Also, I have no idea why "blog" is the only page title not capitalized.
So the blog post for today turned into a poem. You should read it so long as you're already here. It's called "Arbitrary Creases" and it's a little bit random.
Also, I have no idea why "blog" is the only page title not capitalized.
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There is something to be said for doing your duty, even when all you want to do is go home and watch a movie (or any other mindless form of entertainment).
Engineering quietly laughs at those who try and never solve. I've found that some of the most infuriating problems have the simplest of solutions. It's amazing what sticks with you years later: I still actively try to avoid using "easy" and "thing" in my speech. Those words will occasionally slip through but it's rare (at least to my memory). I find it slightly disconcerting when the background of my website doesn't render properly. Yay for congested wireless networks. There are some days when your phone's battery drains really quickly and some days when your battery drains really quickly and some days have both problems. Nothing quite reveals your musical taste like picking songs for a thousand plus person event. Deep down, I think everyone is rooting for a fairytale ending. It's nice knowing Who wins in the end. Conflicting interest are hard. For all those times we get so busy and forget to say thank you....a reminder. Please note the title. It's "into" not "in to."
I'm guessing, hoping, assuming that you've all heard of speaking into the life of someone else. It's when you have a chance to offer wisdom, a third point of view that someone needs to hear. Speaking into someone else's life is a privilege and a gift to be handled with care and prayer. But that is not what this blog post is about. Nope, today we're talking about listening into another's life. I like to think life through. I'll muse and ponder, stew and worry over situations. I probably overthink life on a consistent basis. There comes a point though when I can't think silently any more. Shower conversations with myself just stop working past a certain point. It's then that I turn to my close friends. I'll often go for a walk or ask someone out for dinner or something when I've reached that point. It's then that I need them to listen into my life. They don't need to say anything (although answering questions is preferred). They just need to listen. I believe that those conversations - where I'm thinking out loud and where someone else is listening into my life - are mutually beneficial. There's rarely a conclusion or solution. Sometimes there's a plan but no plan survives first contact. No, those conversations do not solve life's happenstances. Those conversations are their own happenstance. they grow my trust of my friends. They give my friends opportunities to pray for me, to know me better, and maybe, sometimes, to speak into my life. But that only happens after they've listened into my life first. And, unlike normal, I don't have a challenge for you. but thanks for listening (reading) anyway. It's good to share with you. Who are the people you enjoying spending time with most? Who do you call first when something in life goes incredibly right?
Now, granted, I don't know you (or if I do I don't know that I do because I don't know who I know who knows about my blog nor do I know when they read it) but I would guess that the people you enjoy spending time with, the people you share life's victories with are people who will get excited for you and with you. Am I wrong? I know that I will tell people who care, who will be legitimately excited news of my life first. Say I have a great video game moment....I don't typically call my parents up to tell them. But I'll definitely mention it next time I'm hanging out with the crew of guys I play video games with. Or say I edit a highlights reel. I'll show it to people who know the athletes and maybe a couple of other video guys first. Why is this? Why do we share first with people who get excited? I think it's part of being human. We want to share our joys with others and we want our joys to be joys for them as well. So if that's what we normally do...what is it that we normally forget to do? Be excited maybe? Isn't it easier to brush off someone's comment than it is to actually listen and respond? That one ten year old at church who just wants to talk to you about Nerf dart guns for the fifth week in a row....yet what an impact you could have if you listen to him again and ask about which dart gun is his favorite. It's easy to fall into the trap that we're too busy, too important, too stressed, too whatever to care and be excited for others. Yet what opportunities we miss. I dare you to get excited the next time someone tells you something. Allow yourself to be impressed. Set aside your schedule and just listen to what's important to them. If I ever make any money off of this website, I think I'm going to have to pay my friends. So much of what I write about here comes from God blessing our conversations.
Today I was texting back and forth with a friend; it's not the best form of communication but it suffices. It especially suffices when you're low on sleep and stressed out by your job leaving you no time to meet in person. We talked about life and how trials reveal who we are. It doesn't make the trials enjoyable, just purposeful. Which got me to thinking...if we don't see who we are, who we want to become, and what we need God's help changing in the trials of life....is the trial worthwhile then? If the silversmith doesn't get all the dross out of the silver...why did he heat it up? If the mug leaks, why did the potter make it? Not that we'll achieve perfection in this life. Only God is perfect, only His power fully realized in our lives gives us any hope for perfection even in the life to come. But wouldn't it be nice to have less dross than we started the day with? Wouldn't it be nice to plug the leaks and keep the coffee (or tea) from leaking out? What if each day we took a moment or two to reflect on what we learned about ourselves, about God, and about how He is changing us? Today, today I learned that I need to pray for people as I walk by them otherwise I judge them by their outside appearance instead of loving them like Jesus does. I learned that I ought to smile at people, even though I forget to smile. I learned that the stories I put into my head impact how I see the world. I learned that love is patient, kind, and forgiving. I learned that I need to step back and let God be the hero instead of fighting to be the hero myself. Today was a good day. It was far from perfect, but it was good. How do I know? I measured myself at the end of the day and saw that I had grown ever so slightly. The journey ahead is long, marked with trials and pain yet I know in Whom I have believed and I know that He is able; He will guide me every step. So today I had about an hour's worth of free time and I seriously considered writing a reasonably long blog post.
