Wind

I’ve written before that there are times when I doubt that God is really listening to my prayers, or my requests. Sometimes, during these times, it just seems like I’ll go for days, or even weeks, and not receive any communication from Him.

Then, as so often has been the case, in a moment of feeling alone or like I’m really just in this thing myself, a gentle breeze or gust of wind will blow up and almost envelop me, just like a big old bear hug. It’s eerie how often this has happened to me. Whenever it does occur, I feel very much at ease, and I know He is nearby.

The wind seems to be one of His preferred methods of getting my attention. It’s a way of saying to me that I need to stop all my fretting, that I’m not alone, and that He walks beside me always. It never fails to comfort me, and when it happens, once again I’m reminded that I have a friend.

I write this today, just to remind myself, and remind you as well, that God will speak to us in a manner or method that He feels we’ll best be able to receive, at that given moment. Sometimes, words will run through my head, as if its an answer to a particular challenge, reminding me that everything will work out just fine. Sometimes, it’s a billboard message, shouting out at me to listen, to pay attention, to be at peace.

And sometimes, its just the wind, blowing literally all around me, enveloping me in a big old hug from Above.

-The Minister

When Lightning Strikes

A couple of weeks ago, during a really bad thunderstorm, we had lightning surge into our house through a power line.

It caused a loud crack, and it felt like the windows shook and the whole house rattled. Scared the heck out of us, that’s for sure. The surge shorted out some of our electronics, and caused some headaches, to be certain. But it also served to help me keep things in perspective, almost as if someone…or perhaps that should be “S”omeone…wanted to remind me of what’s important in life.

We were not hurt in any way, shape or form, and the house turned out to be fine. Yet, immediately after the lightning surge, all I could do was moan and groan over the loss of a DVD player or two, and the inconvenience it was costing me. My perfect little home had been struck, and I couldn’t get over the fact that I had been inconvenienced.

And yet, I saw on the news the very night after the lightning surged into our home the stories of the individuals in the Midwest who have been suffering just catastrophic damage due to floods and tornadoes. These people didn’t just lose a few pieces of electronics. They lost whole homes, and in some cases, lives, due to these terrible storms that have just wracked that area.

Gradually, I started to realize that I needed to really get a clue as to what was important in life.

You see, I got lucky. Neither I nor anyone else in the home was hurt. The house was intact, and is a good house after all, well built by a good homebuilder. It was annoying to be sure, but honestly, it was all going to be okay.

Now, let me be perfectly clear, I do not believe that God decided that He’d send a lightning surge into my home and wipe out a few electronics just to teach me a lesson. I just don’t believe that, never have, never will.

But, He was there afterwards, once again pointing me to important lessons in life. Lessons such as learning to value the really important things in life, such as simply being alive, family, friends, and the love of a best friend. I hadn’t experienced a tragedy. I’d just had a setback, and once again, the opportunity was presented to me to either choose to be annoyed and irritated at having lost “stuff”, or choosing to be really grateful that I was alive and well.

It took me a while, but I’m now pretty darn grateful that I’m alive and well, and lived to tell the story of the lightning strike. Sometimes, I think despite my best intentions, I’ve become accustomed to all of the modern conveniences in life, and it has made me a bit spoiled. Sometimes, a little bad weather needs to occur to help keep me grounded in reality. And yes, sometimes, a lightning strike can contain a lot of lessons if one just opens his heart up to God in the aftermath.

I get it Big Fella.

Life’s still so worth living, and I am really grateful for all that I have in my life.

-The Minister

Doubt

Today, I’m having a tough start to the morning. Maybe its because I’m coming off a three day weekend, maybe its because lately, I’ve been struggling with my meaning in the world. For whatever reason, with apologies to Tiger Woods, I didn’t bring my A-game today.

Friends, I must confess, which may sound strange coming from a self-proclaimed Minister of the Mundane, that there are times that I can have doubts about God. It’s not that I necessarily doubt His existence. It’s more like I doubt at times that he plays that central a role in our lives.

There are days, heck even weeks, when I don’t feel His presence, and I feel more than a little bit alone in this big old world. I’ve never been able to explain this. I can be going through life, really in tune with the spirit that I’ve come to know as God, and then all of a sudden, I lose my connection. It’s as if the phone lines have gone dead, and I’m left to drift alone for awhile, wondering why this has happened.

