished over some period of time. These are very vague terms so please allow me to apply a concrete parallel. To begin a school year with purpose means that you have just set a goal that is to be accomplished over the period of--and no less than--nine months. (Now that I put it in those terms I have that much more respect for mothers. God bless you all.) A goal that big seems near impossible when viewed from the skewed perspective of today. It's no wonder the kids are bemoaning the end of summer. They are viewing the next nine months from the singular moment of today. That is both terrifying and demoralizing.
How is a person supposed to maintain his sanity with so many syllabi hanging over his head; not to mention all the social, athletic, and community events on the calendar. Add to that the unknown sick days, appointments, family vacations, and all the work that has to be done at home and...I'm so overwhelmed by the thought of it that I don't even know how to finish that sentence.
That's why I have to stop myself at times and remember a few key things:
1) You don't finish a marathon by believing you have what it takes to make it to the end. You finish by believing you have what it takes to take one more step. (Maybe there are some crazy people out there who finish marathons an entire marathon at a time. Kudos to you. I would have to push forward one step at a time.)
I can remember numerous times in college when I would look at my calendar of assignments, my calendar of events, and my work schedule (which was actually the same as the calendar of events in my case) and I would be overwhelmed by how much needed to be accomplished in the short time I had. The only thing I could do was pray that God would help me to do the best that I could, and then dig in my heals to do it. I prioritized my assignments and used my time as best I could without burning myself out (seriously, I made it all the way through college without a single all-nighter).
You can't do everything today that needs to be done in a year. All you can do is what needs to be done today. Jesus tells us, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt. 6:34). So seek the source of all life, energy, and wisdom, and take the next step; just the next one.
2) While life should be lived with purpose, God reserves the right to have alternate purposes for you.
To use the same example from college, all that work laid out in front of me held behind it the looming threat of failing courses, losing scholarships, and ultimately flunking out of school. My great consolation was in knowing that I was where God wanted me to be, and doing what God wanted me to do. And even in the midst of all the studies and events, I tried (not always perfectly) to make sure that I was still pursuing my relationship with him. With those things in mind I knew that as long as I was doing my best in his strength, things would turn out the way that he wanted. Of course, I also kept in mind that it was a perfectly viable possibility that what God would want at some point could be that I flunk out of college (he has done crazier things). I wasn't going to work toward that end. But I also wasn't going to worry myself to death over something that--should it still happen even after doing everything I could to succeed--could still be God's plan for my life.
Of course that possibility never became reality, but it's amazing how much worry you lose when you consider the "worst case" scenario and realize that--though unpleasant--it would still be okay as long as you still have God with you. Which brings me to my final reminder.
3) God is always there. And God always cares.
Though his plan may be different, he still understands our dreams and ambitions better than anyone else. He knows how much they mean to us, and he knows how hard it can be to let them go. He also knows how daunting our goals can be to pursue. He knows just what we need to accomplish the task, and he can give it to us. There is one catch. He only ever promises to give us what we need for today (if we ask). Sure, there are plenty of ways in which he has provided more than we need for the day, but they are not guaranteed. To help us understand this mindset Jesus told his disciples to pray not for an abundance that would firmly establish them until their dying day, but only for the daily bread. God knows that one day's bread isn't enough to accomplish all that he has planned for your life. But he also knows that one day's bread is all that you need right now to accomplish what he has planned for your life today.
He also knows that when we have "everything we need" we do two things: want more, and forget about him. When the Israelites were wandering in the dessert, God gave them everything they needed when they needed it. He even kept their clothes and shoes from wearing out...for FORTY YEARS! What did they do? Complain for God to provide them with the latest fashions and some new Nikes...or maybe it was food. Oh yeah, they complained for some more food. They forgot everything he had done for them and focused on how much more they could have. It only got uglier from there. But God never abandoned them. Not really.
