I was a little frustrated last week. I had multiple ideas for my blog, but one stood out to me. Could I remember it at the time of writing? No. Why? Because my brilliancy always comes during walks and runs. But amazingly enough, Friday morning through conversation, one term hit me like a ton of bricks bringing it back to life. So, here we are... About to speak of stew.
When I was in college in the introductory education class, the professor stuck out to me. He was insanely passionate about the educational world. So passionate, in fact, that he would come to tears without shame. That leaves an impression. This was a man that made a point of learning each student's name in the first week, go to sporting events and music events that his students were involved in, and just be seen in campus life. During this class, he decided to teach a valuable lesson. He reminded us that so many have said that America is a melting pot. But he argued against it. He believed that a melting pot didn't do us any good. In a melting pot something solid turns to liquid and blends with whatever else is to make something new. However, he said we are not a melting pot, but a stew. In a stew, the potatoes are put in and they stay as potatoes. The meat is still meat. The broth is, well, you get it. So why was I thinking about this recently? Well, like I said, good ideas come during walks and runs. I was walking through my neighborhood one afternoon and looking around. Some things that bother me, would not bother others. Some things that would bother others, would not bother me. I took this walk just days after being kept awake by the pounding bass of a neighbor's get together. That bass, bothered me. It bothered me that at 11:00 at night, I could not sleep because they wanted to boogy. I thought about yelling outside - Hey! People are trying to sleep! - but I'm sure the only people that would have heard it were the ones also trying to sleep. I thought about walking over and speaking to them, but I didn't know what good it would bring. I thought about calling the cops. Eventually it died down and I was allowed rest. I laid in bed wondering if someone else had gone over or called the cops. Did it only bother me?? In my neighborhood, there are over 600 houses. If the average house has 2.5 residents, that's 1500 people. In a community like that, there are bound to be issues. I have friends that have had the cops called for noise ordinances multiple times. Some would say, "Chill out. Have fun." Others would say, "It's rude. People are trying to sleep. People with young kids." I won't say where I land because there were times they needed to turn it down and times where it was fine. So I guess I'm in the middle. But it seems we have a pot of stew in our community. We have meat, potatoes, carrots, broth, and a whole bunch of spices. There's a thing about stew, though, that most chefs would know. Stews need to simmer and sit at a low heat for a long time. The flavors need to mix and become cohesive. But there are certain people that believe they aren't a part of this stew. They believe they are the chefs. They sit back and watch. Sometimes they turn the heat up and try to boil it, but that never ends up going well for anyone. And though stew needs a good stir every so often, we have many back behind the stove that believe it needs to be stirred quickly, and stirred often. These two "chefs" didn't put in the ingredients. They don't even know that it's stew on the stove. These two found aprons lying around and decided to made a mess. We know too many "chefs". These people believe they are helping in some way typically. But usually, they are trying to make things harder for others. At some point these people have felt the heat from the stove and decided they get the right to adjust the controls and stir the stew. Pot stirrers and boilers are looking to upset the stew. Maybe they have a chemical imbalance that makes them believe they have the right. Maybe they are just nasty people. But I bet right now you could name five people that have stirred the pot you're simmering in. Here's the greatest part. They are not the chefs. God is the chef that has put the stew together. And these sous chef wannabe's are trying to play God. They try to orchestrate elaborate schemes. They worry about answers and play out the scenarios in their mind's eye just hoping to get the reaction they want. They add some spices. They take out meat. They stir and stir with the heat on high. When you're in the pot, it can get a little crazy. But if you're like me, you sit back and wait for the Chef to arrive. He drives out those impostors and settles everything once again. While the pot stirrers are in the kitchen, we have a choice to make. We can attempt to be a higher chef, or just sit back until the real Chef comes in to take over. Too often pot stirrers and boilers continue to raise the heat and stir the pot because it worked at some point. If it worked that one time, it usually works a second. Then it simply becomes second nature. It's a part of them; an addiction they need to feed. When they don't get the reaction they are hoping for, they usually back down. If it happens continually, they will eventually stop. After all, standing over a hot pot stirring over and over again gets awfully tiring. We in this country, or even our own little communities, need to stop and realize that each one of us is just a simple ingredient being made into something bigger than ourselves. We just have to let the Chef work his way.
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We live in a difficult society.
