Labels

This week, as I was watching the season finale of 24, my dad said something that triggered me to analyze what he had just said. This was my first time watching 24 and he was commenting on who everyone was and basically giving me the background of their character. He was telling me stuff like, "He's the bad guy" and "he's one of the good guys" and "yeah, those are the bad people." Of course he was saying this in all innocence, but you know I had to think about it and dissect the mess out of it! Anyways, I began to think about how we all grow up labeling people as such. From the time a little boy watches a Cowboys and Indians movie and a little girl does...well...whatever it is that little girls do...we get it into our heads that people are either good or bad and if they aren't like you, then they're on the other side and therefore your enemy. We are never taught that if someone isn't like you or doesn't always agree w/ you, that they too are also a child of God and loved beyond belief by our Heavenly Father. Thereby, this makes them my brother or sister that I should love as dearly as family. This means that the only label that is appropriate for me to put on others is "the Beloved." Therefore, that will constantly remind me of who they are and whose they are. They are not what they do or don't do, but rather they are of the same flesh and are yet still one of the fellow beloved, making them no better or worse than I am--if anything, better. So, I guess I now hesitate to state or label others--whether it be in a movie or in real life--as good or bad. As Jesus told us, no one is "good" but the Father who is in heaven. I'm always going to try to do...or be...better, knowing that I will never be good. Holistically, I must always strive to be better, be changed and molded more into the likeness of him who died for me despite the fact that I am one of the bad guys...and even more so because I am.

Who am I to deserve this?! Who are you to deserve this?! Who are we to deserve this?!......We are the beloved...Amen.

The Beauty of Sadness and Loss

Here’s a little post about the beauty of sadness and loss. I know it sounds weird, but it’s something that’s been on my heart the past couple of weeks. I’m not sure if any of you have heard about Lauren Jones, who was a youth at Riverland Hills and graduated from Dutch Fork in 2001, but she was in a really bad car wreck on April 21st and passed away. Her funeral was last Thursday and it truly was an incredible celebration of an incredible young lady who was on fire for God and spreading the love of Christ to all those she came into contact w/. Last Monday night, when I believe much of the reality of the whole situation started to settle in, I had to go somewhere and write. Writing and journaling is how I best express myself and it’s a huge outlet for me. Anyways, I of course went to Barnes and Noble and sat there for a while just writing and thinking. Well, I’d like to share a little bit of what I wrote that night—which flowed from the inspiration of Lauren’s recent and sudden death—if you don’t mind…

“I know why ‘they say’ that w/ age there comes wisdom. Bc w/ each day, there are life’s rapid ups and downs which make me one more day ahead of life’s experiences. The hurt and the agony along w/ the health and the joy. The rejoicing and the fulfillment along w/ the mourning and the dissatisfaction. Don’t complain when I leave here and say, ‘What a life cut short of its potential.’ I was made w/ just enough potential to make it to where God saw it fit for me to come back home. I gave all I had to give to get to where I had to go. There was nothing more, nothing less. It is finished. And now you have gained a new life experience that makes you one more day ahead. And such the same, and such the same. We add to one another’s story and make a piece to fit in the endless puzzle of His story. The secret combination to life is love, but you’ll not be able to live w/out the death of Love.”

God is a personal, yet mysterious God. He is always working in our lives and present and whispering in our ears if only we’d listen. There are people that come in and out of our lives that make a huge impact and teach us a little bit about who God is and who we are as God’s. Another person along w/ Lauren who mad such an impact in my life was Kyle Lake, pastor of UBC in Waco, TX. He passed away last semester as he was down in the baptistery about to baptize some people. I just want to close this post w/ something that was shared at his funeral: the conclusion to what would be the last sermon Kyle would ever write. It is a closing statement like no other that I share in humble admiration of a man I greatly admire:

“Live. And Live Well.
BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Don not be past. Do not be future. Be now.
On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.
If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.
Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.
If you bike, pedal HARD…and if you crash then crash well.
Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done…a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.
If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all…because soon he’ll be wiping his own.
If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And Grieve well.
At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak off the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.”