With these three reminders in place, as I look at all that I hope to accomplish in this most purposeful year before me I don't have to panic. No, God hasn't already provided everything that I need to make this year a success. But that's okay because he has provided everything I need to make today a success. More than that, he has provided himself. He has provided his Son to give me life and guarantee my future. And he has provided his constant, caring presence in my life. And he is sufficient in all things.
Here's to a new year. May God be glorified!
Sunday, August 14, 2016
What Are You Waiting For?
What does a writer do when he doesn't feel like writing? He writes, of course. I can't recall the number of times I have set out to put words together in some informative or otherwise meaningful manner--whether for school or for leisure--yet have found myself without words, concepts, nor desire to write. It is a common condition known as "writer's block."
It seems that the writer's worst enemy is a blank page. Unless the writer comes to the page with a distinct idea in mind, there is every chance that no idea will be forth coming. And so I find myself sitting in front of the computer for minutes on end trying to think of something...anything to write.
They say that the best solution for writer's block is to simply put words on the page. It doesn't have to be the beginning. It doesn't have to even be words that will be included in the final draft. The key is to break the illusion of the blank page and to prime the creative pump with some form of cognitive juices. for this reason I have written numerous papers starting from the middle. I even had an early phase in my blogging where I began several of my posts with absolutely ridiculous and unrelated stories. I enjoyed the nonsense so much that they usually survived the final edit.
The key to moving forward in writing when nothing comes readily to mind is to simply write. Throw words out. Do something!
I find the same can be true of life. Many of us find ourselves in situations where we think we should be doing something, and we want to do something, but we don't know what we are supposed to do? How many people actually know what they want to do as soon as they graduate high school. Some even make it through college and still have no clue what comes next. People have lost their jobs only to lose their sense of direction in life. Other situations might not be as dire, yet are still directionaly frustrating. What church should I attend? How should I help others in my community? What does God want me to do right now?!
James tells us that he who knows what to do and doesn't do it, to him it is sin. But what are we supposed to do when we don't know what to do? I don't know. Those are the moments in life where all I can say is the following.
How is my relationship with God? Am I seeking him? Am I following him? Am I spending time in prayer with him and in his word? Do I find myself turning to him or to myself in the situations of my day? What fruit is my life producing? Do I live as though my life comes from him? I'm not looking for perfection in my life, but I am looking for evidence of connection to his life.
If I'm not connected, that is the first thing I need to address. I then know what I need to be doing. If I am connected, I look at the opportunities God has placed around me. Most of us want to know what to do with the big picture of our lives, but much of the time the important things happen in the little pictures of our lives. God has a lot to tell us in his word about how we are to live with and care for our family, our neighbors, our friends, and even our enemies. When I look at the relationships--good or bad--that God has surrounded me with, I can know what I am supposed to be doing. Life is full of opportunities and choices. Some of them are not as grey as we would like to think.
After considering those things I then ponder this: If my delight is in the Lord, what desires has he placed on my heart that match his heart? I can remember thinking as a kid that I could never say that I was never going to become a missionary, because then God would make me a missionary. As if God's great desire was to make us miserable and watch us squirm as we reluctantly, but submissively obey him. I guess the last laugh is on me because instead I kept saying that I would never become a teacher.
Over the years, however, I have come to realize that God can and does actually put desires in us that he wants us to go for. I was stuck for so long on the idea of NOT doing what I wanted to do because that would be selfish. Come to find out some of those wants are built into us by God. So what do I want to do? And does it line up with what God says he is about?
Beyond that, there are so many decisions in life that are not "yes" or "no," but are "yes" and "yes." When Robert Frost told us that the road he took made all the difference he didn't say he took the better road. He said it was less traveled, though it really looked about the same. He said he took one and it made a difference. Every choice will bring you to a different destination, but that doesn't make it better or worse. Yes, there are some roads God does not want us to take, and some that he most definitely does. But there are plenty of times when we come to a fork in the road and God just wants us to take it. Do something! If you are connected to him and following his word and his voice, he can use any combination of decisions that you make to accomplish great things. But if you're just standing still, staring at a blank piece of paper, and waiting for some divine revelation to dictate what you should have for breakfast to start your day, you won't get anywhere.
