Tuesday, July 31, 2018
The Two Daughters
St.
Augustine once uttered this powerful statement:
“Hope has two beautiful daughters:
anger, at the way things are and courage, to work for change.”
Upon reading
it, my mind went first to the Serenity Prayer and then to how hope plays its
role in addiction and recovery.
“God grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
Indeed, hope
is not a neutral word. We have feelings about it, be they negative or positive.
And, maybe,
that is the first stumbling block. Perhaps we get tangled not in this word and
theory, but rather in its opposite representative: hopelessness.
“Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick...”
Proverbs 13:12
For many of
us, that is all we see concerning our addictions and our issues. And it
spotlights a larger spiritual challenge: we believe our own skewed perception,
rather than trusting in a higher authority. We entertain vain imaginations (2
Corinthians 10:5), erecting them as more powerful than the Most High’s
Divine Nature (Jeremiah 32:27).
Proverbs 26:12 nails it; we are conceited.
“Seest thou a man wise in his own
conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”
Still,
eventually, life comes a-calling, requiring we rouse ourselves from the complacency
and the self-defeating attitudes we possess concerning hope.
St.
Augustine’s quote may not directly manifest verbatim. More often, a direct
revelation slaps us instead:
“We’re sick and tired of being sick
and tired.”
Maybe we are
literally lying in a pool of our own sick. Maybe we’ve lost a passion for life.
Maybe we’ve had hard destruction show us just how much addiction steals and
kills.
But, part of
Divine Providence’s great love for us involves the startling, uncomfortable
wakeup call. And there is no longer any snooze button to press concerning
ourselves. We are forced to admit...
“For what I am doing, I do not understand...”
Romans 7:15
The hope
daughters, often nestled within the Serenity Prayer, show us we need to
approach a number of things, including our attitude toward hope itself,
differently.
First, we need to make the decision.
The crux of
much of this component’s complexity involves
the word, “grant.”
“God grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change...”
“Grant” conveys we have picked a perspective; it is a call to action. Only, here, in the prayer’s context, we are asking for Divine guidance to take the lead.
“Grant” conveys we have picked a perspective; it is a call to action. Only, here, in the prayer’s context, we are asking for Divine guidance to take the lead.
When we ask
“grant” in the Most High’s direction, it conveys we are decided His way is
better than ours and much-needed. Therefore, hope’s two daughters, solidify our
commitment to change and health instead of same-old, same old dysfunction and
disease.
All well and
good, unless we interrupt that with our disordered, stubborn selves and insist
on taking the decision back and sabotaging that single-minded decision.
“A double minded
man is unstable in all his
ways.”
James 1:8
And come on,
as addicts, this is natural and easy to do. For, whether or not we know it,
many of us are still fixated on the hopelessness.
One can
argue, I suppose, we are ADDICTED TO that hopelessness.
If things
are bleak, why even try? If things are only doom and gloom, why not slide into
oblivion with our beloved addiction? Nothing- and no one- else matters.
And it takes
conscious, deliberate, unpleasant work to confront and replace that.
If we insist
on remaining selfish, then, inevitably, we are here...
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder
and every evil thing.”
James 3: 16
James 3: 16
At first
glance, we may delude ourselves into thinking we are living the life. Yes,
things are exactly how we want them. Drunken stupors, binges, spending sprees,
reckless behaviors and irresponsibility may be fun for AWHILE, but there is a
price tag attached. And life is quite a collection agent. Sooner or later...
“...when it is full-grown, gives birth to
death.”
James 1:15
Death often
gets our attention. It doesn’t need to be the death of a person either. Death
can happen to anything, including potential, relationships, career, good health
and peace.
And, when
this death comes, the hopelessness, again, rears its ugly head, attempting to
convince us, of all things, Elohim is responsible, not us.
Pretty
audacious, huh?
We all
arrive at this misguided conclusion. Because it’s easier than being accountable
for our hearts, minds and subsequent decisions and actions.
Yet none of
that attitude will prevent spiritual truth. We are smacked with 1
Corinthians
14:33’s meaning.
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of
peace...”
However,
many of us, especially if we are struggling with addiction, can tend to view
this scripture as this...
“For God is not the
author of difficult, painful solutions, but of easy, pain and
change-free peace...”
We want a
different book, author and reality; we want our passive indulgence. We’re not
interested in, again, doing the work of hope.
But, until
we hang out with the two daughters, our lives will continue to slide into
further mess.