Do you ever feel this way? I’d be a big old hypocrite if I said I felt God’s presence in my life all the time. Sometimes, I just lift my eyes to the heavens and silently ask, “Oh, yoo hoo, where the heck did You go?” It’s a lonely feeling.

I’ve always struggled with meaning and purpose in my life. Specifically, I wonder what exactly its supposed to be. For years now, I’ve been trusting in God to guide me to this end. Lately, however, it feels like I’ve been left to drift alone, rudderless at sea, just going where the waves feel like taking me.

Where are you Big Guy? I sure do need you right now. These are the thoughts and questions I keep thinking as of late.

This I know, however. For every dark night, there is usually, eventually, a bright morning to come. For every time of doubt I have about God playing an active role in my life, there will come a time when I start to notice Him again, when I start seeing Him in the everyday mundane details of this life. There will come a time again. This I do know.

And, my darkness will be lifted once again. My connection to the great spirit that is God will be re-established. And I will doubt no more.

But, unfortunately, not today. Or at least not yet. Today it seems, I’m left to my own devices, to try and muddle through life somehow. I for one, can’t wait to hear from the Big Fella soon.

My friends, I do not wish to pull you down into a state of despair with my gloomy thoughts this morning. I merely wish to show you that we all have times of doubt. It’s during these times that we just have to hold on tightly to the faith we have that He’s really not left us alone, that He is there, always, and in all ways.

Probably the fault is mine for the faulty connection. Oh yea of little faith, and all that jazz. I know, I know, I just need to open my eyes again to see, and open my ears again to hear.

It’s all part of faith my friends.

Someday, I just wish it wasn’t so hard.

-The Minister

Acceptance

Today, I’m writing about a subject that I’m honestly not that good about: Acceptance.

To me, acceptance means taking what is, or what happens, only and purely for what it is, and not attaching any labels to it.

For example, your car is hit by another car in a parking lot. What really happened? All that truly happened was your car was run into by another car in a parking lot. That’s it. It was an event; there was nothing truly inherently good or bad about it.

The “good” or “bad” are labels that we humans apply to events. They are judgments that we render about events. In the example of the fender bender, most of us would judge that event as bad. And, because we do that, we get irritated, frustrated, or maybe sad at the prospect of having to pay money for the repair, all because we have judged the event to be sad.

Again, the event is just an event. And, still sticking with our fender bender example, if we were to accept the fact that, “bad” or “good”, it happened, and then be done with that, we’d save ourselves a lot of anguish and hand wringing.

True acceptance of what happens would put an end to a lot of our turmoil in life. And, let me be the first to tell you that life gives us all plenty of opportunities to accept what happens. This can be from the mundane to the extreme, and everything in between.

Frankly, I do a poor job of acceptance. I’ve always believed that somehow, I can push right through things and most times, bring about an outcome that is desirable, and mainly desirable by me. But, there are times when things don’t turn out the way I want them that I rail against the outcome, fuming about what did happen versus what could’ve happened. It’s during these times that if I truly accepted what was, I’d be a lot happier.

The truth is that this is a recipe for much greater happiness in life. Accept what is. Even if you don’t “like” the outcome, just accept it, deal with it, and bring it fully into your reality. Only then can you truly work to change what can happen from that moment forward.

By railing, kicking, and screaming about an event, you waste valuable life energy. The event has happened. It’s now in your reality. Accept it for what it is, and then move on.

In this good old mundane life, as I mentioned before, we all have numerous opportunities to practice acceptance. And, if we listen hard enough, or look hard enough into our hearts, we’ll see God right there pointing the way for us.

-The Minister

Redbuds

Spring is in full force in my neck of the woods. And, with the arrival of Spring comes an old friend…the redbud tree. It’s a favorite of mine, always greeting me this time of the year with its vibrant colors contrasting with the usually still gray…but awakening…landscape.

This year especially, I’ve noticed that the colors of the redbuds are just spectacular, really deep and rich. I’ve enjoyed driving up and down the roads of my region, and seeing the redbuds just explode into color, a harbinger of life coming back to the area. I think I’ve come to appreciate the redbud for its tenacity, as it grows wildly almost anywhere. It never fails to spread color and joy wherever it appears.