The best part comes when we live our lives connected to God and just doing things as they come, and then it happens. God finally gives us a clear direction. It doesn't minimize the importance of the work we do and the way we live every other day, but it is rather exciting. Don't wait for that moment though. Live today. Put some words on the page.
See? Look at all those words I just wrote. Just do something!
It seems that the writer's worst enemy is a blank page. Unless the writer comes to the page with a distinct idea in mind, there is every chance that no idea will be forth coming. And so I find myself sitting in front of the computer for minutes on end trying to think of something...anything to write.
They say that the best solution for writer's block is to simply put words on the page. It doesn't have to be the beginning. It doesn't have to even be words that will be included in the final draft. The key is to break the illusion of the blank page and to prime the creative pump with some form of cognitive juices. for this reason I have written numerous papers starting from the middle. I even had an early phase in my blogging where I began several of my posts with absolutely ridiculous and unrelated stories. I enjoyed the nonsense so much that they usually survived the final edit.
The key to moving forward in writing when nothing comes readily to mind is to simply write. Throw words out. Do something!
I find the same can be true of life. Many of us find ourselves in situations where we think we should be doing something, and we want to do something, but we don't know what we are supposed to do? How many people actually know what they want to do as soon as they graduate high school. Some even make it through college and still have no clue what comes next. People have lost their jobs only to lose their sense of direction in life. Other situations might not be as dire, yet are still directionaly frustrating. What church should I attend? How should I help others in my community? What does God want me to do right now?!
James tells us that he who knows what to do and doesn't do it, to him it is sin. But what are we supposed to do when we don't know what to do? I don't know. Those are the moments in life where all I can say is the following.
How is my relationship with God? Am I seeking him? Am I following him? Am I spending time in prayer with him and in his word? Do I find myself turning to him or to myself in the situations of my day? What fruit is my life producing? Do I live as though my life comes from him? I'm not looking for perfection in my life, but I am looking for evidence of connection to his life.
If I'm not connected, that is the first thing I need to address. I then know what I need to be doing. If I am connected, I look at the opportunities God has placed around me. Most of us want to know what to do with the big picture of our lives, but much of the time the important things happen in the little pictures of our lives. God has a lot to tell us in his word about how we are to live with and care for our family, our neighbors, our friends, and even our enemies. When I look at the relationships--good or bad--that God has surrounded me with, I can know what I am supposed to be doing. Life is full of opportunities and choices. Some of them are not as grey as we would like to think.
After considering those things I then ponder this: If my delight is in the Lord, what desires has he placed on my heart that match his heart? I can remember thinking as a kid that I could never say that I was never going to become a missionary, because then God would make me a missionary. As if God's great desire was to make us miserable and watch us squirm as we reluctantly, but submissively obey him. I guess the last laugh is on me because instead I kept saying that I would never become a teacher.
Over the years, however, I have come to realize that God can and does actually put desires in us that he wants us to go for. I was stuck for so long on the idea of NOT doing what I wanted to do because that would be selfish. Come to find out some of those wants are built into us by God. So what do I want to do? And does it line up with what God says he is about?
Beyond that, there are so many decisions in life that are not "yes" or "no," but are "yes" and "yes." When Robert Frost told us that the road he took made all the difference he didn't say he took the better road. He said it was less traveled, though it really looked about the same. He said he took one and it made a difference. Every choice will bring you to a different destination, but that doesn't make it better or worse. Yes, there are some roads God does not want us to take, and some that he most definitely does. But there are plenty of times when we come to a fork in the road and God just wants us to take it. Do something! If you are connected to him and following his word and his voice, he can use any combination of decisions that you make to accomplish great things. But if you're just standing still, staring at a blank piece of paper, and waiting for some divine revelation to dictate what you should have for breakfast to start your day, you won't get anywhere.