And, just
like life, where we don’t have to like every person, we don’t even have to LIKE
these two hope daughters. We don’t have to like “anger, at the way things are and courage, to work for change.”
But, if we
are “sick and tired of being sick and
tired,” then, we’re going to have to embrace this conclusion...
We have to DO something differently
concerning what we both accept and change:
“...courage to change the things I
can...”
Addiction is
not courage; it’s fear. Addiction cowers from challenging life circumstances in
attempt to avoid the unpleasant truth. It hides, lies and denies.
“Uphold me according unto thy word,
that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.”
Psalms 119:116
We, as
addicts, need not be ashamed of that fear. But we are not exempt from facing
it. Courage is a skill.
We need to
decide and act upon Divine hope’s two daughters in our lives; and that takes
courage.
We are not
left alone in that pursuit.
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the
way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand, and whenever turn to the
left.’”
Isaiah 30:21
As far as
“the way” is concerned, it’s not as mystical as we’d believe it to be. Rather,
it is often the practical, unglamorous and unpleasant.
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon
precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”
Isaiah 28:10
It is such
things as a Twelve Step program, an accountability-oriented sponsor mentoring
our choices, unflinching therapy to address past trauma and, underscoring any
and all education and help avenues, our honest willingness to participate in
those “ways.”
Indeed, when
we “stop fighting our help,” an unexpected result often occurs: hope-filled
joy.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my
glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”
Psalms 16:9
Yes, rest
happens. The burden is lightened, as our unhealthy addictive behavior changes
enough to remove its destruction. Our Creator’s desired plans for us now have
more room in which to flourish.
But, again, here is a tricky thing concerning
even that rest: there is a work there. There is a decision and an effort we
need to execute.
“The eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
Ephesians 1:18
And so,
we need to piggyback on Ephesians’ instruction.
We realize we are not the only factor
in the equation (cue Divine Wisdom):
“... and wisdom to know the
difference.”
All roads lead back to our Source.
“O LORD, I know that the way of man
is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”
Jeremiah 10:23
The Almighty comes from a place of hope and
infinite possibility. For us, this is often easier said than it is lived.
Nevertheless, hope’s two daughters challenge
us with action, change, the unfamiliar and the dreaded “p” word: patience.
“But if we hope for that we see not,
then do we with patience wait for it.”
Romans 8:25
Motivational anger and its wisdom show us
there is more to who and where we are now.
“...anger, at the way things are...”
Divine discontent keeps us growing toward the
fuller human beings we are created to be. Addiction stunts that process. And,
of course, Elohim is not about stagnation.
Therefore, our Creator, wanting our ultimate
good, will work with- and in spite of- imperfect circumstances.
“... and courage, to work for
change.”
He will specifically create learning labs
which work to improve our lives and enhance the blessing He wants to give to us
individually.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go:
I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalm 32:8
We all need to challenge and change our
associations with and approaches to hope.
What many of us already believe about it is an
effortless, passive reality. We don’t connect the dots between hope and decided
effort on our part.
We just, somehow, hope that hope will manifest
automatically, easily and magically fix things.
But this is unrealistic. Yes, hope is a
wonderful blessing. But it is not far removed from a scripture most of us never
consider:
“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work.”
Exodus 20:9
It’s not to promote rigid legalism. Rather, we
need to remember hope, recovery and healthy attitudes and choices are ALL daily
habits. They don’t just arrive on their own. We need to do our part in the
process.
If we choose to engage in this process, it is
simply a matter of time before we realize St. Augustine was spot on about
hope’s two daughters: they are, indeed, beautiful.
Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse
One Hundred Years in Hell
“Let all things be done decently and in
order.”
1 Corinthians 14:40
Internet
surfer that I am, I recently came across a meme which could be described as a
drama queen’s motto:
“I don’t want to be overdramatic. But
today felt like a hundred days in hell.”
Yes, within
the faith community, it is often agreed eternal torment is some kind of
reality, even if it is beyond our finite minds.
Nevertheless,
we do ourselves a large disservice to ignore our own self-created and contained
versions of this most unpleasant torture. For indeed, even those pious Christian
versions of us need to admit something hardly “Christ-like” or flattering. Sometimes
we like to create our own little Hells. And then we further enjoy tossing
others- and ourselves- INTO them.
This reality
can be the adjunct to our addictive natures. Or, more disturbingly, this can be
the addiction all on its own.
