Dimensions

Going against the first rule of public communication, "never start with an apology," I start out apologizing for the possible randomness of this post. I have several things on my mind, and I am fairly certain they may not be related. I have said before that my mind is sort of like a pinball machine bouncing from here to there, and often times once I have "hit the lever" I have no control over where my thoughts bounce.

  For the past several days, my mind has often hit on thoughts about a friend who was killed in an automobile accident last week. It is probably a stretch, at this point, to say she is a friend, as over the last many years I have seen her infrequently, and only by chance. She lived in the dorm room next to me my freshman year in college. She attended my high school's rival. She was funny and fun with a sweet, sweet spirit.  I remember us making up a line dance in the dorm hallway to Temptations tunes.  We were always laughing when Darlene was around.

She was going to eat and shop with her daughter and two granddaughters, ages 2 years and 2 weeks. Someone crossed over the line and hit them head on. My friend died quickly, her 2 year old granddaughter survived for a few days before she died as well. Her daughter is seriously injured but is expected "to recover." The two week old is fine.

I put "to recover" in quotations because I have to wonder how one recovers from such tragedy. From all indications, however, this family will recover. They have a deep and abiding faith in a good God who loves and watches over them.  Despite all the apparent evidence otherwise, this family still believes and trusts in a God who loves and watches over them. They do not believe this God just slipped up and failed them. They do not know how, or why, or when they will "recover," but they know who. They trust that this God, that to others seemingly failed them, has not failed, and is actively working in their lives, loves and cares for them, and will see that they "recover." 

These are the people who enhance the reputation of God.  They have not simply studied, they are in an intimate and difficult place with their Creator, and while they may be angry, paralyzed with grief, suffering unspeakable loss, they choose to believe and trust...and so, they will recover.    

A friend commented that someone was a one dimensional thinker.  What he meant was, that person cannot think about thorny nor simple matters of life in any way other than the way she has  always thought about them.   I suspect about a lot of things I should say, "I resemble that remark."  Having one's made-up-mind challenged is very uncomfortable.  I sat in a class this past week, and truly thought my head might explode from all the dimensions of thought.  It challenged me in the deepest ways.  It was a great class.  The teachers are excellent, but I did not leave there with a comfortable feeling that I had things worked out, and "aren't I doing well!"  I left there with a "God help me, I do not know what I am doing."  Fortunately, I do believe that God will help me, and while I may still not know what I am doing, it will be okay.

A lot was said in that class about our being ministers of reconciliation.  I hear that term tossed out a lot in my circle of believers.  I can look up the word minister in my dictionary - "any person or thing thought of as serving as the agent of some power..." and reconciliation - "to make friendly again," and try to conclude what people mean when they claim to be ministers of reconciliation, or that we, as believers, should be ministers of reconciliation.  There is evidently a lot of leeway in translation.  The teacher of my class (my interpretation of his comments) I think means we, by the way we live and reflect Jesus in this world, are to "make friendly again" God for a hurting world; to reflect a God of  inclusion rather than a God of exclusion, to be agents of "a new earth," as it is meant to be.  I have other friends who (my interpretation of their comments) mean that it is our job as believers to make sure everyone knows what they need to do to be reconciled to God, and just a whole lot of people are not making the grade, and it is best to avoid them.  I think the former thought is a better reading.  Say all the words and spout all the theology one wants, the Bogue family, exhibiting  faith in the midst of great tragedy, are the greater ministers of reconciliation.

We have a button at our house.  Mr. Lincoln got it at a seminar.  It is a red circle with a red slash crossing out the words, "That's the way we've always done it!!"  Truly, I think "that's the way we've always done it" is the poorest reason for doing anything.  Of course, if it is a tried and true way, that is another story, but just because it is how we have always done it is really a pretty ridiculous reason for following a course of action.  I think that is true of how we think as well.  I know people who just toss good things out of their lives because of a few flaws.  They focus on the hurts that have been caused and totally dismiss the blessings of the thing.  Without investigation, they assume that others just never change.  I know people who do something they do not really want to do because someone else might have suggested a different way, and, by golly, "nobody is going to tell me what to do!"  I wonder why they cannot see that their desire to defy and not be controlled has total control over them.  It is a conundrum.

The random thoughts of a pinball sort of mind.  If you are a prayerful person, add the Bogue family to your list, and a tiny little girl (God knows who she is) trying to recover from a heart transplant, and who is struggling mightily.  One of the greatest minsters of reconciliation I know is a man who claims to not believe in God, but he is a dedicated reconciler - he is often "making friendly again" those upon which others would despair.  I love him.

Have a blessed day...