I have been working with the boy lately, cleaning and organizing some of his stuff around the house. I came upon a pile of his schoolwork from grade school days. I had gathered it and set it aside to "deal with" later. Today was later. I smiled as I went through it knowing I was holding precious work. Work that visibly shows his growth both in individual skills but also shows his growth as a human being. This pile dates back to age 4 or 5 and he is currently 15, so you can imagine the span of work I held in my hands.
I sat down and took some time to take this walk down memory lane. So much change. So much growth. Young hearts are so eager to know, and conquer, and explore. So much joy taken and given in the learning process. Such a great teachable spirit. So many fun stories, so much joy for all of us watching him, helping him grow into what he is created to be. (At 15, I must confess, not always so much fun now)
What about me? Do I still have it? Did I lose it, that teachable spirit? Has the day become something to just get through? In the process of "growing up" have I forgotten how to get excited about learning, growing and changing? Maybe I just want to be engaged in the creative "fun" learning... but then I would miss the excitement and accomplishment of achieving the difficult and I would cheat myself out of the real self worth gained by the disciplined action of seeing something through. And I would miss having fun stories to tell of my adventures along the way!
Something to be careful of, losing this teachable spirit thing. Pretty sure God is still at work growing me into what I was created to be. I best pay attention!
K
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Pondering's of People we Love
Mark and I made several car trips to Seattle this week that were, of course, during rush hour. Strange conversations can come while you are sitting in traffic...
Pondering a situation with people we know and love dearly, we debated about if/how we could help. It is one of the truly difficult parts of being in relationships. On the one hand, we truly want to love and accept these people where they are, as they are, with no judgement or strings attached... On the other hand, we can see how easy it is to settle into old thought patterns or choices and not do the hard work they have told us they want to be about. Hmmmm. Risk saying something? Watch as old self-destructive patterns play out?
Tough stuff really, isn't it? I think this may be one of the toughest conversations we have about community life. When you choose to be involved in a community, you choose, sometimes by default, to have other people "in your business" so to speak. And most everyone I know is carrying the scars of a relationship gone bad. Jesus communities are famous for this. Someone saying something they shouldn't have. Judgement called down. Painful wounds inflicted. Scars carried forever. Someone leaves, sometimes forever.
So we shy away from saying anything. But is that the Jesus way? I really don't know. On the one hand, I believe God is big enough to do whatever work is necessary. On the other hand, my life has been truly blessed (and transformation enhanced) by people I love, who took that very risk and spoke with love the hard stuff to me. I can still name the people and the situations. They called me accountable to who I said I wanted to be, and held a mirror up to me. I loved them, and while I was angry for a while, I knew they were telling me the truth and shining light on something I would rather pretend wasn't there.
But I too have had those other experiences. Where I feel judged, and not enough, and like the yardstick has been placed beside me to show me just how little I am and how far I fall short.
*SIGH and double sigh*
So I don't really have an answer here. I do know, as Jesus followers, we all are to "take on the mind, spirit and attitude of Christ"** and I know that old destructive patterns are not that attitude. So how do we call each other to be all that we are created to be and leave the judgement in the trash outside? How do we love people into kingdom life? How do we heal old hurts and help each other move further and deeper into Christ? How do we balance "being real" with living "transformed" lives?
K
**Philippians 2:5
Pondering a situation with people we know and love dearly, we debated about if/how we could help. It is one of the truly difficult parts of being in relationships. On the one hand, we truly want to love and accept these people where they are, as they are, with no judgement or strings attached... On the other hand, we can see how easy it is to settle into old thought patterns or choices and not do the hard work they have told us they want to be about. Hmmmm. Risk saying something? Watch as old self-destructive patterns play out?
Tough stuff really, isn't it? I think this may be one of the toughest conversations we have about community life. When you choose to be involved in a community, you choose, sometimes by default, to have other people "in your business" so to speak. And most everyone I know is carrying the scars of a relationship gone bad. Jesus communities are famous for this. Someone saying something they shouldn't have. Judgement called down. Painful wounds inflicted. Scars carried forever. Someone leaves, sometimes forever.
So we shy away from saying anything. But is that the Jesus way? I really don't know. On the one hand, I believe God is big enough to do whatever work is necessary. On the other hand, my life has been truly blessed (and transformation enhanced) by people I love, who took that very risk and spoke with love the hard stuff to me. I can still name the people and the situations. They called me accountable to who I said I wanted to be, and held a mirror up to me. I loved them, and while I was angry for a while, I knew they were telling me the truth and shining light on something I would rather pretend wasn't there.
But I too have had those other experiences. Where I feel judged, and not enough, and like the yardstick has been placed beside me to show me just how little I am and how far I fall short.
*SIGH and double sigh*
So I don't really have an answer here. I do know, as Jesus followers, we all are to "take on the mind, spirit and attitude of Christ"** and I know that old destructive patterns are not that attitude. So how do we call each other to be all that we are created to be and leave the judgement in the trash outside? How do we love people into kingdom life? How do we heal old hurts and help each other move further and deeper into Christ? How do we balance "being real" with living "transformed" lives?
K
**Philippians 2:5
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