Let’s begin
with, perhaps, the easiest Hell of the three we’ll explore: people.
“Hell is—other people!”
Jean-Paul Sartre, “No Exit”
Jean-Paul Sartre, “No Exit”
Hell is Others:
This gets
right to our blame focal point. In some circles, this person is called “The
Patsy” or “The Fall Guy.” Scripturally speaking, he/she is labelled even more
succinctly, if not more indirectly, as “The Scapegoat.”
“But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat,
shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat
into the wilderness.”
Leviticus 16:10
Ah, yes.
Where would we be in life, were it not for this wonderful creature? Leviticus
has all sorts of thoughts on the scapegoat.
“And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the
LORD at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;
one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall
bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on
which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the
LORD, to make an atonement with him, and
to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the
bullock of the sin offering, which is
for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and
shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself.”
Leviticus 16:7- 11
The blame
game has been in place for a lon-n-n-n-g time. Scripture points, I guess, to
our fundamental human need to affix blame outside of ourselves, in the name of
“making things right.”
We may not
acquire two bleating goats these days, but it is quite handy to have a person,
place or thing in mind which is the “reason” why we are miserable, struggling
or not what we deem we should be in life. Pin it on the scapegoat.
Only, upon
doing that, cliché reality alert, we avoid accepting any kind of responsibility
for OUR contribution to said mess/unhappiness.
What is the
familiar principle? Not forgiving someone is like drinking poison and expecting
the other person to die. It doesn’t happen. We can drink our scapegoat beverage
all day and still...nothing. We are not victorious; we are not happy. And that
scapegoat is still skipping around.
So, perhaps,
we ascertain then, we have constructed the wrong Hell to fulfill our lives. And
that leaves the door wide open for our next option...
Hell is Our Own Minds:
“Hell isn't other people. Hell is yourself.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Well, that’s
direct. But let’s go one step further...
“I believe I am in Hell, therefore I am.”
Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud
Scripture
reached that conclusion long before Rimbaud did.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so
is he...”
Proverbs 23:7
Self-fulfilling
prophecy (emphasis on “self”), speaks to the resemblance we, indeed, share with
our Creator by creating, well, anything.
And, unfortunately, I suppose, self-focused Hells are included in that.
Here, we confront
our addiction for self-pity. You have it; I have it. We all can wallow and
sometimes, that wallowing overtakes us to such a point where, yes, “we feel
like Hell.”
But, in all
of this “feeling like Hell,” some of us soon find ourselves deviating from this
torment to another, more nebulous form. Perhaps we do it because, come on, we
get tired of blaming ourselves and believing we are the rightful cause to every
agony that ever existed.
So, we look
for another, supposedly, less painful form of Hell to be marinate in.
Hell is Vague Other:
And, like
the many forms we fill out in life, we eventually check this “other” box
option. The amount of confusion, ridiculous desperation and embarrassing
shenanigans all ensue as we careen into the clueless unknown of vague Hell and why
we feel so bad in it.
Much of it,
not surprisingly, hinges on old favorites like jealousy, envy and the promise
of happily ever after disorder...
“We must picture hell as a state
where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement,
where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives with the deadly
serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.”
C.S. Lewis, “The Screwtape Letters”
C.S. Lewis, “The Screwtape Letters”
Or, as scripture
puts it...
“...envy
is rottenness to the bones.”
Proverbs
14:30
“For where envy and
self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”
James 3:16
And then,
sometimes, we just prefer not to answer the Hell question...at all. It’s just
this nonspecific, but still, legitimate, torment hounding us. We stall at
another unflattering location.
“A
land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any
order, and where the light is as darkness.”
Job 10:22
It is here
where we discover-or avoid- the truth we enjoy a painful dwelling place. This
reality, however, does not have our Heavenly Father as the Entity granting us
His Power of Attorney. Instead, it’s more like this...
“Ye are of your father the devil, and
the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a
lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
John 8:44
If that
doesn’t sting, it should, at least, make us squirm in discomfort. I know it
comes across as offensive, especially concerning those of us who are nice,
well-behaved, good Christian girls and boys out there. I don’t know of too many
believers who enjoy being called the devil’s spawn.
But again,
scripture cautions our overconfidence...
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he
does not fall.”
1 Corinthians 10:12
And, if our “Hell is Vague Other” demonstrates one
thing, it’s the delusional arrogance which demands our unrealistic expectations
be flawlessly and completely met BY that “other.”
