32
When just sixteen, I knew it all;
by twenty-one, I'd learned the rest.
At thirty-two, I have the grace
to forgive youthful foolishness.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
All Things Breathed Into Being
A poem I've worked on lately...
All things breathed into being,
God crowned creation with approval
yet was not satisfied
to charge the man,
"take dominion alone."
So from dusty flesh
He formed her,
she who would be
more a part of man removed
than when she was his rib.
He knew her.
She knew him.
Both were known.
I've known you.
You've known me.
We've both been known.
But prone to wander alone,
we go apple-picking where
Serpents lie,
and in our fig-leaved solitude,
one flesh begins to feel as two.
Oh, to shed concealments
born in shame and lack of faith,
souls, thereby, freed to mingle.
Oh, flesh of my flesh,
bone of my bone,
to be naked and unashamed!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Bird Bombs
It was a beautiful day yesterday to sit outside under the trees and have a nice, leisurely lunch behind the student union on the MSU campus. So, that's what my writing group and I did. We were conversing, laughing, sharing...and then Lauren noticed something on her binder. Looking up at me, she noted the same foreign substance trickling down the right side of my bald head. Immediately, everyone recognized what it was: a gravitationally-delivered gift from some fiendish bird in the tree above. Yes, I was pooped on.
After having a few more good laughs about it, we wisely moved one table over to one that had an umbrella to protect us from any subsequent bombings. Later, I spent a little time pondering what provoked this devilish creature of the air to do such a thing to me; I can only surmise that my winged nemesis felt life had cut him a raw deal somehow, so he had decided to pay that trespass forward. He also must have known that I was the forgiving type who had no interest in climbing a large tree to return the favor.
What stands out to me most about the incident is that I had no idea what had happened. Sure, I'd felt something hit my head, but at no point did I entertain the idea that I may have just served as nature's toilet. I simply assumed it was a drop of water...from the rain...that had happened like three days earlier...(what was I thinking?). Thankfully, I had a group of good friends to kindly and gently break the truth to me.
While not a perfect comparison, this got me thinking again about how important it is that we, as Christians, live in community with one another. Too often, we falsely assume the Christian life is to be lived alone; that the cross we bear is to be shouldered but not shared; that we can look out for ourselves; that we don't need to be open, honest, and vulnerable to other believers. The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks of this when he says "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Solomon, the man who had wisdom beyond wisdom, here notes that we cannot afford to be lone rangers. On our own, we are set up for failure. I've seen this in my own life on numerous occasions. I'm prone to overlook dangerous pitfalls and cannot always see the sins that reside in the "blind spots" of my life. Worse yet, if I have the presence of mind to recognize the situation, on my own I have no one to walk with me through it. It ends up as if I were in quicksand with no one around to pull me out.
No person with any sense would willingly let their child wander alone in dangerous places, yet the world is a dangerous, tough place that so many Christains try to navigate in solitude. Pridefully, we attempt to go it alone, telling ourselves to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps," all the while missing the truth that it is not weakness to admit that we need each other; it's wisdom.
The older I get, the more thankful I am that God has a)impressed upon me the necessity of community and b)provided wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ to do life with. Without them, I'd surely be the guy walking around with bird poop on his head.
After having a few more good laughs about it, we wisely moved one table over to one that had an umbrella to protect us from any subsequent bombings. Later, I spent a little time pondering what provoked this devilish creature of the air to do such a thing to me; I can only surmise that my winged nemesis felt life had cut him a raw deal somehow, so he had decided to pay that trespass forward. He also must have known that I was the forgiving type who had no interest in climbing a large tree to return the favor.
What stands out to me most about the incident is that I had no idea what had happened. Sure, I'd felt something hit my head, but at no point did I entertain the idea that I may have just served as nature's toilet. I simply assumed it was a drop of water...from the rain...that had happened like three days earlier...(what was I thinking?). Thankfully, I had a group of good friends to kindly and gently break the truth to me.
