EVERY MORNING...

I saw flowers blossom again for the first time this year. Yet again, the earth that God has formed reminds me that Winter was never meant to stay...gloom never meant to maintain. As surely as the days lengthen and the landscape brightens, God's mercies remain brand new each morning. The dawn of every new day finds Him turned toward me, arms outstretched, bidding me to claim the healing and grace that His Son died to purchase for my sake. I'm invited to invite within the warmth of a flawless love that ushers in newness and light and expels all traces of night. Life abundant. Peace transcendent. Joy resplendent. Love...always and forever...radiant as the Summer sun.

TAP ON THE SHOULDER...

There are a few simple things in life that make me feel like a million bucks. The kinds of things that, when they happen, remind me of the kind of man I always wanted to be. I was thinking back lately to some of these situations from my past.

A little 3 year old girl, hair as red, big and curly as a little Annie, a total stranger to me, seeing me from across a crowded room and running at top speed to wrap herself around my leg and not want to let go. To this day, I have no idea why that happened, but I know how it made me feel...trustworthy, innocent. Or like driving a beautiful girl home that I had just had a first date with, and seeing her fall asleep peacefully in the seat next to me, because she was totally convinced of the fact that she was safe in my company.

Or like in recent days, picking up and hugging a friend's little baby girl, and have her nestle her head into my shoulder and hold on close. These simple things are a beacon of light to me...an indication of the things that are worth aspiring to...of characteristics worth pursuing, of the kind of man that in the deepest part of me I hope to increasingly become. Noble. Gentle. Honorable. Thank you lady and babes...hint taken.

THE LITTLE THINGS...

I need to relearn the value of humble beginnings and small things. Not to be overwhelmed by the panoramic picture because of fear or ambition, but to find faithfulness and steadfastness in the persistent pursuit of the incremental daily priorities, that when diligently strung together spell out the makings of a destiny. I need to rediscover life in the now. This moment. There is so much capacity in me for wickedness, pride, sloth and apathy. So easy it is to be deluded by empty promises of tomorrow and the opportunities that await me there.

The epic journey. The colossal elephant. Undertaken with one step after the other. Consumed one bite after another. Repetition. Consistency. Habitual practice of a craft or a behavior might never bring about absolute perfection, but it would develop permanence, and that is how all true progress is made. Water breaks the rock not through sheer force, but through the perpetual drip and the constant flow. Mastery over the routine, the discipline, the everyday...this I believe is the key that unlocks the door of potential realized. This is the foundation on which greatness is built.

SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN...

Day by day,
Dear Lord God these three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly,
To love Thee more dearly,
To follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
Amen.

Who among us can honestly and fervently pray the words from this little children's prayer, and in having it answered not greatly please and warm the heart of God? Simplicity over eloquence. Passion over professionalism. Honest pursuits of Truth over dogma. May each of us as God's little children cling yet again to innocence and guilessness. May it be said of me: "Let this little one come to me, and do not hinder him, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." May it be said of us all. (Mark 10:13-14)

"WHAT IF?"

Someone very close to me on the verge of death once told me that life is to be lived in such a way that when we arrive at the end of our journey, we have as little unanswered "What if?" questions as possible. It reminds me of a quote I once read. "Regret for things done can be tempered by time. It is regret for things not done that is inconsolable." While I don't believe this statement to be universally true, it does highlight a very relevant fact: There is far more lingering and painful regret attributed to things undone, than to things that should never have been done. This is a generalization of course, and there are undoubtedly many situations where the opposite is true. However, when I do something regrettable...there are lessons to be learned and there is wisdom to be gained if I embrace the humility to welcome them. Alternatively, for the things that I should have done and desired to do and have forever lost the opportunity to pursue...that kind of remorse can linger for a lifetime.