(Setting-
ourselves- up- for- disappointment- launch- sequence activating in five, four,
three...)
“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are
never satisfied.”
Proverbs 27:20
There’s
nothing like the equation, entitlement plus unrealistic demand equals perpetual
frustration.
“What makes earth feel like hell is our
expectation that it should feel like heaven.”
Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk
I’ve often heard
the concept that The Most High sends no one to Hell; we, in fact, are the ones
to volunteer to go there ourselves.
Again, this
emphasizes the geographical place of eternal damnation. And, let’s face it, no
human being has a lock on that exact actuality.
But that
statement makes much more sense as it applies to our self-created Hells here on
earth. WE willingly sign up for any combination of these three types of torment.
That needs
to be remembered as, in our self-created Hells, we might be tempted to
believe/blame Elohim for “doing this to us.”
Oh, really?
How, then,
do we explain The Most High of 1 Corinthians 14:33?
“...not the author
of confusion, but of peace...”
Or, The Most
High of Numbers 23:19?
“...is not a man, that he should lie...”
And, come
on, what do we come back with concerning
Acts 2:27?
“Because thou wilt not
leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
Are we more
interested in worshipping our own miseries instead of the Creator of all?
Are we
addicted to our self-made, excuse-endorsing Hells?
Are we so Hell-minded,
there is absolutely no room for The Most High to be involved in our lives?
We have to
get real with ourselves.
Is the
misery we’re experiencing conveniently pinned on some exterior torment
designation because we just don’t want to change anything in our lives?
Is our Hell-
of any variety- easier than doing the work of facing truth, changing our
disordered and addictive patterns and embracing accountability?
Yes, we have
an all-loving, all-knowing Creator and Father. That, however, still does change
another, just as real, Truth: we are given choice.
“... I have set before
you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your
children may live.”
Deuteronomy 30:19
Are we
choosing our Hell, choosing to stay in it for any length of time, all because
it’s more desirable than dealing with reality?
We need to
answer those questions.
Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse
Are We All Cutters?
Are you a
“cutter” and don’t even know it?
Self-injury,
largely through the behavior of “cutting,” is often experienced, in tandem with
disordered eating.
But, I am
putting it out there, that almost all of us are affected with this harmful
condition in one way or another. Sound like an exaggeration?
How else do
you explain the many self-inflicted, tormenting thoughts, words or deeds we
engage in, on a daily basis.
Have you ever been on a diet? Have
you ever said to yourself or others, “I’m too fat?”
I have come
across many young people who are “cutters.” They often use razor blades and any
sharp instrument for bloodletting. I have also seen, unfortunately, some
graphic images of females taking scissors and knives to themselves, trying to
cut their self-determined fat away from their bodies.
And, in the
diet/fitness industries, doesn’t this sound like that exact language used to
sell their products?
“Trim inches;” “Cut calories;” “Shed
excess pounds...”
We don’t see
knives or scissors, but the cutting away sentiment is there, all the same.
Furthermore,
it speaks to a more sinister aspect of this “removal,” beyond the punishment of
body weight and tissue. The dangerous promise asserts its goal: to cut away the
pain.
And this
leads me back to my initial premise: this “self-injury” is experienced by most
of us, in thought, word or deed.
We think we’re too much or not enough
of (fill in the blank).
We state our unworthiness, our
inherent need to be rejected based on our physicality or anything falling under
that domain.
We take action, often desperate,
Machiavellian action (i.e.: the crash diet, the vomiting, the laxatives, the
complete starvation) to achieve the cut away goal.
We do this
because we believe certain things about ourselves and our value.
“For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.”
Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34
Part of
those beliefs embraces our own take on the cutting mentality.
We may never
take a sharp object to ourselves and draw blood. But our attitudes frequently demand
some stripping, some sculpting or some atoning. This is where disordered
eating, image, diet and exercise issues enter.
We believe disappearing and/or
lessening ourselves makes life “better.”
We believe we deserve to be cut
because we are occupying too much space in life.
We need to pay the price. “Sacrifice”
insists things will only be better when we do this.
However,
concerning these dictates, The Most High sees us differently than we see do.
For as much
as sacrifice and repentance are, indeed, in scripture, these tenets are
dramatically different than ANY of our cutting “imaginations.”
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
Scripture
contradicts the torment of the cutting or self-injury mentality. It challenges
us to strip ourselves of any harmful thought because, quite simply, a harmful
thought is not a Divine thought.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my
ways, says the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any
marks upon you: I [am] the LORD.”