While not a perfect comparison, this got me thinking again about how important it is that we, as Christians, live in community with one another. Too often, we falsely assume the Christian life is to be lived alone; that the cross we bear is to be shouldered but not shared; that we can look out for ourselves; that we don't need to be open, honest, and vulnerable to other believers. The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks of this when he says "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Solomon, the man who had wisdom beyond wisdom, here notes that we cannot afford to be lone rangers. On our own, we are set up for failure. I've seen this in my own life on numerous occasions. I'm prone to overlook dangerous pitfalls and cannot always see the sins that reside in the "blind spots" of my life. Worse yet, if I have the presence of mind to recognize the situation, on my own I have no one to walk with me through it. It ends up as if I were in quicksand with no one around to pull me out.
No person with any sense would willingly let their child wander alone in dangerous places, yet the world is a dangerous, tough place that so many Christains try to navigate in solitude. Pridefully, we attempt to go it alone, telling ourselves to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps," all the while missing the truth that it is not weakness to admit that we need each other; it's wisdom.
The older I get, the more thankful I am that God has a)impressed upon me the necessity of community and b)provided wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ to do life with. Without them, I'd surely be the guy walking around with bird poop on his head.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Morning Reminder
This summer, I'm spending the bulk of my time racking up graduate hours in pursuit of master's degree #2. It's always daunting (and healthy) to step back in the role of student, but the course I'm currently enrolled in has probably yielded more professional growth in a week than any grad course I took during my first master's program.
In this particular course, I've had the pleasure of being around some really fine folks I never would have run into otherwise. It's amazing that I find myself learning and growing, even being inspired, simply through proximity.
One person I've learned a great deal from already is a retired teacher named Colleen. I've learned much from her because in some ways, we are quite opposite.
To explain:
But here's our biggest difference: I feel a constant need to assert myself in conversations. I interrupt, I correct, I hear but make little attempt to understand. She listens. Plain and simple. Perhaps this is the key reason that her feedback is always helpful, always purposeful, and always well-received (even if it's semi-corrective).
This morning, I read in Proverbs that "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." I'm fairly positive that my need to answer before listening has been my folly and shame more times and in more contexts (marriage, career, parenting,coaching,etc.) than I care to remember. I've probably offended and frustrated more students, players, parents, and friends than I realize by rushing to answer rather than actually listening deeply to them.
This is why I'm so thankful God puts people like Colleen in my path. Through such people, I'm learning that words often follow rules of supply and demand; flooding the market with them usually drives their value down, but spent wisely, they become precious commodities. I'm learning to listen, honestly listen, not just to what people are saying, but also to the feelings they're expressing. I'm learning to ask the deeper questions but to clarify understanding before doing so. I'm learning to sit and let others finish...the entire thought...they are expressing...rather than jumping in...and hijacking our interaction.
As I always say, I'm a work in progress...but arent' we all?
***Late addition: Colleen, if I've totally misrepresented you, feel free to scold me during coaching group.
In this particular course, I've had the pleasure of being around some really fine folks I never would have run into otherwise. It's amazing that I find myself learning and growing, even being inspired, simply through proximity.
One person I've learned a great deal from already is a retired teacher named Colleen. I've learned much from her because in some ways, we are quite opposite.
To explain:
- I am quick to speak. She times her words perfectly.
- I throw out words like candy on Halloween. She conserves hers, using them purposefully and precisely.
- I ask pointed questions to push people in a direction. She asks thought-provoking questions that help other people to answer their own.
But here's our biggest difference: I feel a constant need to assert myself in conversations. I interrupt, I correct, I hear but make little attempt to understand. She listens. Plain and simple. Perhaps this is the key reason that her feedback is always helpful, always purposeful, and always well-received (even if it's semi-corrective).
This morning, I read in Proverbs that "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." I'm fairly positive that my need to answer before listening has been my folly and shame more times and in more contexts (marriage, career, parenting,coaching,etc.) than I care to remember. I've probably offended and frustrated more students, players, parents, and friends than I realize by rushing to answer rather than actually listening deeply to them.
This is why I'm so thankful God puts people like Colleen in my path. Through such people, I'm learning that words often follow rules of supply and demand; flooding the market with them usually drives their value down, but spent wisely, they become precious commodities. I'm learning to listen, honestly listen, not just to what people are saying, but also to the feelings they're expressing. I'm learning to ask the deeper questions but to clarify understanding before doing so. I'm learning to sit and let others finish...the entire thought...they are expressing...rather than jumping in...and hijacking our interaction.
As I always say, I'm a work in progress...but arent' we all?
***Late addition: Colleen, if I've totally misrepresented you, feel free to scold me during coaching group.
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