Reflection Questions (continued)
I am just three days away from leaving for Israel and Palestine. I was there in 1999, and one of my most vivid memories of that trip was the dry, barren Judean desert or wilderness. I can well imagine Jesus out there, coming to grips with what he felt called to do, all alone so that he could wrestle with himself and God about these things. And the tempter. When do I do that wrestling? Often my wilderness is the middle of the night. It is quiet, but my thoughts often are not. Here is where I often find that I put together my thoughts, connect dots that I could not connect during the daylight, make decisions, and decide to let God be God when I realize once again that I am not in control. Here in the wilderness my faith is stretched and grows if I let it. Wrestling. What verb would you use for what goes on in your wilderness? Brian
posted by Melanie at 5:38 PM
3 Comments:
I guess my "wilderness" would not be a word, but a phrase from one of my favorite songs: "hanging by a moment." by lifehouse. I've realized that in my greatest struggles (and also during my happiest days) I feel out on a limb, at the end of a wire. God doesn't seem to want me to try and learn all of my lessons from a sermon or a second hand resource: some need to be from experience, and sometimes "experience" is not always comfortable. Still, good always comes out of the mountains and molehills, in a very powerful and mysterious way.
"I don't know what I'm tapping into...just hanging by a moment here with you." -Lifehouse
A few words which I associate with wilderness are confusion, frustration, and sadness. Presently I am reflecting on the feelings of Kirby Puckett's friends, colleagues, and relatives. Watching the memorial service on TV last night his colleagues reflected on Kirby's outgoing personality, his sincerity, his encouraging words, his ever present smile and his love for baseball. These colleagues must have felt confusion, frustration and sadness in trying to understand why a gifted person and a friend had to be taken away so soon. When Jim "Mudcat" Grant sang one of Kirby's favorite songs, What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, this truly reflected Kirby's love for life. When we feel "down and out" may we remember to reflect on the lyrics of What a Wonderful World. Thank God for His wonderful creation.
I see trees of green ... red roses too
I see 'em bloom ... for me and for you
And I think to myself ... what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue ... clouds of white
Bright blessed days ... dark sacred nights
And I think to myself ... what a wonderful world.
The colors of a rainbow ... so pretty ... in the sky
Are also on the faces .. of people .. going by
I see friends shaking hands ... sayin .. how do you do
They're really sayin' ... I love you.
I hear babies cry ... I watch them grow
They'll learn much more ... than I'll never know
And I think to myself ... what a wonderful world.
Yes I think to myself ... what a wonderful world.
I had to look back in my journal to find my reflection on Jesus' temptation... I found the word "authentic" there a lot... Being "real"... I struggle with that, because I am still sometimes acting stronger than I feel... Aren't we all still like children when we come to the Father? "Yes, I failed again...I make the same mistake over and over...When am I going to learn?"
The devil tempted Jesus: "IF you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread, throw yourself off a cliff, and forget the cross; I'll give you the world"...
How often I'm tempted to beat myself up over the things I COULD be doing, or the way I SHOULD be IF I were a "better" Christian... Shouldn't the path be easier? Shouldn't I be doing more, helping more, sacrificing more IF I'm saved?
But we have to go the way of the cross, as Jesus did... We aren't perfect, and we weren't meant to slide into heaven like we just ran the bases, the hero of the world series... Instead, it's a craggy, narrow path up a steep hill... Satan has a lovely flower strewn path with waterfalls along the sides that we may want to veer onto, but in our wildernesses, we get a chance to reevaluate which path really looks better in light of eternity!
so... verbs, huh? I'd have to say "recommitting"...
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