Just the other day, I noticed a whole row of these trees growing in a very overgrown, and ugly, section of the woods I was passing. Here was this swampy area, with branches growing everywhere out of a whole host of trees, and yet, redbuds were springing up everywhere. Talk about a stark contrast! The rich colors of the redbuds really did stand out against that drab template of the thick overgrown woods.

Sometimes, I think we need redbuds to awaken us from what can seem like a drab existence. Yes, day to day living, at times at least, can seem pointless, boring, and more than a little bit empty. And then, when we most need it, we see the colors of a redbud tree piercing through the thicket.

God sends us “redbuds” a lot. Perhaps sometimes, these “redbuds” are prophets, or dare I say even Christ, who came to the world so that we may know the truth…talk about bringing color to the world! Sometimes these “redbuds” take the form of saints whose whole life is a message on how to live more fully, like a Mother Teresa, or a Pope John Paul II. Sometimes, these “redbuds” are more commonplace, like a smile from a friend when you most need it.

And, yes, sometimes, the “redbuds” are just that…redbud trees bringing color to a very drab and depressing place.

We need to always keep our eyes open for the “redbuds” in our lives. Not just the beautiful trees that come along each and every spring, but the many redbuds that appear all the time to bring joy to our existence. “Redbuds” are truly everywhere. We just need to slow down and see them, taking them in fully, in all their glory.

My hope for you my friend is that you will see a redbud real soon, and that it will bring you unimaginable joy.

-The Minister

The Smiley Face

Everyone remembers those big yellow and black smiley faces left over from the 1970’s. Now, these same smiley faces have made it into the electronic age. Heck, rare is the day when I don’t see a smiley face in an e-mail I receive.

When I wake up each morning, especially in the early morning while it is still dark, I’ve noticed a smiley face greeting me on the floor just outside my shower each morning. It’s just the reflection of the light from the smoke detector on the ceiling above that part of the floor, but man alive, does it ever project, and appear to be, a smiley face.

Each time I notice this, which is most every morning during the week as I rise to go to work, I have to smile myself. Was this intended for me, or just a product of how the smoke detector was installed, and where it was installed?

You have probably guessed my answer if you’ve read along this far.

I tend to think that God is just taking yet another chance to remind me to lighten up, to not take things and life so seriously. He’s also taking yet another chance to let me know how much He loves me.

God tries to get our attention in whatever manner possible, and in as many ways as possible. A smoke detector is certainly not a burning bush, but its nevertheless effective in letting me know I’m not alone.

I know, I know, I can hear folks now…its just a smoke detector and a trick of the light. And, as I’ve said, years ago, I would’ve agreed. Now I tend to think differently. Now I have come to believe that very little happens by chance

God’s got a big old sense of humor, and He’s letting me in on the joke every single morning.

-The Minister

Easter

Easter came and went, once again, yesterday.

It came despite the fact that it was a colder than usual day. It came despite the fact that country is undergoing some financial upheaval. It came despite the fact that family members of mine have suffered, and are suffering. It came despite the fact that the world perhaps wasn’t all that ready for it.

It came, and it comes every single year, whether we want it to or not. Let me assure you that the first Easter came to a world that was also in a terrible state of darkness and despair. It’s coming, through the resurrected form of God on Earth, turned the world on its ear.

Whether or not you subscribe to the Christian point of view or not, it is hard to debate the fact that this singular event really did alter history. It can be debated as to whether or not it really happened or it was/is allegory, and that comes down to a matter of one’s own faith. What is not debatable, however, is the sweeping of Christianity throughout the world, ultimately changing history.

And yes, there has been both good and bad throughout that history. Ultimately, however, Christianity has come with a message of hope.

As I’ve said many times, I’m not here to try and preach to you gentle reader, or to try and persuade you to my point of view. I’m merely an observer of the mundane, trying to find God in the details, with apologies to the devil.

But, I can’t help but notice each and every year what a message of hope Easter brings to a sometimes bleak and weary world. The message of Easter is “Be Not Afraid, for I AM with you always”, or at least it seems that way to me. It’s message sometimes gets lost in the commercialism of the day, but usually, I manage to hear it in my heart at some point in the day.

