"Do you think I could take this milk home, too?" he asked.
He wanted his sisters to have the full experience - not just the warm cookies, but the warm cookies and milk."
-Excerpt from An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff
Reading this quote today about how a middle class white woman befriended an 11 year old young boy who was a panhandler made me think:
-For my friends who identify themselves as followers of Jesus -how often do we give people the full experience of knowing Him? The cookies and the milk?
-For my friends who are teachers, college students, parents, etc. - how often do we give our children, co-workers, and family the full experience of life free from gossip, coarse language, anger, resentment, grudges, etc? The cookies and the milk?
These questions make me wonder how often I have gotten in the way of Jesus being able to show people his true self and of jumping right in to provide my students with answers instead of allowing them room to explore, create, and experiment. From personal experience and observing our society today, I know that our culture often seeks a "look at me" mentality. Over the past year, I have been learning that God can work without me. He doesn't need me but chooses to use me to fulfill his greater work for the world. As a teacher, I've learned that surrendering the limelight to my students has opened my eyes to a creation full of potential and wonderous beauty.
The cross cultural duty that stretches over open seas is this: being a faithful friend, a trusted confidante, and a avid listener.
Elizabeth Lawrence writes:
"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again."
I believe that the challenge for all of us lies in coloring the pages of our neighbors souls so that we may experience the radiant hue that our Creator originally intended for our world to have.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Training Wheels and the Wide Eyed Wonder of a Child
Major events in my life seem to happen in "fours".
Much has changed since I last stepped foot in my high school. For one, I am not in high school anymore. Second, I am not the shy person that I once was. I see myself as having considerable drive, trying to put others needs before my own, and making the most out of each day (though we all fail at this from time to time.)
Today, I went back to visit my high school for an alumni vs. students basketball game. As I sat on the bleachers watching the ball glide thru the air and the crowd go wild for a three pointer, I found myself in a very strange but familiar place. You could say that I was in a collision. On one end of the spectrum, I was completely done with high school. I saw new students walk through the doors of the gymnasium that I've never seen before and talked with friends about where they were in their college journeys. Many families sat in the rows in front of me on the bleachers with their kids. And I thought, "Wow, time flies."
On the other side of the spectrum, I saw myself completely finished with college. All those memories gathered up in photos, handwritten cards, and emails that were selected to be in the "saved mail" folder. And so, I saw myself sitting between these two points of my life (ironically four years each) and wondering which side feels wierder. Or, maybe "wierder" isn't the best word but rather, which side feels more "wow." I came to the realization that neither side outweighed the other; but that it's a place where I've never found myself in before.
You see, when I transitioned from high school to college, many of my friends were also coming with me. Finding my wings was challenging, but I had some familiar faces that I saw in passing from class to class. In college, I found a great group of friends (or perhaps, they found me) that really nurtured me in my physicial, emotional, and spiritual life. Now, I see myself as a post-grad, completely awestruck about the work that God has done. I am a child staring up at the ball coasting thru the air, wondering "what's next?" I am speechless yet excited about what will happen in this new chapter of my life. It's almost like I've been riding with training wheels forever and I'm ready for them to come off. God is ready, too. I see him the holding the bicycle seat, giving me a push, and saying "go."
But, "go" where?
Perhaps, that story is the next four years of my life.
Much has changed since I last stepped foot in my high school. For one, I am not in high school anymore. Second, I am not the shy person that I once was. I see myself as having considerable drive, trying to put others needs before my own, and making the most out of each day (though we all fail at this from time to time.)
Today, I went back to visit my high school for an alumni vs. students basketball game. As I sat on the bleachers watching the ball glide thru the air and the crowd go wild for a three pointer, I found myself in a very strange but familiar place. You could say that I was in a collision. On one end of the spectrum, I was completely done with high school. I saw new students walk through the doors of the gymnasium that I've never seen before and talked with friends about where they were in their college journeys. Many families sat in the rows in front of me on the bleachers with their kids. And I thought, "Wow, time flies."
On the other side of the spectrum, I saw myself completely finished with college. All those memories gathered up in photos, handwritten cards, and emails that were selected to be in the "saved mail" folder. And so, I saw myself sitting between these two points of my life (ironically four years each) and wondering which side feels wierder. Or, maybe "wierder" isn't the best word but rather, which side feels more "wow." I came to the realization that neither side outweighed the other; but that it's a place where I've never found myself in before.