Instead, I wrote a letter. A good, old-fashioned, snail mail, hand cramp letter. Thanks for reading my blog anyways, even on days when I don't write much for you. Have you ever watched someone walking down the street? It's amazing how much you infer about them just from seeing them once. Are they strutting? Walking with their head down? Talking loudly with friends? Listening to music? As I walked by numerous people today I realized that one aspect stood out to me more than any other for how I look at strangers - their expression. Some people seem to have perfected the always-Monday look. It's like life picks them up by the toes each morning and drops them on their head. I almost feel sorry for them...while giving them a little bit wider berth on the sidewalk. No one wants to accidentally spark their rage. Yet...they're strangers, I don't even know them. Maybe they have nerve damage in their feet and walking hurts. Maybe they just learned that their parents are getting a divorce. Sin impacts every aspect of life - we never know when someone is mourning its effects. So while I'm giving them a slightly wider berth and realizing how hasty and ignorant my thoughts currently are...another thought inevitably pops into my head. What's my expression like? I think that I have to predominant facial expressions: deep in thought (which for whatever reason appears slightly annoyed be that true or not) and ridiculously happy. It's rare that I walk around with just a partial smile on my face, let alone a gentle expression. I'm either furrowed and reclusive or beaming. What would happen if I had a quiet smile for everyone who walked by? Nothing flirtatious or creepy, but a smile that says "I'm glad to be alive today and I'm glad that you're alive too." Whose day could we brighten with a simple smile? This is a thought blob. Shoot me an email (or leave a comment!) if you're confused about what I'm trying to say. Isn't it fantastic to hear a story where the main character finds it within himself to forgive the antagonist at the end? For me it's inspiring. It reminds me that in the story of my life God forgave me. He, as the main character, found it within Himself to forgive me, the antagonist, and welcome me in to His family. Such grace. He truly is a better man than I. Yet what about the story of this world and it's ending? There is a blessed afterlife, yes, where the forgiven will dwell with Christ for eternity. Yet there is also a damned afterlife where the unforgiven will suffer for eternity. The unforgiven....meaning that God will not forgive everyone. Meaning that it's only in some of our stories that God, the main character, forgives us, the antagonist. So I find myself at a crossroads: on the one hand I enjoy stories where forgiveness wins in the end. On the other hand, the story that matters most to me doesn't have universal forgiveness. How do you reconcile these two seemingly opposing ideals? Well, why try to reconcile them? See, God is different than us. He is set apart, Holy. He made the rules, He wrote every last story there is. God's omnipotence and omniscience mean that every aspect of this life is either directly caused by God or allowed by God. Every story, real or imagined, is either written by God or allowed to be written by God. He is the final say. So how does a loving God with the final say not write everyone's story with a happy ending? I believe that He allows us to write our own stories to some degree. While God longs to have a personal relationship with each one of us, while He does call out to us and declare His majesty all around us...He doesn't force us to choose Him. I think CS Lewis captures the heart of what I'm trying to say here: There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.' So to those souls who refuse forgiveness, who deny God...He allows them their choice. The issue with their stories lies not in the protagonist; rather, the issue lies solely with the antagonist who is fleeing with his hands clapped over his ears, his eyes squeezed shut till no tear can escape, screaming incoherently at the top of his lungs all in an effort to ignore God's grace.
In the end, I don't think God forces either eternal blessing nor eternal damnation on anyone. He allows us to choose. Yes, He knows our choices in the end. Yes, He made us in such a way in the beginning that He knew what choice we would make. But here, in the heart of the story, it's still our choice to make. What choice will you make today? I had a rather self revelatory moment this weekend. It started out innocently enough - watching a modern continuation of an old TV show on Netflix. Nothing notable nor extraordinary really.
In that TV show there was a line said by the main character that really hit me. I don't want to be too specific since what was said is not the point of this blog. Yet what was said is the point of this blog. See, this TV show was not trying to speak into my life. Nope, not at all. Sure, it was trying to be relatable so that people will keep watching it. But the writers didn't set out to give me insight into who I am and what I've done by the main character's dialogue. Instead, they've written a main character such that he is relatable, such that what he says shows some level of insight. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this TV show is the end all be all of human wisdom. I'm saying that this TV show has lent itself to moments of insight thanks to the character of the protagonist. The protagonist is the type of person who will figure out the basis, the underlying current moving the situation along. He sees past the obvious and into the WHY guiding the WHAT. Because of his insight into the motives of others, he often drops one liners that contain more insight than anyone else on the show. Granted, a TV show with a normal, boring protagonist wouldn't really succeed so an interesting protagonist is really a must. This protagonist's interesting-ness comes from his insight. And, as the viewer, we discover his insight through what he says. All that to say, what are the chances of someone listening in to my conversation and being blessed with insight? Are my words, even when talking about the mundane, seasoned with salt? Or are they bland, boring and a drag to all those who hear them? Can you imagine the impact we, as followers of Christ, could have if in every conversation our words pointed to Christ? Just think of it...talking about the next problem at work or who you drafted in fantasy football or what to have for dinner...and your words are used by God to inspire, to lovingly correct others. How amazing would that be? Yet as amazing as it is to think about helping others in through the mundane, we each need help ourselves. Maybe it's time to go talk with someone wiser than you and listen, truly listen, to what they're saying and how they're saying it. No matter how boring of subject they're talking about. |
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