Even if you do not subscribe to the Christian point of view, its my sincerest hope that you too manage to glean this message that we are most definitely not alone, and that we are all loved.

So, with that said…

Happy Easter my friends.

-The Minister

The Oak Tree

There’s this magnificent old oak tree that can be seen right outside of our church’s windows. It is one big tree, taking up a lot of the window space, and almost resting perfectly in the middle of one’s view out the window.

Oftentimes, I sit directly across from the windows looking out at this tree. It’s almost comforting to see that tree now, strong and unbending despite nature’s strong breezes and winds that have blown against it for years.

When I really look at this tree, I notice that on second glance, its not that unbending at all. In fact, it bends rather a lot, swaying too and fro with the winds.

It’s this bending that has helped that wonderful old oak tree grow so tall over the decades. Bending with the wind, instead of railing against it, resisting it. Accepting the wind, accepting what life has brought to it, instead of constantly fighting against it, not accepting reality.

Pretty good way to live a life, isn’t it?

Yet, we human creatures spend a lot of time railing against life for giving us events that we don’t want to happen. We become rigid, unwilling to bend like that old oak tree in the breeze, and we find ourselves in rotten moods, complaining that life once again has conspired against us.

Acceptance is a wonderful concept, but oh so difficult to make come to life within us. Yet, acceptance of what is, rather than wishing it was something different, is the key to harmony, the key to peace within us.

Turns out that old oak tree knows a thing or two.

-The Minister.

Ladybugs

Every Fall, as soon as it starts to get cold outside, we receive some new tenants in our house.

Only these tenants have orange backs with black dots, have multiple legs, and love to fly around and check things out.

Yes, it’s the good old ladybug which comes to dwell with us when it starts to get too darn cold for them outside. During the winter, a lot of them unfortunately will go on to ladybug heaven, but there are always a few survivors who stick around and become our friends.

I’ve come to admire the pluck and spirit of these little creatures. They’re actually quite playful. Just the other evening, I was eating dinner in front of the television (I know, bad habit) when a ladybug descended from the ceiling to land and rest right on my shoulder. The ladybug didn’t move once it landed, it just wanted to hang out and enjoy the television I guess. So, I didn’t begrudge her that, and together, we hung out and watched the evening news.

As a younger man, I probably would’ve been annoyed at having these harmless little creatures as house guests. Now, they entertain me and provide me with laughter each day. You never know where one is going to turn up. The other day, I was brushing my teeth, and when I went to rinse my mouth, one descended right down in the sink! Luckily, I saw her, so I rinsed my mouth very slowly and carefully, lest I drown my new friend in toothpaste!

God provides us with lots of friends, you know, and not all of them are of the human variety. These ladybugs, while obviously not on the same developmental plane as my bipedal friends, are no less entertaining and cheerful. It’s almost as if they sense we are a welcome spot for them, and they come and take up residence with us much the same as family would.

I’ve come to be thankful to God for providing us friends like the garden variety ladybug. I’ve learned that there really is no creature too small or simple to play a role in the grand wheel of life. Even the ladybug can bring us pleasure.

And, quite honestly, they’re really good company to boot!

-The Minister

The Neighbor's Cat

My neighbor has this wonderful little gray cat, who I am convinced believes that our house is merely an extension of his own house. He comes over quite often, purring away, and affectionately rubbing up against us in search of a good head scratch. He’s always happy to see us, no matter what the situation, and is as friendly a cat as I’ve ever seen.

More than a few times, I’ve come home from a challenging day, convinced that the world is conspiring against me and plotting my demise, only to see this wonderful little cat come prancing over from his regular home to his “vacation home”, namely our home, to cheer me up. The cat seemingly doesn’t have a care in the world, and he’s just as happy to see me on those days I’m gloomy and doubt-ridden as on the days where the world is going my way. He never fails to bring a smile to my face, no matter what I’ve experienced that day, and in so doing, has brought a lot of happiness to me personally.

I’ve seen it written many times that animals were created for human beings’ enjoyment and use, that the animals really don’t have souls like we humans. I for one don’t believe this. When I look into the eyes of my neighbor’s cat, there’s most definitely a soul there. While the cat is not on the same plane of development as I am, there’s intelligence in those big green eyes, there’s a sense of fun and play, and there’s love. Yep, there’s a soul.

