For those who grew up in the Church, are there specific visuals from scripture that sank in the deepest? One of the most vivid for me is when Jesus talked about the small gate and narrow road. It wasn't until the last few years that I started to understand it differently. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Then: Most people will go to Hell. Very few people will go to Heaven. The majority of all humans to ever live will be separated from God for eternity.
We often want clear-cut answers, black and white, "just tell me what to do!" It's nothing new. An expert in the law asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. In true Jesus-fashion, he responded with a question. "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" Jesus asked. He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
We walked out of the restaurant, and as soon as I turned around a little boy was standing confidently in my path, hand outstretched to shake mine. He looked me straight in the eyes and asked me a question. "Sir, would you like to buy some cookies or snacks or make a donation to support my Scout troop?" He couldn't have been more than four or five years old and maybe three and a half feet tall, but he had a determination about him I rarely see in most grown men. I immediately smiled, delighted at the unexpected encounter and said, "Of course!"
I recently found a note I kept from Lacie. It was a sweet, encouraging note, one of those she hid for me to find a while back, and I saved it to reread for years. Anyone who has been married for more than a week knows we sometimes say things that hurt our spouse. It's just reality. I wish it wasn't true. I started thinking about marriage in terms of choices, particularly the choice we actively make to stay married, to abide in our commitment. How do we do it? "Marriage is hard," they say. Why did we do it?
Do you ever feel stuck? In your thinking, relationships, careers, faith, physical fitness? I know I sometimes do, even though the answer to getting unstuck is actually really, really simple. This isn't the beginning of an infomercial to a healthier, happier you! "Just sign up for my monthly coaching and watch your life and career go from surviving to thriving!" There are two simple concepts, though, that are critical to becoming unstuck.
I looked up from the book I was reading at the wall in front of me and the shelves flanking my left and right. Thousands and thousands of books surrounded me, innumerable words and ideas. The thought occurred to me, "What do I really have to say?" I gazed down at the book I was holding and remembered the author passed away recently. Contained in the pages were words she decided had to be said, and now I'm left with her story, though her life ended. If this were my last blog post, and this three and a half year streak of weekly writings were to end abruptly, and all that was left were these last words, what would I want you to know?
I got into my car to drive home after a long day at work. I remembered what I'd heard earlier in the week about a simple prayer: "whatever" (palms up) in the morning and "enough" (palms down) in the evening. I took a deep breathe, felt "whatever" was still an appropriate posture, and turned my palms upward. That one gesture set in motion the next few minutes. I began driving home, feeling tired, a little uncertain, the desire to escape from my emotions, and randomly my Grandmother came to mind. She was likely at home and available to talk.
I couldn't help but notice how beautiful and refreshed this morning felt. I just left the house to go pick up breakfast, and the ground is still wet from the previous night's storm. It's like everything has been washed. It's in the mid-60s, and the sun is shining. I'm feeling happy, and then I remember the headline I read upon waking up earlier: "Two children killed in tornado." It stormed all last night. The evidence was in my front yard. A huge limb had broken free and fallen to the ground. Fortunately, we dodged any damage.
I looked over at the large truck I was passing to my right. Stacked in the trailer behind it were wrecked cars headed to a junk yard. On the rear windshield of the last one was "JUST MARRIED!" I can just imagine the thought now, "Well, that didn't go according to plan," as the new husband looks up at the smashed hood of the car. His wife looks over, concerned and frustrated. "Are we going to miss our flight?" Life often doesn't always go as we imagine it in our minds. We dream up all sorts of stories about how things should be and find ourselves crushed when the proverbial car of our life is being towed to the salvage lot.
The very first thing I did was shatter a glass on the bathroom floor Saturday morning. I'm talking pre-coffee, pre-pants, pre-everything. Glass everywhere. For a millisecond I almost got mad, but I caught myself. Why? Because I had a major shift in perspective the night before that helped me avoid the "I'm such an idiot and I wonder why Lacie set this booby trap" thought. Have you heard of a guy named Rob Bell? He's an author, speaker, previous pastor; most famous, at least in my sphere, for writing Velvet Elvis and the "controversial" Love Wins. He is undeniably one of the best communicators I've listened to, regardless of your opinions of his theology.
Follow Up
