Month: November 2020

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An Awkward Thanksgiving… Wednesday

Tonight is our last sleep before Thanksgiving. Today I don’t want to spend a lot of time on my words. There is a Psalm that I read at the summit of the mountains I climb and now and again when I just need reminded of how good I really have it. I invite you to sit down in a comfortable spot. Take a few deep breaths and read these words over and over until it feels like you are breathing them. Then sit for a while and be. 

A Thanksgiving Psalm

100 

1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
    Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
    He made us; we didn’t make him.
    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty,
    all-generous in love,
    loyal always and ever.

Rest well in the goodness of God!

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An Awkward Thanksgiving… Tuesday

Where are you God? In 2020, it’s an easy question for us to ask. A pandemic, racial tension unseen for decades, political unrest, and simple frustration with humanity. Unprecedented,  we want normalcy, unlike anything we have seen before, words and phrases that have changed the way we talk about everyday life.

We feel abandoned. We feel lost and we aren’t sure exactly what to do. Our feelings may seem new and solely ours, but we are not the first to feel forgot. The Bible demonstrates the process of grace, rejection, exile, and finally restoration again. 

Psalm 89 is a prayer given to the people of Israel. It’s there to remind the people of the faithfulness of God, even when He seems distant. 

The 89th Psalm consists of four parts. First is the grace—the poet sings of the rule of God. They write of the greatness and wonder of the Kingdom. Then Ethan (the named creator of the work) reminds the reader of the promise God has made to Israel through the line of David. As the second movement in the Psalm closes, he reminds Israel of their rejection of God. Lament frames the third portion. He mourns the exile that awaits the nation of Israel. He weeps over the trials they face. This poem ends with the author returning to the beginning — “Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.” 

Some scholars think these words were penned after the nation of Israel had been in exile. The Psalm remembers and reminds them of the pain they endured and the restored hope during their wandering. 

Though no one has driven us from our homeland, we feel the sense of loss that Israel understood. As we enter Thanksgiving, we feel all is lost. I remind you; is not. There is still beauty. The God of the first movement is still the God watching over our hurting world. He is still the God of love with His arms open, ready to receive back his people. 

When we pause on Thursday to celebrate this awkward Thanksgiving, remember that it is only for a time. Exile isn’t forever—it is only a small piece of the cycle.    

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An Awkward Thanksgiving… Monday

What do you do when it’s all different? How do you celebrate when fear reigns? How can we remember when traditions have to set aside for a year? What if this is the last time we all get to be together? 

These are only a few of the questions we are wrestling with as we start this awkward Thanksgiving week. Officials are telling us not to travel, shamers are berating anyone even entertaining visiting family this holiday. It’s a great heaping mass of confusion. 2020 robs us of the one day a year we seem to say, as one, “Let’s be thankful,” right? 

I don’t think so. In 1621, a group of Puritans celebrated one of the first Thanksgivings (there is a debate on the actual “first”). They celebrated because they had survived the harsh, dark, New England winter and had found a bountiful harvest. Everything was new for those first celebrators. Some would never see family or friends from the old world ever again. Many didn’t survive that first winter and weren’t there for the celebration. We shattered friendships and broke the trust with the indigenous First Nations People. 

Those early celebrations had everything right and wrong. They had reasons to be grateful and reasons to mourn. They focused on the goodness—at least for a while. 

In 2020 we may be closer to those first celebrations than any Thanksgiving in the intervening years. Our sense of loss and the distance from loved one’s weigh us down. We, the people, can become overwhelmed by the grayness that surrounds us or we can rise and fight to see the light of day. We can wrestle out the things we are thankful for in this year. 

Thanksgiving is practice. It is more than a day of gluttony. It is the way we wake up. It is the way we see the day. It is the hope we cling to—that things can be better. 

This year, togetherness is limited, but distance does not limit the gratitude we can carry for each other. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth a prayer we can echo today, “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:4).” 

It may be an awkward Thanksgiving, but you can still pray thanksgiving over the family and friends in your life. You can still call and write and let them know you love and cherish them. This is a good chance to practice the habit of gratitude.   

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The Questions You Asked Series… Q6

This question is part of a series, The Questions You Ask. I mean the responses to be short. If there is something you would like me to go more in depth on, please let me know. 

How can somebody overcome crippling loneliness, despite having plenty of friends?

I saved this question for last, because it is the hardest to answer briefly and maybe the most important question asked during this season in human history. I got input from friends in the world of counseling. 

First, we need to garner some understanding of where this pain comes from. There are multiple roots, but here are some questions to consider in self-examination. 

  • Are you battling anxiety or depression?
  • Have you faced a trauma you have shoved down and leaves you feeling disassociated from loved ones?
  • Do you have friends you feel you can be gut level honest with? 
  • Do you see yourself as someone worth knowing?

How do we respond to this pain? You may need to find some professional help, especially in the first two cases (I can point you in the right direction if you need to talk to someone). Beyond that, feelings of isolation and loneliness come from a negative place. God made us to live in a community. You need to change the story you are telling yourself. Start speaking and writing the things you are thankful for, look for ways to serve other people. Look at your thought patterns, are you living in the negative how can you interrupt that flow of self-talk. Lean more into developing a relationship with God who provides the highest value for you. 