You see, when I transitioned from high school to college, many of my friends were also coming with me. Finding my wings was challenging, but I had some familiar faces that I saw in passing from class to class. In college, I found a great group of friends (or perhaps, they found me) that really nurtured me in my physicial, emotional, and spiritual life. Now, I see myself as a post-grad, completely awestruck about the work that God has done. I am a child staring up at the ball coasting thru the air, wondering "what's next?" I am speechless yet excited about what will happen in this new chapter of my life. It's almost like I've been riding with training wheels forever and I'm ready for them to come off. God is ready, too. I see him the holding the bicycle seat, giving me a push, and saying "go."
But, "go" where?
Perhaps, that story is the next four years of my life.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
A Rebirth of Sorts
A few days ago at about 8pm at night, I decided to clean my room. Before you continue reading, there are a few things that you should know when I get into a "cleaning mood":
1) It's incredibly hard for me to do work with a room that is untidy.
2) I find it easier to think when things are clean.
3) I feel a sense of accomplishment.
So, with all that said - I began to clean. I found items that I forgot I had - old high school yearbooks that flooded me with memories, books with notes that I had written in, and jewlery that I was searching for. A part of me felt like the widow who was looking for her one lost coin. She turned her entire house upside down in order to find it. (Luke 15: 8 - 10). Clothes that I hadn't worn in years were set aside in a laundry basket to give away to a nearby thrift store. All throughout my cleaning escapades, the following thought crossed my mind:
"Cleaning is symbolic for the season that you are in. It represents a new chapter in your life and a future that God has planned out for you."
As a recent college graduate, many people have been asking me "What's next?" I feel like cleaning (physically and spiritually) is the "next" part of my life. We all have so much dirt and dust in our lives, that's it's clogging the pores on our skin, it's stunting our growth, and it's causing us to have distorted views of life. Sometimes, I feel that we get so accustomed to seeing things only one way, that we miss out on what James 1:17 says: "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
I've recently been learning that the presents we "want" are not always packaged in the way that we would like them to be. In fact, I would argue that what we "need" is often what we miss out on the most. I've received more joy out of watching the same red headed woodpecker come to my birdfeeder the past two days then watching the next television program. I've taken more delight in observing astounding sunsets from my house than worrying about the next day.
In a way, you could say that I am maturing, but in another way - it feels like I have been cleaning out the windows of my soul. I've been scrubbing with windex and dusting with a cloth in order to put everything back in order. See, there is a specific place for my bed as there is for my desk. In a similiar way, God longs for everything to be put back in it's proper place. Paul says in Romans 8:22 that "we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time". We are all giving birth to something new. We are a hurt and broken people who all share something in common that arises from the depths of our being - we long to see the world restored back to it's original design. God never intended for divorce but for marriages that would show the world a picture of himself; he never wanted murders but sought people to love their enemies. A new world is groaning within us that is unlike the one in which we are living in right now.
As a post grad, I see myself moving from a place of wanting "things" to being quite okay with waiting for them. The Bible encourages us to pray all the time but also when we find ourselves in these points of our lives. Matthew 6:8 says: "do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." It's with this type of prayer and reflection that I am coming to terms with such a reality. My plans for my life have been laid aside in exchange for God's dreams and hopes to reign. Everyday, I see parts of my old self dying in order that Christ may rule within me. Romans 6: 5 -11 says:
"If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
In this season of Advent, where there are only 5 days until Christmas - let us pause and reflect. Let us think about what we are purchasing and ask if the item is something that we can live without (at least for a little while). I notice that during the holidays, we become so focused on money, buying, exchanging, purchasing, and wanting - that those things that are meant to be beautiful in the right rhythm with God actually become cheap and foggy.
May you take some time out of your day to stop and smell the flowers, to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, to have a meal with friends, to smile at your neighbor, to talk to the person you've been holding a grudge against, to sing in the parking lot, to skip down the aisle at the supermarket. Embrace the innocence of childhood. Relive the memory of Jesus in a manger - born into extreme oppression under challenging historical circumstances.
