Saturday, April 26, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Don't Suck Life Away from those around you - Be life giving!
As a general rule people do not like change. We resist the trauma which accompanies a shift in thinking, behavior and geographic location. We like things the way that they are and we fight to keep them that way. Sometimes that trait is helpful - it exists like an anchor to keep us from drifting with the culture into ideas that are harmful and destructive. At other times however our reluctance to change causes us to become stagnant and stale. In fact, if we insist on resisting changes designed by God to bring fulfillment and life we will undoubtedly invite depression into our lives and become a burden to those we were intended to bless.
As we moved to North Carolina from PA last summer we faced a myriad of changes - a new home, a new climate, a new culture, a region where there were no Buckwalters, Hostetters, Martins - in fact we met no Mennonites at all. There were no longer an endless stream of friends and family we could call on to watch our children, invite over for a cookout or meet at the movies. Those new families we found ourselves in contact with, while only 8 hours from Lancaster, did not seem to speak the same language or have the same vocabulary, particularly when it came to talking about God. I found myself resisting change.
When we resist change designed by God to produce life in us we invite depression, frustration and a complaining spirit to invade our homes, and for part of our first six months here my mind was wrapped in this place. I was enjoying parts of the new culture and watching Naomi and the children thrive in this new environment, but deep down I knew there was something off, a deep dissatisfaction with the way things were. I thought about all sorts of solutions, quit my job, move back to PA, fast, pray, read-my-bible-more, none of those "easy solutions" or "old spiritual stand byes" seemed to bear any fruit and my frustration remained. Then in November God used a few simply things to challenge me. Naomi and I travelled to Columbia, South Carolina to hear Arthur Burk speak about the issues facing the church, one of the primary points which landed with me was how we are gripped with what amounts to a parasite approach to life. His indictment was this that we look for a church or community which can give us what we want instead of using the gifts, talents and abilities God has given us to solve the problems facing us and in doing so find life on our own and be life giving to those around us.
Naomi and I talked much about that reality as we considered both our own journey and the journey of the community we were a part of in Lancaster and the one which was emerging in North Carolina. As we talked we were convicted and convinced by the truth. We were designed by God to move toward the transitions we were facing in a way which would bring life to those around us. Seeking to escape the problems which had accompanied the change would only lead to depression and frustration - bulls eye!
As we returned home to North Carolina from that weekend away I was reminded of this truth by something I could see in our yard each day. The trees which line the banks of the Neuse River not far from our home are beautiful - some are tall, slender Carolina pines which seem to reach for the heavens, others are pin oaks, poplars and fruit trees - while each is unique, the trees in our yard have one thing in common - their lowest branches are draped in Spanish moss.
I had noticed the moss on the trees of our property when we had first arrived last summer. However I paid it little attention to it until my parents arrived for a visit during the Labor Day weekend. One morning I walked into the yard to find my mother on a step ladder armed with a garbage bag and a pair of scissors clipping away at the Spanish moss. She coveted the massive amounts of moss which hung from our trees because it could be used in the flower arrangements that she uses in the crafts that she creates. As my father and I watched her collect the clippings he talked about the plant. My father has an amazing knowledge of plants, soil and insects which I have often considered excessive. However I am learning to treasure the revelation that God has wrapped in the midst of all that he has created, so I was listening to him. He shared with me that the Spanish moss basically acts like a parasite gaining life from the trees which it lives on. I thought about it, made a few responses and tucked it away in the "Jeopardy" category of my brain.
Upon our return from South Carolina with the challenge to become life giving in the face of transition, I looked at the Spanish moss with a fresh appreciation for the simplicity with which God speaks. I did some further research on Spanish moss and discovered that it is an epiphyte which often becomes harmful to the host tree because it becomes so thick that it blocks out the sun and while it rarely causes a tree to die, it can greatly limit the growth of the tree. The spiritual applications are simple - we have been trained in our culture, and our church culture to be mostly life-taking. To go somewhere to get a solution to our problems rather then to solve them with the inspiration and creativity available to us. We have become largely a complaining culture which focuses more on what is wrong then on our ability to solve the problems we are facing. If we are truly going to be part of a revolutionary change in the Body of Christ this must change!
Friends I charge you this day to move beyond your own discomfort with the transition you find yourself in and the problems you are facing choosing instead to focus on the wisdom of the one who has brought you to this place to help you see what is really inside of you. You are not as weak or ill-prepared as you believe - you have been made for the problems you face. We must move from a wrong dependency upon others to solve these problems for us and instead encourage one another to face-up to the problems, embrace the creative solutions that God wants to give us and in doing so we will be life giving to a world looking desperately for those who have the keys to life.