Any animal lover reading this would probably tend to agree. I do believe that animals have souls, and are every bit as much a part of God’s kingdom as are we humans. I see a lot of God in my neighbor’s cat, actually. There’s unconditional love, there’s joy, there’s a sense of humor, and there’s an uncanny ability to live in the here and now, the precious present moment. I think we could all learn a lot from this cat. I know I have.

Recently, I’ve been going through some questioning times, like I’m prone to do. I tend to contemplate the reasons for my existence. There are times when I can get quite tied up with this, and my head becomes a maze of thoughts and concerns. It’s times like these I like to head out on my front porch, sit down, and more often than not, see the little gray cat come prancing over from my neighbor’s yard.

In every fiber of this little creature’s being comes the message “Do not be afraid, there is only now, and there is only love”. I tell you, that cat is wiser about life than I am.

Perhaps its time I start listening better to this little messenger from above.

-The Minister

Miracles...On Ice and Otherwise

I finally sat down to watch the movie “Miracle” this past weekend. It is a movie about the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team, and their incredible, if not improbable, gold medal.

I was a kid during this time, but I remember it oh so vividly. The movie does an excellent job of showing how fragile the nation’s psyche was at this moment in history. We had a crisis of confidence in this country, brought on by a lot of different things all going wrong at the same time. Going in to that Olympics, it seemed that we (the U.S.) had lost our way a bit.

Two weeks later, our confidence, and our belief in the impossible, was on its way towards being restored.

The very night that the U.S. Hockey team completed its stunning upset of the team from the Soviet Union, I was seated in a high school gymnasium, watching my brother play basketball. The public address announcer came on in the middle of the game to announce that the hockey team had pulled off the impossible upset. The place erupted in cheers. As a young man, I knew something miraculous had happened that night, even if I didn’t understand the full implications of it.

Looking back, I see now in full how much that simple little hockey game meant to this country. I also see how a team of individuals who have at their core an unshakeable belief can pull off the impossible. Call it a miracle if you will, but its also really about belief.

There are miracles in our lives that are very hard to explain. But, I tend to think that all miracles hold one thing in common, namely a belief by the parties involved that the miraculous can happen. Jesus Christ, in his famous and admittedly hard to interpret Sermon on the Mount, told us all to (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Ask and you shall be answered…”. This particular passage and its meaning has been debated for centuries, and I’m not about to try and solve that debate. But, perhaps it does mean that if we hold perfect belief in our hearts and minds, a belief so unshakable that not even the big bad Soviet Union hockey team of the 1980’s could shake it, our “prayers” will be answered.

Maybe, when we pray for things or events we either want to happen in our lives, or not happen in our lives, we don’t do it with enough gusto, chutzpah, or belief. Perhaps we have to not only ask for our prayers to be answered, but have the unshakable belief beforehand that they will be answered. Maybe, the winning formula for the miraculous to happen is “Belief + Asking = Miracle”.

Again, I don’t know for sure, but these are my suspicions. I’ve seen a lot of “miracles” happen in my life, on the ice and otherwise. Looking back, it does seem that the common denominator in all of them was belief.

Here’s hoping a miracle will visit you all soon.

In the words of the immortal Tug McGraw, “You gotta believe”.

-The Minister

The Old Basketball Hoop

When I was growing up, along with my two brothers, we had this great big basketball goal outside in our back yard. My dad and some of the neighbors erected this home made basket and backboard, nailed to an old telephone pole, in our back yard. We kids took it from there, dribbling and shooting for years upon years.

Now, I’m sure my father didn’t exactly love the fact that we killed all of his grass around that goal, but he never said anything to us about it. Oh sure, he planted grass seed out there a couple of springs. But when it became apparent that this was a losing battle, and that no grass would ever grow on our homemade court again, he gave up.

I think pop was far happier knowing his boys were having a great time outside, shooting hoops and having fun with our friends.

We learned a lot of things playing basketball in our backyard. We learned how to work together through endless games of 2 on 2, or 3 on 3 with friends. We learned creativity, in coming up with more and more imaginative ways to get the ball into the basket. We learned sportsmanship, trust, and even love out there too.

