Category: Random Thoughts

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Winter Awakening

GRBSP-19 A few months ago I was journaling about how I felt that my soul was in a cold, dark time of winter hibernation. In a sense I was living off my spiritual reserves. I was alive but like winters in Minnesota there were really no external signs of life. There were, are parts of me that really enjoy this time alone with myself and God but it is not healthy to continually be in this dormant state.

Spring seems to have arrived for my soul. The stirring of the Spirit, the prayers of others, and simply the passage of time has led to this rebirth of my soul. I have started to send green shoots up into the sky – a tweet here, a brief blog post there – announcing that I am once again alive. Alive is not the word, I have always been alive, rather words like awake, aware, present, or active perhaps better describe my state now.

GRBSP-21Like the picture of the flower about to bloom, it is still not summer, but it is simply a matter of time before I will be in full bloom again. I can’t wait to see what this seasons blossoms will look like.

 

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My Path

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG)

Dirt path with rootsThis is one of the sections of Scripture that is foundational to the beliefs and values that I model my life after. In many translations verse six say “and he shall make your path straight.” As I have been on a personal retreat these past couple of days reflecting on this verse has caused me to ponder on a couple of things.

First, our part in this verse involves two dos and a don’t. We are to trust God with all our heart and to listen to or acknowledge him in all we do. We are not suppose to solely rely on our own understanding. Second, God’s part or God’s promise is a straight path or keeping us on track.

I am entering my 53 year of walking upon the earth. The last 33 or so have been as a follower of Christ. There were times when I followed closely and other times when I wandered away. If I thought about it long enough I am sure that I could trace my closeness or distance to God directly to how well I was living out my dos (trust & acknowledgement) and my don’t (my own understanding). The thing that makes me stop and wonder though is the path that I am on. If I look at it from one perspective (mine) it certainly doesn’t look to straight.

I often joke about the fact that I’ll just keep going to school until I figure out what I want to be when I grow up – talk about an eclectic educational resume…
AAS (water/waste-water technology) —> BS (environmental science) –> MS (environmental studies) –> MA (theological studies) –> Certificate (post-secondary teaching) –> DMin (spiritual formation). My work resume is just as eclectic – public works, TA, historic site guide, researcher, teacher/administrator, itinerant preacher, pastor, tech guru, instructional technologist. This educational and work pattern spells out the last 35 years of my life. Now I ask you would you call this a straight path?

From my perspective this has simply been an eclectic adventure through life. But from God’s perspective it has been about relationships, disciplining (both receiving and giving), equipping, learning to trust, seeing God provide, and stepping out in faith. Every step that has been part of this adventure I can point out examples of how God was there guiding my steps, making my path straight. But those stories will have to wait for another time.

What I want to leave you with today is the question “How has God been making your path straight or how has he been keeping you on track?”

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A Walk In The Woods

Yesterday I had to drop my son off at UMD for an honors band festival so I thought I would take the opportunity to do a little hiking on the North Shore (Minnesota’s “coast” on Lake Superior). I spent about 5 hours hiking in Tettegouche State Park. I had two goals, take some nice pictures and spend some time with God.

My pictures ended up being about birch bark and pine cones (it was a macro-photography day) and my conversation with God took any number to paths.

As happens often my mind wander from the beauty surrounding me, the noise of the river crashing over the numerous falls and ripples to the quiet of the woods once I left the river valley. As I thought about these three things – surroundings, noise and quiet I couldn’t help but compare it to my journey through life of late.

One thought that came to me was that I haven’t been doing a good job living out one of my key beliefs – loving God. As I pondered this I came to see that lately I have been consumed by my surroundings – work, family, life, etc and by the “noise” this has brought into my time with God. I have been spending time with God but I haven’t been able to listen well, to be fed by the time.

As I left the river behind and entered into the north woods I was able to hear a lot of the sounds that were masked by the river. I have come to see that I need to readjust my daily and weekly routine so that I can get away from the “noise” and in so doing be in a better position to hear God, to be refreshed by God, to love God.

I’ll be spending the next few day figuring out a new rhythm of life to once again center my life on God so that I am better able to serve others.