We keep crawling back to you

Life is a seamless string of lesson learning - the ebb and flow of challenges, successes, hard times and bountiful blessings.

I’m growing accustomed to the fact that each lesson is so very little about the circumstance of the moment and whether we win. Rather, these trials and tribulations test our character and tell us about the very nature of ourselves.

Will we learn for next time? Will I be modest? Will I give in to anxiety and let it ruin my happiness? Will I show grace and joy in the chaos?

Sarah’s family goes to a church called Crossroads in Waldo. The people there are wonderful - warm, caring, diverse and seeking to experience God in a big, broad sense. Their pastor, Jack Price, sends out a weekly email that I’ve (honestly) not taken much time to read - until today, when his words answered how we could react. The answer lies is creating spae. In this case, the space for God to be a creative God.

“The biblical model shows us that God’s response to chaos is creativity. To be creative in the midst of chaos will certainly mean different things to different people, different churches, and different nations. To be creative in response to chaos, however, always means to generate new life, new hope, and new possibility.

How can we be creative in chaos? First of all, we have to remember that we are not God and we’ll really need to give up attempts to play God. Having said that, we can trust that the creative work of life is what we, as human beings, are called and equipped to do. Being creative is what we do as human beings, except when we forget. It’s easy to forget. Second, we need to try to keep our anxiety down so our creativity can be up. Anxiety is the enemy of creativity. Third is the need to practice Sabbath in our lives. Remember that, not only did God rest – practice Sabbath after 6 days of creating -- but Sabbath was actually the climax (maybe even the purpose) of creation.

Practicing Sabbath is to live as fully as possible in the presence of God. I am reminded of the words of the eminent Jewish philosopher Martin Buber: “Meet the world with the fullness of your being and you shall meet [God].” (from The Writing of Martin Buber)

– Jack Price

I love this take. The greatest challenges of my life exist in my mind and rarely find fruition outside of it. It’s as Tom Petty famously sang, “I’m so tired of being tired. Sure as night will follow the day, most of the things I worry about will never happen anyway.”

Time has told me that he's right. The challenge is to live my life and believe it.