The best part comes when we live our lives connected to God and just doing things as they come, and then it happens. God finally gives us a clear direction. It doesn't minimize the importance of the work we do and the way we live every other day, but it is rather exciting. Don't wait for that moment though. Live today. Put some words on the page.
See? Look at all those words I just wrote. Just do something!
Sunday, August 07, 2016
The Problem With Comparison
Sometimes you get to the end of another week and you look back and ask yourself, "what happened this week that would be worth telling anyone about?" Yourself, being the moderately insane person that he is, answers back, "hmmmm...nope. Nothin' here." Oh, sure, you did a number of things over the week, and you accomplished a lot, but not a bit of it seems particularly note worthy.
It's in those moments that you start to ask yourself, "if I was *talkative friend who shall not be named*, what part of my week would I be communicating right now?" But because you just aren't one of those people who tend to be able to talk about anything at any time you think for a moment introspectively and respond, "...still got nothing."
Let's be honest folks. Not every day is an apple-pie-sepia-filter-instagram day. There are times when these days, weeks, and occasionally months can feel rather disconcerting. I like to use Facebook because it gives me a way to stay connected to people I care about. But Facebook--and many other forms of social media--comes with side-effects. Many of us already know that the tendency is to post the better portions of our lives online, or to dress up the average bits so that they sparkle like the new snapchat filter. And why wouldn't we? Who wants to hang their dirty laundry out for the world to see? It's not entirely a bad thing. In fact some of us could use even more discretion when it comes to what we post online. (Why would a potential employer need to call your references when you've already painted a clear image of your immaturity and total lack of responsibility in your last three party posts?)
But for the most part we see the good stuff. And there is nothing wrong with good stuff. I see happy babies, and proud spouses, and world travelers, and upset babies, and accomplished kids, and goofy babies, and weddings, and anniversaries, and poopy babies, and graduations, and delicious meals, and growing babies, and hilarious antics, and people coming together, and round bellies carrying babies (seriously people, SO many babies!). There are so many wonderful and exciting things happening in the lives of people that I care about. As wonderful as that is for them (and I'm very happy for you all), it can become discouraging and generate discontentment in my own life.
Your life from this side of the screen looks fantastic, and so does his, and hers, and theirs, and hers... Soon the voice of doubt and discouragement slips in. Too bad your life isn't that exciting. Why don't you get to do those things? What's wrong with you? Then the Ifonly monster tries to defend you, but tears you up in the process. If only I lived in that area...If only I was in this relationship...If only I had those skills...If only...
Before long you have generated a thousand reasons for dropping the life you have now and picking up the life that your friends are living. Or are they?
Let's take a look at the numbers. I have (some of you will laugh at this, I don't care) 350 "friends" on Facebook. If those people take turns so that only ten people post positive portrayals of their lives every day (in one post or five, it doesn't matter) it would be an entire month before any one of those friends would need to have another good day to post. One good day a month is all it would take. Some of you probably have over 1,000 friends. Your friends could have one good day every three months and that would be sufficient to generate a state of discontent. Does that really sound like a better life?
I know that isn't how things actually work. But it isn't too far from the reality. I see plenty of negative posts about people's struggles, frustrations, accidents, tragedies, worries, and losses. Does that ever factor into my negative self-talk? Nope! Your life still looks generally better from all the way over here. Ipso facto, your life is better than mine.
Actually, this is not a 21st century phenomenon. Paul didn't live anywhere near the time of Twitter, but he still had to remind Christians several times in multiple geographic areas that envy and jealousy were not products of a healthy walk with Christ. On the contrary, he tells us that love--a product of a Spirit filled life--does not envy. He says that he has found a way to be content in any situation. We're not talking about contentment that is a resigned and bitter settling for less, because in the same letter Paul keeps pounding at the drum of "rejoice in the Lord always!" He tells us that our lives are to be marked with thankfulness, and there are a plethora of reasons to be thankful at any given moment.
