Dandelions

I think one of the main differences between kids and grown ups is that kids think dandelions are flowers. Go into any home with kids in the summer and you'll see vases and kitchen counters over flowing with those little yellow weeds. Kids have the ability to look at something that is so common and so wide spread, and still see it as beautiful. As a flower, not a weed.

Jesus says that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven we need to be like a little child. And so maybe we need to start looking at the dandelions and seeing flowers again. Maybe we need to look at blank wall and see a canvas. Maybe we need to see the tree in the backyard as a tower to another world.  Maybe we need to look at a stranger as a friend.

We need to see the ordinary as beautiful again.

Because when we see the ordinary as beautiful, something extraordinary happens: everything becomes beautiful. And yes there is still mess and chaos and disaster and hurt and pain and hate and injustice and abuse and evil, but if we're looking through the lens of the child there is more beauty than pain, and more life than death, and more love than hate, and more good than evil. Beauty is greater when we walk into it and become a part of it. Beauty is greater when we see our own smallness and the bigness of everything else.

Let's go find a field of dandelions. Let's lay in it for a while and make animal shapes out of clouds. Let's blow the dandelions seeds into the wind and make a wish. Let's wish for peace and wholeness. Let's wish for love and justice. Let's wish that the name of Jesus would be known across the world. And let's go make those things happen.

Let's walk with Jesus to see how he's already putting the world back to perfect wholeness.

Work in us God,
Help us to see dandelions as flowers.

Matthew 18:1-5
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."

But our Lives as Well

1 Thessalonians 2:6-8

We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

But our lives as well. What does this mean?

I think sometimes it's easier to share the gospel and simply tell someone that God loves them than it is to share the messiness of our lives with them. I think that what Paul is getting at here is that it takes love to let someone into our lives enough to actually see gospel grace being played out in every day life. To love at all is to be vulnerable as C.S. Lewis said, and what could be more vulnerable that sharing our lives as well with the people we share the gospel with. And Paul does this with delight. He's humble. He's not looking for glory and acknowledgement, he's just trying to love these people like Jesus does. 

But our lives as well. How do we do this?

Maybe we need to meet up for coffee with that person in the back row at church. Maybe we need to say hello to the person sitting on a bench on the street day after day. Maybe we need to buy a kid some ice cream when they ask for a pack of smokes. Maybe we need to cry with our best friends. Maybe we need to laugh with a stranger. 

We need to give up our lives for these people. We need to give up everything for these people who have heard "Jesus loves you" from the mouths of dozens but have never really felt that love in action. We need to let our hearts break. We need to recognize our brokenness and then we need to love with our lives. And we can't do this unless God's in this. 

Not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 

Because we loved you so much.

Done like Dinner

I am finally done my second year of post-secondary education, first year of college.

Winner, winner chicken dinner.

Things I've learned:

1. Do random fun things with fun people.
Some of my best memories of this year have been saying yes to weekend concerts with no guarantee of actually getting tickets, playing hide-and-seek-tag at 1am, and going on late night star gazing adventures. It's good to have a game plan, but sometimes you've got to throw away the clip board and just do it. Random things are the best things. Random things give me life.

2. Play outside.
God made the outdoors!! Let's play in it! Life's so depressing indoors and there are trees and mountains that are waiting to be climbed! Also, studying improves 10000% after a good dose of mountain air.

3. Study hard.
Even if it's a class that you really hate if you dig really, really, really deep they'll be something that strikes you as interesting. Learning is hard, but learning is important, therefore, learning is fun. Learning is also what I am called to do at this particular moment of my life so I need to do it at 100%.

4. Love.
Every. Single. Human. Needs. Love. No questions. That is our mission outside and inside Bible school. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love till you can't breathe without loving, love without doubt, love without question, love without hesitation, love without judgement, love without thinking. Love until it becomes your very existence. Love until people can't look at you without feeling the love of God spilling out of you. Love everyone all the time.

5. Say yes.
As mentioned earlier, saying yes leads to adventure! Saying yes also leads to ice cream! Saying yes leads you beyond your zone of comfort, also known as "the comfort zone."
Say yes, be a winner.

6. Say no.
Sometimes, you can't be a winner because there's a thing called responsibility. And responsibility says "No, I need to study." Saying no also helps to balance the most important things in life and forces you to set priorities, which are important so you don't lose your head.
Say no, keep your head.

7. Don't say maybe so.
Indecision will get you nowhere in life. Be bold! Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Also, being indecisive is no help to the people planning crazy random things and need to know how many crazy random people will be accompanying them.

8. Trust God.
This year was a leap of faith. I didn't know if it was going to work out. Last August I almost cancelled and got a job so I could travel and do more stuff. But I just had this gut feeling that God wanted me in school. And I think I was right. I'm not saying that God wouldn't  have used travel to teach me really important things and lead me to really important people, but this year just felt right. Something clicked. And it worked. I was challenged and encouraged in the best ways possible. I got a taste of that abundant life Jesus talks about in John 10:10. And it's beautiful. Just reach out to God and let him lead you in his ways. They're good. His burden is easy and his yoke is light.
It's going to be ok.

So that's it. That is what I have learned. I'd say it's been a pretty successful year.