Facing Challenges

Good Morning, All!

Recently I was listening to an interview with Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs journalist with the NY Times and author of Hot, Flat and Crowded-Why We Need a Green Revolution; an intriguing title for later consumption. He was comparing the global financial crisis with Mother Nature’s crisis of global warming and its impact.

Friedman spoke about the various bailouts that are necessary to turn our economy toward the better but was quick to point out how there are no bailouts with Mother Nature. While there are and have been huge warning signs about Planet Earth and what’s pending, we humans, out of our propensity for greed and our tendency to think things really aren’t all that bad, the only solutions are to stop the bleeding; to keep things from getting worse…not a 180 degree turn around.

But Friedman spoke a word of hope for the economic crisis and Mother Nature’s crisis by modifying a quote by Rahm Emmanuel, who got it from somewhere else, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” I am still mulling over that quote…and know that these are wise words for us no matter the crisis du jour.

Let’s face it…life indeed has its moments of crisis, the ones we face individually as well as those we must face together as a family, as a community, in our school or workplace, our nation or global community. We’re constantly challenged by health and healthcare issues, issues that affect our growing children, from bullying, fitting in, excelling in their studies and the overall excellence of our school system; our aging parents; our personal finances; job loss and job security; bailouts; saving the planet…STOP!

So what do we do when we are first hit with a crisis? Well, at least after we get through the panic mode? :) Hopefully as people of faith, we seek God’s guidance and continue to do so throughout the length and breadth of the crisis. And yet so many of us at least entertain the idea of finding ways of escape and burying our heads in the sand out of denial. But once we come to our senses and realize that our struggles are not going away and probably are worsening in the process; we ask God for strength, courage, wisdom, clarity; and direction as we set our jaws firmly acknowledging the challenge before us. And then after exploring the variety of solutions, we choose at least one, and go forth to solve.

Friedman also went on to say that in his travels and the countless emails he receives he is excited about the innovation and creativity that has surfaced. And I believe this is what happens as the result of any crisis, any challenge, and any exciting opportunity that is squarely tackled.

And I see this happening here within our community of faith. I am always so pleased at the collective wisdom and insight whenever we have to overcome obstacles or joy-filled challenges here among us. Especially when everyone is invited into the mix to help solve whatever we must face; to help create the possibility; to bring about the change. The creativity from the youngest among us to the most experienced is so gratifying; as is the new and renewed energy.

And once we sense the percolating ground upon which we are standing, the possibilities are endless. God is truly at work among us, inspiring us and yes, challenging us to experience the BDOs before us—the Beautifully Disguised Opportunities—a Covenant-claimed phrase brought to us by Debbie Miller J We are not just walking, sauntering, moseying into God’s future, we are running head on into it!

Is the glass half-empty? No! It’s not even half-full. The glass of God’s goodness is overflowing, spilling over us like the waters of baptism, offering us renewed purpose, renewal and refreshment!

Come on in, the water’s fine! Even if you can’t swim, this community of faith is here to buoy you up! Blessings, Joanne

Clearing the Clutter

Good Morning Lenten Trekkers,

Here we are just about to begin the second week of Lent. How’s the trip been so far? Did the wintry weather get in your way? Any new insights? Or is the week going by so quickly, filled with the “same ol’, same ol’?” Are you so overwhelmed that you barely have time to breathe or to look up from your work? Are the demands of your life so complicated that there is no time to simply be?

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to prepare for this 6 week trip we call Lent, our Journey to Jerusalem . In some ways this trip is like any other we might take. Not only are we getting ready as we choose our clothes appropriate to what we will be doing on our trip, we are also tying up loose ends as we prepare to leave our home. And then when the final countdown begins, ticking away the hours and then minutes before we are to pull out of the driveway, either to head for the airport or head on down the highway, there are those things that we simply have to leave behind and leave undone—housecleaning, perhaps or at least straightening up a bit; unfinished projects; unanswered mail or unreturned phone calls. The time for twirling around in one spot is over. The time wasted in procrastinating has come to an end. We have no choice; we have to leave it all and be on our way and we’re more tired than when the preparation first began!

The journey through Lent can be just as overwhelming for us as pilgrims of the faith. In order to take time…any time…to even prepare for, let alone experience the journey, we must muster up a bit of the “d” word most of us abhor… ”Discipline.” And as Richard Foster reminds us in his book, “Celebration of Discipline,” we must first begin by removing the clutter of our lives in order to be free to discover what God has in store for us. And that’s the purpose of our journey these next few weeks, right? We have set out to discover what God has in store for our lives; to perhaps meet God for the first time; or as Marcus Borg contends, “to meet Jesus again for the first time.”

Freeing ourselves, taking time to clear our cluttered minds, hearts, eyes and ears, in order to know, feel, see & hear, is harder than the journey that goes before us. We must continue to rid our lives of all that is unnecessary, unwanted; whatever is blocking us, keeping us, from what God has in store for us. Just like fasting physically prepares us more deeply for the spiritual encounters, clearing the clutter, allows us to be freed up from the clutches of all the stuff we’ve accumulated in our lives.

It’s as if the accumulation of our things possesses us, owns us above all else. That’s why we cram stuff in every available nook and cranny. We fill up whatever storage areas we have and then spend money to rent storage units for the overflow! Most of us complain of too little storage space when what we really need to do is to have fewer things to put in the available space we have.

The wakeup call during Lent is one of simplicity. The call to simplicity isn’t just based on the need to get rid of the excess material possessions; it’s also a call to simplify, to rid our busy schedules; to clear our calendars, our Blackberries, of so many meaningless things on our “do to lists.” It’s a call to no longer let our lives be so governed, so possessed by our schedules and to find more time to be with those we love and enjoy.

It’s so true. We find such comfort in surrounding our lives with things; with a filled calendar so it looks as if we are really important and busy; and many of us fill every waking moment by running hither and yon, simply to pass the time so that we don’t have to face emptiness or loneliness or whatever we fear or brings us discomfort. And all for what purpose?

I truly believe that you and I consciously or unconsciously, create a frenzied, frantic life so that we intentionally have no room for whatever we’re uncomfortable doing…and I contend what lies deep within most of us, is our discomfort, our fear of what might happen if we let God into our lives; or let more of God into our lives…

Gosh, just think…if we do that… before we know it, God’s in charge…Imagine that…

Blessings, Joanne