This is why you are where you are - to be like the one who created you!
What are you learning in the midst of your own transitions?
As we moved to North Carolina from PA last summer we faced a myriad of changes - a new home, a new climate, a new culture, a region where there were no Buckwalters, Hostetters, Martins - in fact we met no Mennonites at all. There were no longer an endless stream of friends and family we could call on to watch our children, invite over for a cookout or meet at the movies. Those new families we found ourselves in contact with, while only 8 hours from Lancaster, did not seem to speak the same language or have the same vocabulary, particularly when it came to talking about God. I found myself resisting change.
When we resist change designed by God to produce life in us we invite depression, frustration and a complaining spirit to invade our homes, and for part of our first six months here my mind was wrapped in this place. I was enjoying parts of the new culture and watching Naomi and the children thrive in this new environment, but deep down I knew there was something off, a deep dissatisfaction with the way things were. I thought about all sorts of solutions, quit my job, move back to PA, fast, pray, read-my-bible-more, none of those "easy solutions" or "old spiritual stand byes" seemed to bear any fruit and my frustration remained. Then in November God used a few simply things to challenge me. Naomi and I travelled to Columbia, South Carolina to hear Arthur Burk speak about the issues facing the church, one of the primary points which landed with me was how we are gripped with what amounts to a parasite approach to life. His indictment was this that we look for a church or community which can give us what we want instead of using the gifts, talents and abilities God has given us to solve the problems facing us and in doing so find life on our own and be life giving to those around us.
Naomi and I talked much about that reality as we considered both our own journey and the journey of the community we were a part of in Lancaster and the one which was emerging in North Carolina. As we talked we were convicted and convinced by the truth. We were designed by God to move toward the transitions we were facing in a way which would bring life to those around us. Seeking to escape the problems which had accompanied the change would only lead to depression and frustration - bulls eye!
As we returned home to North Carolina from that weekend away I was reminded of this truth by something I could see in our yard each day. The trees which line the banks of the Neuse River not far from our home are beautiful - some are tall, slender Carolina pines which seem to reach for the heavens, others are pin oaks, poplars and fruit trees - while each is unique, the trees in our yard have one thing in common - their lowest branches are draped in Spanish moss.
I had noticed the moss on the trees of our property when we had first arrived last summer. However I paid it little attention to it until my parents arrived for a visit during the Labor Day weekend. One morning I walked into the yard to find my mother on a step ladder armed with a garbage bag and a pair of scissors clipping away at the Spanish moss. She coveted the massive amounts of moss which hung from our trees because it could be used in the flower arrangements that she uses in the crafts that she creates. As my father and I watched her collect the clippings he talked about the plant. My father has an amazing knowledge of plants, soil and insects which I have often considered excessive. However I am learning to treasure the revelation that God has wrapped in the midst of all that he has created, so I was listening to him. He shared with me that the Spanish moss basically acts like a parasite gaining life from the trees which it lives on. I thought about it, made a few responses and tucked it away in the "Jeopardy" category of my brain.
Upon our return from South Carolina with the challenge to become life giving in the face of transition, I looked at the Spanish moss with a fresh appreciation for the simplicity with which God speaks. I did some further research on Spanish moss and discovered that it is an epiphyte which often becomes harmful to the host tree because it becomes so thick that it blocks out the sun and while it rarely causes a tree to die, it can greatly limit the growth of the tree. The spiritual applications are simple - we have been trained in our culture, and our church culture to be mostly life-taking. To go somewhere to get a solution to our problems rather then to solve them with the inspiration and creativity available to us. We have become largely a complaining culture which focuses more on what is wrong then on our ability to solve the problems we are facing. If we are truly going to be part of a revolutionary change in the Body of Christ this must change!
Friends I charge you this day to move beyond your own discomfort with the transition you find yourself in and the problems you are facing choosing instead to focus on the wisdom of the one who has brought you to this place to help you see what is really inside of you. You are not as weak or ill-prepared as you believe - you have been made for the problems you face. We must move from a wrong dependency upon others to solve these problems for us and instead encourage one another to face-up to the problems, embrace the creative solutions that God wants to give us and in doing so we will be life giving to a world looking desperately for those who have the keys to life.
This is why you are where you are - to be like the one who created you!
What are you learning in the midst of your own transitions?
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