I went a little over the word count, but it needed to happen. I end with this quote from Mother Teresa, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

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The Questions You Asked Series… Q4/5

This question is part of a series, The Questions You Ask. I mean the responses to be short. If there is something you would like me to go more in depth on, please let me know. 

Today I am taking on two questions because they fit together too well to separate. That means the word count is a little higher but still meets the goal because I am under 500 words. 

Why do you think you are helping the community?

My gut response when I read this question was, “We don’t.” I was in a moment of frustration and mad at a couple of people I work with, and that blocked my ability to think clearly. That’s why I waited to respond to this question. 

I think we make a difference. It’s hard, though, to quantify the work that we do. William Bruce Cameron once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

I think this is true with any organization that works with people. We can give you numbers of involvement, but that doesn’t equate to difference made, that’s just the people involved. We may not know the impact we have had until way into the future, or maybe not even until the other side of resurrection. 

So the most honest answer is, I think so and I hope so.

Is there any proof that you are helping the community?

As I mentioned above, it’s difficult to quantify the work we do in a meaningful way. Here are some numbers and a couple of pieces of anecdotal evidence… 

During the 2019-2020 school year, we had over different 300 students involved in our weekly programs. Over 150 on a weekly basis. We had 2 dozen active volunteers. We took nearly 200 people on trips from Spring Break to Spring Break. Those are only the numbers we can track. We also substitute teach, coach sports, work with various committees and support and encourage many youth workers. The reach of our work is farther than we really understand. 

Twice in the last 6 years I have met with students that were on the verge of suicide and we were able to assist them in finding the help they needed. One is now a graduate of Purdue and doing incredible work. The other is a member of the US Airforce and serving our country. 

There are many other stories, but I limited my word count. 

To answer both questions succinctly… I hope and believe. Maybe? 

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The Questions You Asked Series… Q3.

This question is part of a series, The Questions You Ask. I mean the responses to be short. If there is something you would like me to go more in depth on, please let me know. 

In a messed up world (ie. poverty, etc.), how can we be leaders in a broken society?

There is a question, and a George Bernard Shaw quote that hangs over my desk…

What are the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of Lawrence County?

“Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” 

I believe this is where we begin, at least as leaders. Some will think it’s a waste of time or we aren’t solving the problems. We live in a complex world, if we react to the circumstances we end up throwing bandaids on issues and hoping, ultimately, they will heal themselves. 

Leaders will pause and look for the foundation or core of the problem. What is the greatest need? To use your example. Poverty is rampant in city “A”. The reactive response may be to create a shelter or meal center, both admirable works, but do they heal the problem that led to an epidemic of poverty? Is the real issue lack of jobs? Is it a sense of hopelessness? Is there a drug or alcohol problem that contributed to a higher level of poverty? Is poverty the issue or a symptom? 

To lead well, we have to dig down and find the source of the hurt, and from that place we begin the healing process. 

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The Questions You Asked Series… Q2.

This question is part of a series, The Questions You Ask. I mean the responses to be short. If there is something you would like me to go more in depth on, please let me know. 

“What has been the most interesting question you have had asked of you?”

I get asked questions all the time. I love questions, especially when they are honest questions that come from a place of garnering wisdom and understanding. One of the harder questions and, ultimately, interesting questions I have ever been asked is, “Why are you a Christian?” They asked me, then told me I had to respond in three sentences. The word limit made it difficult, but upped the ante on how interesting it was as a question. 

This was my response, though not personal, and it rings a bit cold. It is true and a starting point for deeper discussions elsewhere.

“To an honest observer, there is a substantial energy that moves our universe. The testimony of other observers and personal encounters leads me to believe that energy desires goodness. In Christian faith I find a name for that goodness and we define it in a clear fashion that intersects with the testimony of the other observers and myself—offering hope for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

Not the greatest or most profound response, I know. By way of compliment, my friend said, “Seemed C. S. Lewis like.” I’ve been called worse than C. S. Lewis like.   

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The Questions You Asked Series… Q1.

“How has God impacted your life today?”

This is a great question for me to wrestle with at this moment. I am currently a few days into a quarantine. Since I live alone and don’t have any pets, things can be pretty quiet in my world. It would be easy to just stay in bed and sleep through the remaining days of isolation, but I have chosen to get up and face each day and learn what I can learn. After all, there is a lot to read and a lot to write. Living inside also limits my ability to wax poetic about the wonders of nature or the spectacle of the stars. 

I am reminded of a quote by Henry David Thoreau, “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” 

Though my days are contained inside my house, at the moment, I am learning to be present. I am learning to find the joy of the mundane. In each moment I am learning to see the signature of God and who He is teaching me to be. 

In short, God has impacted my life today by showing me grace, mercy, and love. He has reminded me of places I need to learn and lean into him. Today I am a better man than I was yesterday and tomorrow I hope that is also true.