Indeed, Leviticus
19 has less to do with oppressive legalism and more to do with our ultimate
loving Father not wanting us to hurt ourselves.
“Since you were precious in my sight… I have loved you…”
Isaiah 43:4
And make no
mistake about it, “cutting/self-injury” certainly hurts us, beyond the physical
body.
The harm also
comes in our lack of reverence for our wonderful physical, mental and spiritual
vessels...
“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which
is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
1 Corinthians 6:19
1 Corinthians 6:19
Diet and any
other punishing equivalent equal desecration, ergo, vandalism of the Temple. We
would believe it to be a despicable thing to, for instance, go into a house of
worship, destroying its contents.
How much
more, then, is it horrifying and heartbreaking for us to destroy, essentially,
ourselves?
We need to cut
away the lies we’ve learned and convinced ourselves of over the years. We need
to cut away the severe self-punishment, banishment, isolation and demands with
which we place upon ourselves, all in the name of achieving some idolatrous
image.
Yes, “cutting”
and all manner of “self-injury” are, indeed, real conditions. Discussing the
broad range of self- destructive tendencies does not minimize this painful
reality.
Rather,
promoting awareness illustrates just how far our harmful dysfunctions can extend
in each of us, if we’re not cognizant of that destroying potential.
And it’s a
further reminder to not confuse the will and desire of our Creator. The
Almighty does not wish to hurt us...
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the
Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
His thoughts-
and His love for us- include no “self-harm.”
Copyright © 2018 by
Sheryle Cruse
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Celebrating Our Peculiar Selves
Scripture
tells us we are to be a peculiar people:
“But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9
And, most of
the time, that doesn’t seem to stack up well against our limited definitions of
beauty.
Yes, we have opened up more variance with
image, reflecting multicultural, unique features. Still, we often seem to like
to fall back on what is widely known, accepted and comfortable. Ergo, for
example, tall, thin, blue eyes, blonde hair, on Caucasian skin tones.
Yet,
scripture, once again, gives us a blanket assessment of our value and yes, our
inherent beauty:
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
There are no
qualifiers; there is no preference given concerning a hierarchy.
“…‘God
is no respecter of persons.’”
Acts
10:34
There is
only the definitive assurance we are spectacular.
I like
Charles Bauderlaire’s statement on beauty.
“Beauty always has an element of
strangeness...simple, unintended unconscious strangeness which gives it the
right to call it beauty.”
Beauty
transcends cultural image. It’s about the surprise element. It’s about the
unusual, the rare, that thing we cannot put our finger on which attracts us.
The “je ne sais quoi” of it all.
We don’t
appreciate that “je ne sais quoi” element nearly as much as we should. Yet,
come on. The Most High, in all of His Glory, revels in that enigmatic concept.
And we are
made IN His Image:
“So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them.”
Genesis 1:27
Each of us
needs to challenge the beauty definition presented to us.
What are the judgments in that
definition?
What are the restrictions?
The entitlements?
The punishments?
There’s more
going on concerning the question/statement of beauty, a/k/a, acceptance, than
just an aesthetic.
The Most
High created beauty, certainly. But He didn’t create it to be a weapon used
against His Creation.
Sadly, we are the ones who do that.
In this
world, it seems we cannot avoid the power of the beauty image. It exists as a money
maker, a political tool, an oppressive weapon and unfortunately, yes, a teacher
of lies...
“What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath
graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work
trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood,
Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with
gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.”
Habakkuk 2:18-19
And all of
these factors are to the detriment of anyone deemed “peculiar,” in any way.
We need to
look beyond the surface of image, beauty and appearance.
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
What do
those things truly mean to and for
us?
And, while
we’re searching, we would benefit from keeping another helpful scripture in
mind on the subject matter:
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good...”
Genesis 1:31
The
determination is “good,” no matter if it...
...is strange...
...is unfamiliar...
...is different...
...is unexpected...
...is unlike the accepted image
definition of the culture and time...
...is peculiar...
Again...
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good...”
Genesis 1:31
We need to
get over ourselves already.
We need to
stop clinging so tightly to some mandated, unrealistic, unhealthy image
definition of what makes us beautiful, valuable, acceptable and “enough.” We
are all of those things inherently. Nothing needs to be added.
Instead of
punishing what isn’t “cookie cutter” about us, what if we celebrated it?
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
That’s a
celebration worth attending.
Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Friday, July 20, 2018
Marco Polo
When I was a child, I once had a
nightmare which sent me sleepwalking…all the way outside. That’s right, even
though I had no memory of doing so, I got up in the middle of the night, put on
my coat, mittens and boots (Minnesota winter, mind you), opened my front door
and walked down to the barn. From there, while still in my dream state, I
hollered for my mother, convinced I was completely alone, in the middle of
nowhere. Eventually, my mother came outside, wondering (and yelling back) what
all of the fuss was about. That finally woke me up to enthusiastically respond
to her voice. At last, at long last, I was reunited with my familiar
surroundings. I was no longer hopelessly lost.
Middle of nowhere. Anybody out there
feel that’s where they are?
When we’re kids, we often play the
game, Marco Polo. It’s basically a game of tag, with the “it” person” left to
wander, without their sight, seeking the other game players. Tag, you’re it;
that’s the objective. It’s often played in swimming pools. And originally, the
game started from the chronicles of Mr. Marco Polo, himself:
“And I was swept down by the mighty torrent. I was snagged by a fallen tree
a ways downstream. My father and uncle could not see me, as the morning fog had
not yet lifted, and I could not see my hand when directly in front of my face.
Then I heard a faint whistle in the wind, ‘Marco! Marco!’ I heard my father
crying. I responded with the only thing I could think of, ‘Polo!’ I shouted. He
then walked the bank of the river and found the tree I had been snagged on,
climbing out to save me." - Marco Polo, from, “The travels of Marco Polo, Volume 1.”
So, it also was concerning my bad
nightmare. I was shrieking Marco Polo for a rescue from my lost condition.
And how many of us play Marco Polo
with God? I suppose that game goes all the way back to “in the beginning” kind
of stuff. Genesis 3:8-9 tells us about a hide and seek game involving
Adam, Eve and God. The only problem was Adam and Eve didn’t want to be found.
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden
in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence
of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called…‘Where art thou?’”
It gets worse from there, as, in
Genesis 3:10-13 a blame game replaces the hide and seek.
And, after distributing some consequences (Genesis 3:14-19),
God kicks them out of Paradise (Genesis 3:23-24). Wonderful.
Marco?
Eviction.
And we’ve heard about the lost sheep
parable…
“Suppose one of you has
a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the
open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds
it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I
have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same
way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than
over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Luke 15:4-7
That’s
a better end than the Eden eviction, I suppose. But still, when it comes to
answers for our lives, what about you and I? Are we playing a game of Marco Polo with God?
Life, inevitably, causes each of us to
go off course, to get lost…
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to
his own way...”
Isaiah 53:6
Again
with the sheep? Great. It’s not looking too bright for us, is it? Are we
destined then to only be lost and hollering “Marco,” while getting no answer of
“Polo” from God? Is it hopeless?
After all, scripture tells us we don’t know what we’re doing…
“…the way of man is not in himself: it is not
in man that walketh to direct his steps.”
Jeremiah 10:23
More great news. So, are we left to fend for ourselves? No. God’s
faithful enough to remind us of His guidance:
“I will instruct you
and teach you in the way you should go: I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalm 32:8
What if, however, our experience doesn’t show evidence of that? Maybe
we need to ask ourselves, “who’s saying ‘Marco’ and who’s saying ‘Polo?’” Maybe
God’s waiting on us.
“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me,
saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Jeremiah
31:3
Feeling drawn? If you’re searching for answers to your life, then, yes,
I’d say you’re feeling drawn by God. God’s asking you, “Marco?”
“Also I heard the voice of the
Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’...’”
Isaiah 6:8
What’s your response?
“...Here am I;
send me.’”
Isaiah 6:8
Is that it? Or is it more like “my way?” instead of ‘Polo?”
We like our own way, don’t we? But scripture lays out the whole issue
when Jesus taught us to pray…
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10
Somehow, we don’t jump up and down with Marco Polo enthusiasm about
that concept. We tend to often want our will done instead of God’s.
Remember…
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to
his own way...”
Isaiah 53:6
Great. Again with the sheep! How’s a sheep supposed to play Marco Polo
with God in the first place?
Answer? Perhaps by letting the shepherd be the shepherd? The 23rd
Psalm says it best. Check it out:
“The Lord is my
shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a
table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.”
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.”
It’s God’s response to our lost state, our stress, our confusion. Will
we let the Lord be our shepherd or not?
What do you say? Marco? Or Polo?
Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse
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