Allow yourself to be "reborn again." Jesus conversed with Nicodemus on this topic during his time on earth:
"How can a man be born again when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth ot flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
As I clean, I am preparing for something new to arrive. Just like some of us are preparing for the new year and writing resolutions, I find myself trying to wrap my mind around a God that came to earth as a baby, gave his life up for me, hung on a cross, died, and rose from the dead so that I may live. This gift, the one that cannot be packaged in a box with a neat little bow, is the one that I've been waiting for my whole life. It's that one present that's left under the tree with my name carefully inscribed on it where I'm like
"Whoa."
Now, having the God of the universe know me by name: "Alexandra" - that's not something I would trade in after the holiday.
That's a keeper forever.
1) It's incredibly hard for me to do work with a room that is untidy.
2) I find it easier to think when things are clean.
3) I feel a sense of accomplishment.
So, with all that said - I began to clean. I found items that I forgot I had - old high school yearbooks that flooded me with memories, books with notes that I had written in, and jewlery that I was searching for. A part of me felt like the widow who was looking for her one lost coin. She turned her entire house upside down in order to find it. (Luke 15: 8 - 10). Clothes that I hadn't worn in years were set aside in a laundry basket to give away to a nearby thrift store. All throughout my cleaning escapades, the following thought crossed my mind:
"Cleaning is symbolic for the season that you are in. It represents a new chapter in your life and a future that God has planned out for you."
As a recent college graduate, many people have been asking me "What's next?" I feel like cleaning (physically and spiritually) is the "next" part of my life. We all have so much dirt and dust in our lives, that's it's clogging the pores on our skin, it's stunting our growth, and it's causing us to have distorted views of life. Sometimes, I feel that we get so accustomed to seeing things only one way, that we miss out on what James 1:17 says: "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
I've recently been learning that the presents we "want" are not always packaged in the way that we would like them to be. In fact, I would argue that what we "need" is often what we miss out on the most. I've received more joy out of watching the same red headed woodpecker come to my birdfeeder the past two days then watching the next television program. I've taken more delight in observing astounding sunsets from my house than worrying about the next day.
In a way, you could say that I am maturing, but in another way - it feels like I have been cleaning out the windows of my soul. I've been scrubbing with windex and dusting with a cloth in order to put everything back in order. See, there is a specific place for my bed as there is for my desk. In a similiar way, God longs for everything to be put back in it's proper place. Paul says in Romans 8:22 that "we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time". We are all giving birth to something new. We are a hurt and broken people who all share something in common that arises from the depths of our being - we long to see the world restored back to it's original design. God never intended for divorce but for marriages that would show the world a picture of himself; he never wanted murders but sought people to love their enemies. A new world is groaning within us that is unlike the one in which we are living in right now.
As a post grad, I see myself moving from a place of wanting "things" to being quite okay with waiting for them. The Bible encourages us to pray all the time but also when we find ourselves in these points of our lives. Matthew 6:8 says: "do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." It's with this type of prayer and reflection that I am coming to terms with such a reality. My plans for my life have been laid aside in exchange for God's dreams and hopes to reign. Everyday, I see parts of my old self dying in order that Christ may rule within me. Romans 6: 5 -11 says:
"If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
In this season of Advent, where there are only 5 days until Christmas - let us pause and reflect. Let us think about what we are purchasing and ask if the item is something that we can live without (at least for a little while). I notice that during the holidays, we become so focused on money, buying, exchanging, purchasing, and wanting - that those things that are meant to be beautiful in the right rhythm with God actually become cheap and foggy.
May you take some time out of your day to stop and smell the flowers, to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, to have a meal with friends, to smile at your neighbor, to talk to the person you've been holding a grudge against, to sing in the parking lot, to skip down the aisle at the supermarket. Embrace the innocence of childhood. Relive the memory of Jesus in a manger - born into extreme oppression under challenging historical circumstances.
Allow yourself to be "reborn again." Jesus conversed with Nicodemus on this topic during his time on earth:
"How can a man be born again when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth ot flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
As I clean, I am preparing for something new to arrive. Just like some of us are preparing for the new year and writing resolutions, I find myself trying to wrap my mind around a God that came to earth as a baby, gave his life up for me, hung on a cross, died, and rose from the dead so that I may live. This gift, the one that cannot be packaged in a box with a neat little bow, is the one that I've been waiting for my whole life. It's that one present that's left under the tree with my name carefully inscribed on it where I'm like
"Whoa."
Now, having the God of the universe know me by name: "Alexandra" - that's not something I would trade in after the holiday.
That's a keeper forever.
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