We also learned that if we dreamed big dreams, and believed in them with all our hearts, we could make them come true with determination and sweat. My brother , for example, proved a lot of folks wrong, who while well meaning, thought he was too short to play basketball in high school, let alone college.

He ended up playing well at both levels.

So, was God present there too? Was He looking down upon us, pleased that we were learning all of these valuable skills?

While no one can say for sure, I tend to look back at those happy times and think He was quite happy watching us play. Kids learn a lot of lessons interacting with other kids. Given the right environment, most kids will work things out for themselves. God gave us free will, and I think it pleases Him when He sees us exercising it well. I think it pleased Him to watch us playing basketball, having a great time, and growing up together all at the same time.

Nothing escapes His watchful eye, and His love. He expresses Himself in a myriad of ways, and through many different people in our lives. Yes, we do see God in other people, and I’m confident looking back that I saw God in the enthusiastic eyes and smiles of my brothers and our friends, playing our hearts out around that old basketball hoop. I wouldn’t trade those times, or those lessons, for anything now. In so many ways, they helped mold me into the person I am today.

And, I’m reasonably confident that God was pretty darn happy having me learn about life shooting baskets with those nearest to me.

-The Minister

A Rainbow in Winter

As I was driving home from work the other day, I saw a sight I don’t think I’ve seen in all of my years on this planet. Here we were, in the dead of winter, and there was up in the sky, a rainbow.

In the morning, we’d had an ice storm, which had turned over to rain, and now the skies were clearing. Still, I have never associated rainbows with wintertime. Maybe its just me.

Of equal importance, at least to me, is the timing of this rainbow’s appearance. I had been going through a rough patch at work, when it seemed like I took one giant step backwards for every two steps forward. On this particular day, mere hours before I saw this wonderful rainbow, I’d made a couple of breakthroughs. For me, the metaphorical clouds were at least starting to break up at the office.

So out I walked from the office, got in my car and started to pull out, when I saw up in the sky this truly magnificent rainbow. It sliced through the clouds, a harbinger of better weather after a truly nasty ice storm that morning. Call me crazy, but I also interpreted that rainbow as a message to me that sooner or later, the sun will shine again, and that also, I am never alone.

As I’ve written many times before, there was a time in my life that I would’ve just viewed the rainbow as purely that…a rainbow. I would not have thought twice about its timing. The timing of its appearance would have been purely coincidental.

Now, that I’m older and wiser, I know there are very few, if any, coincidences. It is my belief that God communicates with us using the method He believes will work the best for a particular time and place. For me, it was the rainbow shining through the clouds; a message that after all dark time, there is light. For you, it may be something entirely different.

But make no mistake, He does speak with us, He does communicate with us. And He does love us. He created the heavens and the earth. If He wants to send me a rainbow, I think its within His power to do so.

Well, Message Received Big Fella. I appreciate so much you letting me know, symbolically, that life will always have times of light and bliss after darkness and confusion. It truly was a great ending to a meaningful day.

You just have to love seeing rainbows in winter.

-The Minister

Moments

There are times when it seems like I am rushing to get a group of chores done, or to get through a bit of work, so that I will emerge on the other side of these tasks into a better, more fun time. I catch myself doing this quite a bit during the work week actually, and it causes me to rush through the day if I’m not careful.

It’s during these times that I’m failing to live moment by moment. And, quite honestly, since life was designed to only live moment by moment, I like many others am making a big mistake.

Like the DNA in our bodies, which is put together and structured like a chain, life is a chain itself, a chain of moments, all flowing one after the other. These moments in sum eventually make up the days, weeks, months, and years of our lives. But, we all make a mistake when we try to live anything but one moment at a time.

So many times my mind is occupied either mulling something over that has already happened, or worrying about something that may, and far more often, may not happen in the future. When I allow my mind to do this, to occupy my head with thoughts about the past and the future, then I am failing to see the gift that God has built in to this wonderful tapestry He’s woven for us, that being the precious present.

We’re not really taught this way of thinking much, at least in the Western World, and it is a shame. If all of us could just focus our attention on just being here, in this very moment, our collective peace of mind would increase a thousand fold. I have a very real sense that God intended for us to live this way. Otherwise, why would He have structured life to flow moment by moment?

