"Some Pig"

It was a California day. The classroom door was open and the soft breeze smelled like sunshine and all that is captivating wonder. The sun beams were heavy with motes and fairy dust as the words of E. B. White swirled through my mind. Mrs. Grady with blond hair and youthful passion read Charlotte’s Web to us as our lunches and playground games rode heavy upon us and brought a dreamy stillness to the circle of children. This afternoon gave way to more filled with Stewart Little, Charlie, and James. The magic of books, the power of language, and the delight of shared imagination was launched.

Charlotte came back into my life again this week. The couch was warm covered in little dogs and little people. The book was digital, the conveyance a Kindle but the magic was still there. The wonder was adult as I shared words and watched Liam and Payton embrace Wilbur and Charlotte. The love is in being together sharing thought and time and the impact of a good story. For them I hope it brings warm memories of learning, reading, and being loved. So many years ago this gift was given by Mrs. Grady, no doubt considered her job, but a gift that changed at least one little girl.  A gift that continues as I shared it first with my children and now my grandchildren.

I remember Bob Farr, Co-author of Get Their Name, shared failing his children. He spoke of taking his children to church, but was negligent in bringing them faith, and passion for Christ. I wonder how many of us have been neglected, and also failed our own children to know that passion for Christ. I think of this and the vulnerability it takes to share Jesus within our families. While we don’t want to be persecuted, or rejected it is so much more dangerous with those we love. We may laugh years later when our children reach that point of embarrassment of their parents as they seek independence.  Our novelty wears off as they find new paths without our hands to help them cross the street. We laugh, but we also remember the sting of it. Rejection of our souls would be that much more devastating. So we don’t push, we don’t demand. And we fail to bring to them the passion of a Christ filled life. We fail to encounter the power of God together. Statistics and studies show that those parents that live, and model the values and disciplines of their Christian faith develop children that also have a passion for Christ. Bob spoke about embracing his second chance and sharing his faith and passion with his grandchildren. How to share his soul.

As I share Charlotte’s Web with Payton and Liam I also share my love for reading, imagination, color, and play. As I share this deep part of who I am, I also share my faith and love for God and Christ. I share my understandings of the Holy Spirit and the power it has to bring us strength and peace. I boldly share my soul. Because, it is the beauty of God and his love that brings all other parts of our lives into balance. Like that day in elementary school all things come together to change our lives to be filled with wonder, power, and love when we embrace God’s grace given through Christ and lives beyond our understanding through the Holy Spirit.

May your soul sing and rejoice in the wonder of God’s grace.

Works Cited

Anderson, Bob, Bob Farr and Kotan Kay. Get Their Name. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013.

White, E. B. Charlotte's Web. Harper Collins, n.d.

Integrity

A game we play to “break the ice” in youth group is called two truths and a lie. It is a way of revealing parts of yourself to others you are just getting to know and build conversation. The game requires each person to state two truths and a lie and the other participants to guess which statement is a lie. It can be a fun way to shock others with quirky parts of your personality that they wouldn’t normally know about you. I tend to shock them by revealing my love for the “Walking Dead” and horror podcasts.

The entire hang up in getting to know others is that we only witness what they desire to show or reveal to us. We develop trust over time and through sharing experiences. It is a rare person that is open enough to reveal their center with boldness. It is hard to be vulnerable and risk being hurt and exploited. I have spent a large portion of my life moving and getting to know new people and develop relationships. It takes time and in developing those friendships some people become a part of your fiber and remain for a lifetime, and others only for a season. I believe a lot of that has to do with the depth of honesty, trust, and devotion that is created and shared.

Over the past two days a theme of integrity developed. It was a point of conversation in several different contexts. In sharing observations with a friend we explored our understanding of integrity. It is an integral point of evaluation in a class that I am taking, and beautifully demonstrated through a colleague.

He is a gentle soul with a soft southern Indiana way of speaking. Always dressed in suit and collared shirt his clothing reveals his generation. White hair neatly combed above a gentle welcoming face. He is the administrator for my district of Course of Study. He operates as my bursar, and registrar for the classes I take at the University of Indianapolis. Devoted to record accuracy he carries his binder with all our names and classes and subsequent payments accounted for.

As we gather for another weekend of study in the school’s chapel we hear announcements, updates, and share prayers before we worship. Over the seven years at COS I have prayed for this gentleman’s ill wife and her entrance to glory. I have hugged and tried to share gentle and encouraging words as I witnessed the pull of grief upon his shoulders and facial features.

He stood up to lead us in the morning message and revealed a level of integrity to faith and the love of God that has clung to me and proves to be an example of loving trust beyond what I have ever witnessed. He revealed he had lost his son suddenly and shared of the infant children that had also passed into glory. He shared his questions, and the inability to comprehend the reasons for experiencing so much loss. He shared his heart in gentle revelatory boldness. Through his words he witnessed to the beauty of his soul. A loving man, a Christian man, a man of integrity. Despite all the loss and questions he remains faithful. A man of integrity. A man of God.

As we all journey forward and continue our path of life. What will we reveal? Will our lives be full of integrity and bold truths, or will we hide behind deceptive layers to impress others? Will we embrace our faith and struggle with our understandings of God in order to establish our theological foundations? Will we boldly share our center so others may also witness the honesty of life lived in faith and the struggles and questions we encounter? Will we love others enough to entrust them to who we are and share our pain? Will we live with integrity and faith?

As Yourself

I was quickly doing a morning Facebook check. Today there was a post about a woman who stood in a crowd blindfolded in a bathing suit. While I found her beautiful, she struggled with loving herself. She leaned a chalkboard against her shins that asked anyone who struggled with self-acceptance and body acceptance to draw a heart on her skin.

I think of standing there myself open and vulnerable to the judgement of others. I cannot imagine the fear and doubt that would rise within me. We are so quick to make assertions from what we see, and not what we know. We fail to see each other, much less ourselves, as God’s creation. A work of art that took nine months of work 24/7. The masterpiece of the master.

Amy stood there for almost an hour and became covered in hearts and encouraging words. She was hugged and loved through her vulnerability. As Christians we forget that we are always loved through our vulnerability. Just like a little girl takes for granted the loving remarks of a parent on her beauty, we also disregard the messages of our heavenly father. We are told to love God with all we are, all we have, and work to love better every day. That love includes our neighbor, and ourselves.

I pray today that we can all remember we are all masterpieces of the master, a loving creation that is complex and beautiful because of all it contains. Amy is beautiful on the outside, but more so for her bravery, honesty, and vulnerability. May we come to love ourselves better every day and come to see ourselves as the artistry of God’s very hand. 

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