So let's be honest. Not every day is a #nofilter day. Most days would seem in passing to be ordinary; maybe even ho-hum. Other days can be outright unpleasant or even horrendous. But some days are wonderful. And even when they aren't, each day is a unique creation of God, and is full of blessings for which we can be thankful and even rejoice. His mercies are new every morning. No day is without purpose. No life is without purpose. Don't give up on yours so easily. God made it extra special, and there isn't another like it in its unique beauty.
It's in those moments that you start to ask yourself, "if I was *talkative friend who shall not be named*, what part of my week would I be communicating right now?" But because you just aren't one of those people who tend to be able to talk about anything at any time you think for a moment introspectively and respond, "...still got nothing."
Let's be honest folks. Not every day is an apple-pie-sepia-filter-instagram day. There are times when these days, weeks, and occasionally months can feel rather disconcerting. I like to use Facebook because it gives me a way to stay connected to people I care about. But Facebook--and many other forms of social media--comes with side-effects. Many of us already know that the tendency is to post the better portions of our lives online, or to dress up the average bits so that they sparkle like the new snapchat filter. And why wouldn't we? Who wants to hang their dirty laundry out for the world to see? It's not entirely a bad thing. In fact some of us could use even more discretion when it comes to what we post online. (Why would a potential employer need to call your references when you've already painted a clear image of your immaturity and total lack of responsibility in your last three party posts?)
But for the most part we see the good stuff. And there is nothing wrong with good stuff. I see happy babies, and proud spouses, and world travelers, and upset babies, and accomplished kids, and goofy babies, and weddings, and anniversaries, and poopy babies, and graduations, and delicious meals, and growing babies, and hilarious antics, and people coming together, and round bellies carrying babies (seriously people, SO many babies!). There are so many wonderful and exciting things happening in the lives of people that I care about. As wonderful as that is for them (and I'm very happy for you all), it can become discouraging and generate discontentment in my own life.
Your life from this side of the screen looks fantastic, and so does his, and hers, and theirs, and hers... Soon the voice of doubt and discouragement slips in. Too bad your life isn't that exciting. Why don't you get to do those things? What's wrong with you? Then the Ifonly monster tries to defend you, but tears you up in the process. If only I lived in that area...If only I was in this relationship...If only I had those skills...If only...
Before long you have generated a thousand reasons for dropping the life you have now and picking up the life that your friends are living. Or are they?
Let's take a look at the numbers. I have (some of you will laugh at this, I don't care) 350 "friends" on Facebook. If those people take turns so that only ten people post positive portrayals of their lives every day (in one post or five, it doesn't matter) it would be an entire month before any one of those friends would need to have another good day to post. One good day a month is all it would take. Some of you probably have over 1,000 friends. Your friends could have one good day every three months and that would be sufficient to generate a state of discontent. Does that really sound like a better life?
I know that isn't how things actually work. But it isn't too far from the reality. I see plenty of negative posts about people's struggles, frustrations, accidents, tragedies, worries, and losses. Does that ever factor into my negative self-talk? Nope! Your life still looks generally better from all the way over here. Ipso facto, your life is better than mine.
Actually, this is not a 21st century phenomenon. Paul didn't live anywhere near the time of Twitter, but he still had to remind Christians several times in multiple geographic areas that envy and jealousy were not products of a healthy walk with Christ. On the contrary, he tells us that love--a product of a Spirit filled life--does not envy. He says that he has found a way to be content in any situation. We're not talking about contentment that is a resigned and bitter settling for less, because in the same letter Paul keeps pounding at the drum of "rejoice in the Lord always!" He tells us that our lives are to be marked with thankfulness, and there are a plethora of reasons to be thankful at any given moment.
So let's be honest. Not every day is a #nofilter day. Most days would seem in passing to be ordinary; maybe even ho-hum. Other days can be outright unpleasant or even horrendous. But some days are wonderful. And even when they aren't, each day is a unique creation of God, and is full of blessings for which we can be thankful and even rejoice. His mercies are new every morning. No day is without purpose. No life is without purpose. Don't give up on yours so easily. God made it extra special, and there isn't another like it in its unique beauty.
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