We are over stimulated. We are desensitized. The days grow harder and harder with what looks like no end in sight for the future generations. I've had the privilege of reading some fascinating works of Old Testament times while reading the Old Testament. I found myself jealous. As usual, I was frustrated by the fact that the Israelites get the smoke and fire and jack things up while we are left with faith. (It can also make me feel more justified in my ability to sin.) Even a group that watched the miracles of heaven were able to be distracted from the pillar of fire that led them. It almost seems like things got harder from that point on. Now, we live in a world of walking on eggshells to not offend or puffing out our chests to claim what's ours and trying to find a happy medium between the two that both gives us a sense of worth and value without creating drama for others to live in and and and. When did we get like this? I know I'm going to speak out of turn here because every generation will have something to say, but I feel that the rapid expanse in technology has truly ruined our minds and our spirits. Let's take a trip down memory lane (what's left of it. Sometimes I feel like mine is under construction.) Cartoons used to be something else. I love the Flinstones scenes where anyone is running through a house. Over and over through three rooms on repeat. The longest houses ever. And sure enough if Barney did something dumb, Fred was there to bop him on the head. Or perhaps we should look to Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy, Yosemite Same, or any other of WB's beloved characters. The violence that could play out in just a few short minutes of cartoons. Death was unimaginable because they could all get blown up. The same could be said of Tom & Jerry. As time went on, parents cried out, "The violence!! These cartoons are teaching our children to shoot, hit, set off rockets, blah blah blah." Then the onset of video games came forth and took over the scene for violence while the WB took on wittier cartoons like Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and such. Something strange then came into our lives. Violent cartoons were being booed. Violent video games replaced them. And instead of the straight-up-hit-em-over-the-head-with-a-frying-pan violence we become infatuated with the battles in elements. My mother was slick in the early 90's. We weren't allowed to watch Captain Planet. Why? Because they called on the elements to "fight" whatever it was. At the time I was totally confused. Why wouldn't my mother want us to watch a show that taught us how to take care of the earth? It wasn't until I was older that I understood what she was flustered by. The elements of the earth are called upon by witches and others in the darkness. We are told to call upon the Lord, not the creation. The Bible even calls Satan the prince of the air, ruler of this world, angel of light. These terms are the same elements that things like Pokemon and Skylanders use to fight. And this is the scary part. I finally get it. I get why my mother was anti- Captain Planet. In our continual state of over stimulation, we are also desensitizing ourselves. What was once a clear message of violence -WHACK! - is now a subtle battle between good and evil with weapons that nobody even understands. It has been a slow and steady slip, but there it goes. The devil had his playground "teaching kids about violence." Please, we are human, we know violence from birth. It didn't take Elmer Fudd's shotgun to teach people how to gun down innocent lives. It's the heart of a man. Parents didn't want to take responsibility for raising their children so they blamed the cartoons. And the devil said, "Excellent." He started a different movement. He started on a new idea of combat. Random fights of made up animals. Yeah, Pokemon "in the wild" were always just wanting to live their lives in peace. Then "trainers" came and caught them and forced them to use their powers for their own purpose. The pokemon then became fighters. Oh my goodness there is too much to go through. I wish I could just show the similarities between it all. I wouldn't do it justice if I could. But this is where the battle lies. Violence or not, cuss words or clean, animated, human, whatever the variety of the items being taken in by children is sifted through the heart. And that should be a parent's domain until they are old enough to make those decisions on their own. This certainly is tricky. In the same home where Captain Planet was banned, Pokemon was watched. I don't know why, probably because my dad thought it was funny. Perhaps it was because my brother and I were older. Maybe it was because it involved these odd creatures. But at some point my mother didn't take a stand against it. Now it's my turn to be the mom and figure out what is okay for my kids. During a time where my son was introduced to Skylanders and becoming an addict, I sought council with my pastor's wife - also in charge of our children's ministry - also a dear friend of 15 years. I expressed my concern for the use of elements and she understood. She had the same come up with her boys. She offered the solution of teaching about how God created each element and what its purpose is in God's kingdom. Wow. Hold on. There is more there isn't there? I took it a step further. I taught my son about how Satan "has control" of this world until Christ's return. I told him everything I knew in the most honest yet easily digestible version. Because in the end, doesn't everything become renewed in Christ? There are slippery slopes everywhere you look. The problem is that what may be a slippery slope in my house, may be a solid rocky road for you, and vice versa. The issue is an issue of the heart. Look at alcohol. If I stick a glass of red wine between a recovering addict and a non-drinker, I'm going to have two very