I'd much rather live my life in such a way that my scars and bruises are indications of my growth, as opposed to never having risked or ventured very much at all. A full life is about experiencing as many memorable moments as possible...for good or bad. I'd much rather look back on my days from the balcony of old age with an abundance of crests and troughs to reflect upon. This to me, is abundant life. Not safety. Not predictability. Rather...variety and extremity and all increments in between. Heart-wrenching valleys and breathtaking summits. But God willing, never the grey, apathetic twilight of inaction and neutrality that knows neither defeat nor victory. I refuse to believe and accept that this is the kind of meager existence I entered into this world for...irrelevance. No! I resist the seduction to retire to the grave entirely without incident. I will delight in the fight. I will safeguard my light, and NOT fade quietly into the night.

TRIALS IN A TENT...

The scene is the movie, "Matrix: Reloaded". Seraph has just attacked Neo and gestures with his hand to stop the fight:

Seraph: Good. The Oracle has many enemies. I had to be sure.
Neo: Of what?
Seraph: That you are The One.
Neo: Could've just asked.
Seraph: No. You do not truly know someone, until you fight them.

Every meaningful, genuine relationship will at some point be tested by the fire of conflict. I believe this is true of friendships, family, lovers...even a human being's relationship with the Creator of all things. In the latter, the wrestling takes place as a result of our inability or unwillingness to understand and embrace the work of God in our lives. There comes a time in all of the relationships we define as precious where strife or friction makes the thought of walking out on our commitment to the other seem very attractive. It is in having every opportunity and even desire (albeit selfish and ignorant at the time) to walk out on our relationship with Jesus, that we often discover the magnitude and weight of the communion we share with Him. In the time of testing we consider and remember the history we have with Him. We recall the moments when His loving embrace touched the deepest reaches of our hearts and left it's imprint on us as permanently as a tattoo on our souls.

Then we discover, in the midst of our pain and confusion, that while we've always had the freedom to renig on our friendship with God and turn our back on Him in rebellion, somewhere along the line that choice ceased to be an option. We have been touched too deeply...loved too completely...and we are no more able to walk out on His kindness than we are able to escape our own skin. We begin to understand that a sometimes hard road in the hands of a sovereign Savior is infinitely better than an often comfortable one in the hand of the world. Our devotion to Him is matured in the furnace of hardship. Sooner or later, every believer will find themselves like Jacob, in a tent with God wrestling until dawn (Genesis 32:22-28). The intensity and length of the night may vary from person to person, but the experience itself is universal to all earnest pursuits of faith. If we remain honest and persevere we'll walk away from it blessed all the more, cherishing it as an encounter with God...a place where we caught a fresh glimpse of His face, and walked (or limped) away forever changed by His grace.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

It's March 1st, 2007. It really is sobering to think about how fast time flies by. There's a subtlety to it that lulls me into a false sense of confidence with regards to how much time I think I have left to accomplish what I need to accomplish. As one moment flows into another, or even as I'm contemplating some future event or situation, it can easily appear as if the journey I'm on takes place at a snail's pace. I have all the time in the world. No need for all this rushing about and fretting over things undone. Yet somehow, when at any present moment I evaluate where I am, and the time it took to get here, it's apparent to me that the time has escaped me far faster than it seemed to pass in reaching this point. I've observed it time and time again. Christmas 2007 seems a significant ways off, and undoubtedly when it finally arrives I'll find myself wondering: "Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday when it was Christmas a year ago.".

This reminds me of how precious the gift of life is...and how fragile. It challenges me to grasp the fact that the time to pursue my dreams is now! The time to seize my God-given destiny and become the man I am meant to be, is now! The time to live with purpose, savor each moment and take joy in the journey, is now! Diligence, stewardship, industriousness...these virtues demand my attention now. There are gifts and talents that I've been entrusted with that will never see the light of day unless I'm faithful and determined in drawing them out of me...now. Proverbs 6:9-11, Proverbs 14:23. Tomorrow...that is the realm of dreamers and sluggards. It is the language of loss and regret. It is only in embracing and fulfilling my responsibilities today that I find myself steadily reaping a significant purpose...one day at a time.