There are so many gifts we see when we are paying attention to the here and now, gifts that we didn’t see when our thoughts were racing through our past or to our unknown future. Today, I took a break, went outside the office, and walked two blocks down the street for no purpose other than to just breathe fresh air and see the sunshine. Each time a thought tried to enter my mind, I just saw it, and let it go. The only thing I wanted to focus upon was the wonderful fresh air I was breathing, and the sunshine shining down brightly upon me, on a mild winter’s day. The air and the sunshine were gifts, sent to us all to enjoy. For those brief minutes, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Yet, how many of us really slow down and take the time to enjoy these free gifts? Sadly, many of us are preoccupied thinking about the past or the future, and fail to just allow ourselves to be here in the present moment. No wonder we feel out of sorts a lot. When we don’t live in the moment that is before us right now, we are going against the grain of how life is put together. Its as if we are trying to cram moments that don’t exist, namely the past and the future, into the only moment that does exist, which is the here and now.

When we just accept that right now is the only time we have, for it is the only time that “exists” for us in reality, we can start to slow down our racing thoughts, and flow more peacefully through the day.

Yesterday’s but a memory, and tomorrow is a great big unknown. Worrying about one, and trying to predict another, is kind of a fool’s game. God gave us one time really, and that time is NOW.

And just for this moment, I’m going to enjoy that time.

-The Minister

Get Busy Living, or Get Busy Dying

If you’re a fan of the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”, you recognized that statement immediately. It is uttered by the main characters in a couple of key moments during the film, and it has always resonated with me, starting from the very first moment I heard it.

From time to time, I can battle the blues. I don’t know what it is about me, but there are certainly days when the world just seems a little bleaker. These are times I pull out this wonderful movie, and go straight to these scenes for a little inspiration. Yesterday was such a day, and I really needed to hear these words.

At times I feel my efforts in life have been rather un-inspiring. I’m not one of those fortunate few who knew from a very early age what they wanted to do in life. My lot, unfortunately, has been not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up. This can lead to feelings of disenchantment with life, of not knowing if I’m really fulfilling what I was created to do. There are days, I must confess, when I look at myself in the mirror and ask “Is this all there is?”

When I get maudlin and stuck in these ruts, life can seem darker, and rather meaningless. It’s during these times that I think I’m really getting busy dying, and not getting busy living.
You see, we can look at our lives, as we can view many things, from two angles. We can either view ourselves as dying from the very first moment we leave the womb, which has some merit but is a bit depressing, or we can view ourselves as having the opportunity to live life to the absolute fullest each and every day. In other words, living until we die.

So, we can either get busy living, or get busy dying. As with most things, it’s a simple choice, but difficult to execute.

Yesterday, if you’d asked me which of the two choices I was making, I’d have to be honest and tell you I was getting busy dying. But, something inside of me made me pull out that wonderful movie, and watch those key scenes. Minutes after that, I made the decision, once again, to get busy living.

Sometimes, it seems like we have to make that decision over and over and over again. Like I mentioned, it can be seemingly easy to choose to get busy living, but not always easy to sustain it. I know at least for me, that’s true.

But, I think if we pay attention, we’ll catch the signs from God that making the decision to get busy living is a good one in the end. For me, yesterday, that sign was a feeling in my heart to pull out that wonderful movie. The next time I’m faced with this decision it may involve another message from God, sent in a way that I’m most receptive to hearing at that particular time.

One thing is for sure, when you boil life down to its essence, that is the major decision we all have to make: Get busy living, or get busy dying. Make the most of your life, or give up. Some days giving up seems tempting, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly embrace that choice.

Today, I choose to get busy living.

Hope you do too.

-The Minister

Straightening the Collar

I was sitting in church this past weekend, when I noticed this couple across the way. The wife was making a bit of a fuss over her husband’s sweater, which was caught over his collar in the back. She made sure to straighten her husband’s collar so that all would be right with his appearance. The husband, for his part, seemed to not even know anything had been amiss, but he smiled nonetheless, appreciating his wife’s kindness.

