Journaling

Why waste time?

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Why waste time, I wonder?

The self proclaimed “bird nerd”, that’s me.  I have always had a “thing” for birds.  I was fascinated with cardinals and blue jays when I lived in the city, a place where pigeons, or should I say “rock doves” were the majority.  Once while on vacation in Vermont, I visited a bird sanctuary and was struck by the elusive hummingbird and then while hiking in a dry forest in Puerto Rico, I was surprised to catch a glimpse of a hummingbird sitting in her nest.  I was actually able to photograph the eggs in the nest after she took flight.  Awesome for sure!  Now, living in the country, I spend a lot of time sitting outside watching the bird feeders and bird houses I’ve strategically placed within view.  I have been blessed to have hummingbirds feed out of the palm of my hand, to watch 32 different varieties of birds feed at the feeders and to be host to black-capped chickadees, house wrens and cardinals nesting in birdhouses and trees nearby.

The bird feeders I have not only attract the birds but they also attract squirrels and so I’m told, bears.  Yikes!  The bears, however, have not been as much of a nuisance as the squirrels have been.  Every morning begins the cat and mouse game between the squirrels at the feeder and my two australian cattle dogs, Foster and Mellow.  I often wonder, as I look out my window each morning, why squirrels feel the need to risk their lives hanging in various positions from trees trying to grab the bird seed when there seems to be an over-abundance of acorns at their disposal in the woods.  All they have to do is walk half a step and they’ll find one acorn, if not many.   I think to myself “running around like little acrobats when what they need is right under their noses.”  Did it hit you like it hit me?  That’s us!  That’s humanity!  That must be how God sees us!

You see, to me the squirrel seems to be moving around on auto-pilot – used to the mischief, used to the routine and it fails to see that God provides an easier way for it – a more peaceful way, a less resistant way.  Think about it – we are like the squirrel – finding it difficult to stray from our routine, in search of happiness in places it will never be found.  We complain often of not having time to relax or to be at peace, while at the same time scheduling and finding MORE things to do.  We refuse to sit still one moment.  How difficult it is for us to sit in silence and meditate and yet how rewarding it is.  What are we afraid of?  I recently read that one of the things it could be is the fear of actually LIVING Truth. We all walk a good walk and talk a good talk when it comes to our beliefs, but are we living in obedience to the Truth?  Knowledge of our disobedience is probably what keeps us from being still.  Oh how we love to point the finger and hate to look in the mirror!

Imagine what God sees from His vantage point.  He sees us, the “squirrels” moving around on autopilot, losing our peace in search of peace, when all the while it’s right under our noses.  Peace is within us, it’s not “out there” somewhere.  It’s in our every breath – focus inward without fear and you’ll find it!  God bless you!

Diversity in Community

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Today I read an old reflection from the Center for Action and Contemplation written by Richard Rohr which I thought was true, inspiring and timely.  In this reflection Richard Rohr, through various quotes of others, challenges us to stretch our selves beyond our comfort level.  He gives us great examples of what it means to stretch ourselves beyond the familiar.  If you haven’t subscribed to his website, maybe after reading this you’ll be inspired to do so.  The link is on my Resources page.  So here it is – enjoy!

 

“Most of our churches are rather homogeneous.  Yet church, of all places, should be inclusive and reflective of our diverse and complex world.  Shane Claiborne describes the all too familiar scene:

We are always most comfortable around people who are like us.  I think that’s true of almost any human being.  For those who have been in a majority population as white, middle class folks, we have to be extra deliberate about putting ourselves in places where we are a minority.  Maybe we should worship where we’re a minority, where we can hear the Gospel with new ears.  Martin Luther King, Jr., lamented that eleven o’clock on a Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.  That must break the heart of God, that we often reinforce segregation rather than the reconciliation and the diversity of the Kingdom.  Some of that doesn’t change in our congregations until it changes in our living room and at our dinner tables.  We really have to begin having relational friendships that stretch us.  And we also have to challenge the systems of privilege and racism.

Christena Cleveland, one of our presenters at this year’s CONSPIRE  conference, acknowledges that diversity is challenging.  Cleveland writes, ‘in racially diverse churches, I can’t control the environment…..People might worship in ways that make me uncomfortable….People might not be able to relate to my experience as a black woman….People might hold perspectives that shatter my worldview.’  Being in community with those who are somehow different than us challenges our familiar ways of knowing, doing, and being in the world. It forces us to see things differently and thus to change our attitudes and behaviors.  Diversity in community also helps us recognize our own selfish preferences for ease and comfort.  If we’re truly going to follow Jesus, the way will not be easy or popular.  As Cleveland writes, Jesus ‘was so passionate about creating a diverse family with us that he crossed metaphysical planes, abdicated his privilege, morphed into physical form, and spent 30 years on earth just hanging out with us – all the while knowing that his pursuit of diversity would ultimately cost him his life.’

Observing nature, we see that diversity is essential to balance, wholeness, and resilience.  Ecosystems thrive when a variety of species of plants and animals nourish each other.  Diverse environments are much stronger and less susceptible to pests and disease than mono-crop fields.  The world is a relational system full of complex inter-dependence among very different creatures.  If we want sustainable communities, we must always welcome the “other” and learn to see our neighbor as ourselves.  Without it, we do not have community at all, but just egoic enclaves.”

Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation, Daily meditation of April 22, 2016

Amazing references, especially the one about Jesus!  WOW is all I could say.  As Christians, we spend a lot of time in praise and thanksgiving, we spend a lot of time praying for others and for ourselves and we worship as much as we can.  The reality is, we do all of this in the hope of becoming more like Jesus – in the hope that when we become more like Him, we please Him, we console Him, we show Him how much we love Him.  In short, we love Him so much that we want to be like Him.  In that same vein, if we want to be more like Him then we have to be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and practice what Richard Rohr talks about – diversity in community, love your neighbor as yourself.  Can we practice together? God bless you!