different reactions. And even within the realm of each of those persons, there are differences of the heart. The non-drinker may say, "If you want it, go for it," or they may say, "Don't touch it, it's evil!" In our overstimulated, desensitized world we have not only desensitized ourselves from potential harm, but also the Holy Spirit. The overstimulation of life tunes out the still small voice that tells us to walk away, or walk to. We are so focused on being anti-this and anti-that, that we miss the picture of being FOR something. So often the something we are not for are someones. This is a difficult society. We are pushed (continually) to stand and speak and give our opinions, but rarely are we pushed to move. We overstimulate ourselves and others only to desensitize ourselves to the needs of those around us. And with each item we begin a fight on, we often lose the heart of the issue before we see the battle won. If we bring it all back to the heart of God, we can change the world. I have been given a great opportunity to work on the hearts of my children, but also the hearts of my readers. Perhaps I have been reading too much of heaven (is there such a thing???) but I cannot help but fall in love with what is said over and over again. There will be restoration to this earth. Everything will be reclaimed for God and his purpose, and ours! I hear songs all the time that are sung by secular artists in the secular music world that are completely ordained by God. Words that come from scriptures, whether the writer and artist know it or not. Or even the inspiration that speaks to the souls of the hurting from the lyrics. Isn't that just an example of reclamation? Money is not evil. The love of money is the root of much evil. Perhaps pokemon are not evil, just the love of them. Or alcohol. Or books. Or whatever it is that stimulates our minds more than Jesus. Slow things down, and become more sensitive. See the world. Be in it, not of it. And search for hearts. Everyone remembers the line from the great 90's movie "Jerry Maguire." When Tom Cruise's character sees Renee Zellweger in the living room he tells her, "You complete me." And women across America swooned. From that point on, many teenage girls wanted men to complete them. Men have searched for the same. The problem is that at some point, a love interest will fail us and we will remain incomplete.
Well, unfortunately, our lives are not as easy as the movies make them out to be. We will forever be incomplete. There are pieces of ourselves that make us feel more whole. There are people that fill us up fuller than we were before. If you don't believe me you either don't have kids or your kids are terrible human beings, well, maybe you are the terrible human. Kids fill our hearts. Activities fill us. Not just our schedule, but our soul. I haven't danced since middle school, but I have begun dancing again (not just in my living room) and a part of me is restored. I can no longer sing the way I used to (not that I was that great to begin with) and I feel that piece of me dying. It's frustrating. We know how we should be to be whole, and yet it never lines up. Marriages are supposed to bring fullness in our lives, but even there we find faults and failures that take away from who we once were, or who we are meant to be. There will be times of feeling full to overflowing and times of emptiness seeking to fill us and renew us. You may be looking at this saying, "What a terrible idea?" Or perhaps you looked at the brief ideas above and said, "Naturally you cannot be full there." And yet, there is more to all of this than we are even seeing. If you are walking with God, you know that he is the only true sustainer. The marriage is depicted of what our relationship with God should be within the church. He sends us the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, and intercede, among other things. So why aren't we feeling complete? Since Adam and Eve decided to try a particular fruit to gain knowledge, we have had sin. Yes, their eyes were opened, and now we can never close ours. There is a deep and profound longing to get away from this earth and sin. Our souls long for this peace that never seems to come. Even Paul wrote that he would rather die in his flesh to see the Father face to face, but he endures his earthly life for those in his surroundings. If the greatest apostle could want to get out of here, why wouldn't we? Humankind will never feel the full completeness until heaven is restored. Somewhere in our biblical studies we decided that heaven is in the clouds and unattainable until we perish in our earthly bodies. There are bits and pieces here and there that are in fact true. We do see Jesus ascending to the clouds. We will need to remove our flesh. But take a look at Jesus' prayer when he teaches the disciples to pray - Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Why would he pray for heaven to come to earth if we are supposed to go up to heaven? Hmm. Confounding. WE should be bringing heaven to earth. Every day is a battle. We can either sit and wait for our deaths and let everyone else have the fun, or we can get up and fight. Fight against the hell on earth to bring heaven on earth. Think of all the ways that hell is winning in these times - infidelity, sex trafficking, drugs, alcoholism, rebellion, starvation, persecution. How can we, right now, put out the flames of hell to bring heaven to earth?! Now, why don't we feel complete? Perhaps it is because completion cannot come until heaven is restored, earth is restored, and we are restored. And I do believe that we will feel more and more complete to our very core when we begin to bring heaven back to earth and walk with God in the restoration that will come at the trumpet blast. |
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May 2023
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