I doubt quite seriously that anyone else really noticed what went on. I mean, there was nothing profound about it, at least on the surface. But, it did get me to thinking about all the folks that have cared enough about me to straighten my collar over time. There have been numerous people that have done this, from my dear mother to my sweet wife. All of them have cared enough about me to reach out and take care of me.

And then it struck me how lonely it would be if I hadn’t had anyone to straighten my collar over these years. My, that would’ve been pretty bleak. As my wife was out of town this past weekend, I’d been feeling a bit lonely, so perhaps I was just noticing this more. I consider myself quite fortunate to have folks in my life that do care.

Yet, there are so many people out there that don’t have this. They literally have no one around them to, well, straighten their collar. Whether its circumstances in life, or just choice, there are a number of folks in the world who live alone.

Who does straighten their collars? Are they destined to walk around the rest of their lives with un-straightened collars? Goodness, I hope not.

Fortunately, I think for these souls, there is someone who does, while not literally, at least figuratively straighten their collars. God is a master collar-straightener. Here’s Someone who knows all of our aches, our fears, our failures, and our myriad mistakes. Yet, He’s always there to clean up the mess, if we call upon Him, and yes, straighten the collars of our souls.

How else to explain those individuals who live alone, yet manage to be so cheerful and upbeat about their lives? Sure, sometimes I’ll bet they get lonely, but they also probably realize that in some fashion, God is there for them, and does indeed love them very much.

While I for one am really happy I have folks around me who will indeed straighten my collar, just like that couple in church, I’m also really happy for people who live alone that God is there for them.

And that’s because sooner or later, we’re all going to need our collars straightened.

-The Minister

Home

I heard a great sermon the other day at church, where the minister reflected on the possibility that all of us are on a journey “home”. I’ve read about this in other places as well, but it really struck me this time that this rings true to me.

“Home” in the minister’s sermon referred to being home with God, or back with God after our earthly life has passed. He eloquently reflected that it seemed our entire lives were spent trying to get back to a place we’ve never really known, yet instinctively know is our true home.

The last ten years or so of my life, I’ve really felt this tug or pull to go back home. There’s been such a spiritual longing inside of me, a need to find answers, a need for truth, that I do wonder if my internal compass pointing me in the direction of God was turned on a few years back. It’s a longing inside of me for more, more than what earthly life can offer, that drives me to know more about God.

I wonder if we humans all have this longing, a desire to know God, a desire to be at one with Him? Evidence exists that we do, namely in the Self Help section of your local bookstore. The shelves almost literally groan from the weight of all the Self Help books that promise the way to emotional, financial, or spiritual freedom. More titles are released seemingly every single month. Think the Self Help industry would be booming if there wasn’t a desire by a lot of people to figure life out? I think not.

I do wonder if God installed in our DNA an internal compass that does indeed point in the direction of home. If He didn’t, then why is there such a hue and cry from folks, all around the world, to figure out the answers to life’s greatest questions, namely who are we and why are we here? Perhaps we are to use this mortal life to figure out for our own these answers. When we do, then maybe we will truly be “home”.

I know I yearn to know more, that I really do want to know the answers. I guess I want to go home as badly as the next person. Maybe, if we use the analogy of school, this earthly life is to be spent learning the answers, and figuring things our on our own. When we do, and I do actually believe that we all do, even if its at the very end, then we are able to graduate from this life, and move back home.

I cannot for the life of me imagine a more glorious ending then to be back home with God. I hope with every fiber in my being that I do get to arrive back home, and be with Him for eternity. I hope that for every person on this planet.
But, what are we to do now, right here in the present? Are we truly separated from God, just because we are not home with Him on another plane of existence? Does that really mean that this life is merely drudgery, or “homework”, until finally we figure it all out and move back home with Pop?

Maybe what being home with God really means is simply opening our hearts to Him, and letting Him come back home to us. Maybe we’ve all been under the illusion, simply because we are all encased in these bodies of ours, that we are separate from God, when in fact, if we but let Him back in to our hearts, nothing could be further from the truth.

Maybe, just maybe, we can be home with God at this exact moment. Perhaps the longing we feel is merely a call from Him to open our hearts and minds to His love, so that He can heal our wounds. I know for one that I would welcome Him back into my heart, and do welcome Him now.

Could it really be true that “home is where the heart is” after all?

-The Minister