Bandwagons and Boxes and Leaving Them Behind

I mentioned awhile back on Facebook that I really really dislike bandwagons. And boxes. And that maybe we should pack all our bandwagons into boxes and . . . I don't remember what I said we should do with them then, but at the moment the nearest landfill sounds good to me. After I posted that I thought maybe instead of packing the bandwagons into boxes we should load the boxes on the bandwagons and drive them out of town.

Either way. They simply need to go.

Why do I dislike bandwagons and boxes so intensely? Because they are limiting! And I'm afraid they give us a false sense of doing something important when really we aren't. We're simply making a lot of noise and beating on our drums and sometimes our chests and  congratulating ourselves for our good works in the process. Or, even better, putting pretty little quotes (or sometimes not so pretty little quotes) on facebook, 140 character tweets on twitter and feeling like we've really done something special for "standing up for what's right." I have nothing against either facebook or twitter. I have accounts with both and use them regularly. But I do have a problem when they become just another way of promoting the bandwagons and boxes. 

What if instead of climbing on our bandwagons and making a lot of noise while stuffing a lot of people who we think are wrong for not joining us there into their respective boxes we would simply climb down and start loving people.

One by one. Loving. Like Jesus loved. There in the trenches where it's real - where the tears flow and the wounds bleed and it's messy and gritty. Where we cry the ugly cry, not just a few pious tears squeezed out while we wipe them away discreetly but the hard cry of a heart that is in pain for a world that hurts and needs Jesus. And not just cries for it but cries with it. One person at a time. One broken heart at a time. One depressed, angry, wounded, lost, confused, indifferent, lonely person at a time. Where decisions, sometimes hard decisions, are made and Jesus comes into hearts and resolves are strengthened and hearts are mended and spirits are set free and people begin to stand to their feet and and then they began to walk and to run and to fly. Why aren't we there? 

Some are there. And those who are there are seeing things they never thought they would see. And while, yes, it's messy and hard and not always where one wants to be at that moment, when we press in and pray like we mean it, because we DO mean it, there is beauty. There is healing, and hope and laughter and rising from despair and dancing in the freedom that comes from shackles broken. 

Why?

Because that is where Jesus is. Not on the bandwagon. Not in the box. In the trenches. With the people. And when we are where Jesus is, then we see, and we have, true life, and love, liberty, laughter and the longing to see more people set free. 

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 No Ordinary Blog Hop Wednesday - A Little R and R, 

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't get stuck in the muck!

Some days it's like a mantra, repeating itself all day long in my mind. 

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

It's so easy to find myself there, stuck in the muck that is sure to be there in this fallen world. It's easy to suddenly slip in without quite realizing how I get there. 

And what it this muck in which I do not want to be stuck? It's mostly little things - the temper tantrums of a two year old, the socks that apparently no one but me can pick up, the endless parade of dirty dishes, runny noses, dirty diapers, and skinned knees, the fatigue from a night of very interrupted sleep (I tend to lose count after about 8 interruptions, but some nights there are more although they are much less frequent than they used to be), deadlines, and oh yeah, don't forget the laundry or someone is not going to have clean jeans for tomorrow. Then there are the days when the muck seems a little worse - the vet calls to tell me my daughter's beloved cat has cancer and there's really nothing they can do about it, the basement floods after a few rainy days because the sump pump quit working, the school calls because a child had trouble during the day. It's muck and if I'm not very careful I can find myself stuck in it very quickly.

But, I'm learning, and it's become more real to me daily, that I do NOT have to be stuck here. Yes, there's the much and if that's what I really want to look at there's plenty there to see. But there's so much more than that. 

Because the muck is only a part, a fraction of this world we live in. We were created for beauty and love and joy and relationship and it's right there for us to find if we will look for it. If I remember to look and to be aware there are the multiple hugs I get each day from both little and big people, there are baby smiles, and sticky kisses, and "thank you mommy's" after band-aids have been placed on skinned knees. There are happy cat purrs, and sunshine after days of rain and the triumph of learning a lesson even though it was tough. There are fresh clean clothes and the scent of a candle burning and shiny clean dishes. There is conversation and laughter around the dinner table, and bedtime stories and prayers. 

And best of all, there is grace and growing and learning and loving and laughing together. 

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

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Wednesday - A Little R and R, 

Pursuing a Calling You Do Not Understand

I've read or heard Hebrews 11 so often that I sometimes find myself skimming over it or tuning out simply because I am so familiar both with this passage and with the stories mentioned in it. But as I read it one morning recently it suddenly became very vivid to me. These are some truly amazing things done through people of God because of their faith. And I'm talking about truly mind blowing.

The story of Noah is one of my favorite. I imagine him building day after day, even though he could not really comprehend what is was God was telling him, yet remaining faithful. There is a sign I often see in the little town I live in that says - "They laughed at Noah too - until it rained." Because of Noah's faith he was able to build an architectural marvel and to save the lives of his family. And through saving the life of his family he preserved the future of the human race - their continuance and the hope of their salvation.

 Never underestimate the power of obedience through faith to a calling you do not completely understand.    Click to Tweet

And Noah is just one person listed in this chapter -Abel, Enoch Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Gideon, David, Rahab, Joshua, Mary - and the list goes on and on. Every one of them ordinary people, people like you and me who could have just gone on being ordinary people, but instead chose to live by faith and choose the extraordinary.

I for one want to live in the extraordinary! How about you? I would love to hear from you in the comments.

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No Ordinary Blog Hop,  Wednesday - A Little R and R, Friday - Fellowship Fridays

Pray Without Ceasing!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 

"The position of our text is very suggestive. Observe what it follows. It comes immediately after the precept, "Rejoice evermore;" as if that command had somewhat staggered the reader, and made him ask "How can I always rejoice?" and, therefore, the apostle appended as answer, "Always pray." The more praying the more rejoicing. Prayer gives a channel to the pent-up sorrows of the soul, they flow away, and in their stead streams of sacred delight pour into the heart. At the same time the more rejoicing the more praying; when the heart is in a quiet condition, and full of joy in the Lord, then also will it be sure to draw nigh unto the Lord in worship. Holy joy and prayer act and react upon each other."

C. H. Spurgeon, March 10,1872

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No Ordinary Blog Hop