My friend and coworker. Lloyd, is sick. Not just kind of sick. Really sick. In the hospital in Indy sick. Scared everybody sick.
Someone asked me today if he is out of the woods. I wanted to say yes.
I didn't think I could. I think we are all 'in the woods.'. This week some crazy guy got all worked up and convinced a few people that the Rapture was going to happen on Saturday. A lot of people joked about it ithe circles I inhabit. A few kids got anxious.
Saturday came and went, and we are still here. Well, most of us are. Some people did die that day, and others on Sunday, more tomorrow. We each have our own personal Raptures. None of us is out of the woods.
That is what makes Christ's death and resurrectdion such good news, isn't it? We are going to go through it, and we will be fine. Death is not the end of the world, it is not even the end of our lives. We can trust this. The more we spend time with God, the morer the Spirit is able to reassure us. The more assured we are, the less we fear. The less we fear, the freer we are to love and risk and try.
Lloyd is improving daily, and I am glad. His life is stronger than the illness.
And when the woods beckons, when our bodies can't quite make it anymore, God is still good. Love never ends.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Circle of Affirmation
Upward Basketball is for kids, but it also trains parents. On the first night of practice, the coaches gathered us around and taught us about the 'Circle of Affirmation' as opposed to the 'Circle of Criticism.' In Upward, we cheer for everyone who does something well, regardless of whose team they are on. Refs and coaches all volunteer their time, so they are encouraged and lifted up, not yelled at and criticized. There's competition, but if one team has too few players, someone volunteers from the opposition to 'switch sides' for that one game, so everyone can play.
Bobby Knight would not be pleased, I am sure, but it seems to me a good way to do life (which, in my opinion, is the only real reason to have basketball in the church).
Upward parents are instructed to operate out of the Circle of Affirmation in games. Isn't that a great place to be in life? That doesn't mean being dishonest or dishing out false flattery. In fact, to avoid being critical, it would be important to go directly to the person I have a problem with and deal with any conflict, rather than criticize them (often to others).
Life in the Circle of Affirmation is not some fakey positive thinking that disregards the reality of the world. No matter how encouraging I am, or how I refrain from criticism, bad things will still happen and there will still be conflict. But really, how much criticism is really needed in the world? Most of the time, criticism is an attempt to control what's not really mine to control. Justice is good, but how often, really, do the words of judgment or criticism I offer actually do justice? Not very. This is a very light way to live, letting go of trying to control or manage others, trusting God to work and 'fix' things, rather than thinking I need to make it all well.
I'm living in the Circle of Affirmation. That will require extraordinary amounts of prayer, I am sure, both for strength to live there and to confess when I step outside the bounds. So I will pray, but not only for me. I want my home, the church I serve, the school where I tutor and my kids attend, all of it, to be in my Circle of Affirmation. Even if others live in a different circle.
I'm excited - it is a beautiful place to live.
Bobby Knight would not be pleased, I am sure, but it seems to me a good way to do life (which, in my opinion, is the only real reason to have basketball in the church).
Upward parents are instructed to operate out of the Circle of Affirmation in games. Isn't that a great place to be in life? That doesn't mean being dishonest or dishing out false flattery. In fact, to avoid being critical, it would be important to go directly to the person I have a problem with and deal with any conflict, rather than criticize them (often to others).
Life in the Circle of Affirmation is not some fakey positive thinking that disregards the reality of the world. No matter how encouraging I am, or how I refrain from criticism, bad things will still happen and there will still be conflict. But really, how much criticism is really needed in the world? Most of the time, criticism is an attempt to control what's not really mine to control. Justice is good, but how often, really, do the words of judgment or criticism I offer actually do justice? Not very. This is a very light way to live, letting go of trying to control or manage others, trusting God to work and 'fix' things, rather than thinking I need to make it all well.
I'm living in the Circle of Affirmation. That will require extraordinary amounts of prayer, I am sure, both for strength to live there and to confess when I step outside the bounds. So I will pray, but not only for me. I want my home, the church I serve, the school where I tutor and my kids attend, all of it, to be in my Circle of Affirmation. Even if others live in a different circle.
I'm excited - it is a beautiful place to live.
Monday, December 1, 2008
rain in the desert
Every time we go to Arizona it rains. No kidding. We are considering a proposal to the Arizona government - they pay our airfare, and we will come out anytime they need relief from drought.
Of course, it might not be us. The rain in Arizona might happen when we are there because we usually go in their winter (such as it is there).
In Arizona, they bless the rain. Cloudy days are a rare treat to be savored. They build fires, snuggle up on the couch with a book and a blanket, and even forego golf (while all the tourists are out in their tank tops and shorts). Or, like one valet we met, they dance in the rain, enjoying every drop of what they know will disappear all too soon.
I'm pretty sure the rain wasn't our fault (or our gift, for that matter). Hopefully I will remember not to take the snow, or the many other inconviences of winter, so personally. Life happens. I hope I can snuggle or read or dance. I hope you can, too.
Of course, it might not be us. The rain in Arizona might happen when we are there because we usually go in their winter (such as it is there).
In Arizona, they bless the rain. Cloudy days are a rare treat to be savored. They build fires, snuggle up on the couch with a book and a blanket, and even forego golf (while all the tourists are out in their tank tops and shorts). Or, like one valet we met, they dance in the rain, enjoying every drop of what they know will disappear all too soon.
I'm pretty sure the rain wasn't our fault (or our gift, for that matter). Hopefully I will remember not to take the snow, or the many other inconviences of winter, so personally. Life happens. I hope I can snuggle or read or dance. I hope you can, too.
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