Répondez s'il vous plaît - RSVP

 

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

In the preamble to Prayer, Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard J. Foster gives us a glimpse into the heart of God, “He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him… He longs for our presence.” I am often too absorbed with busyness, accomplishing the next thing, doing something – anything – and then rewarding myself with some downtime, you know, like watching TV or burying my face in my phone. Too busy to spend time in his presence, talking to him, loving him.

Foster goes on to tell us, “And he is inviting you – and me – to come home, to come home to where we belong. To come home to that for which we were created. His arms are stretched out wide to receive us. His heart is enlarged to take us in.”

We receive invitations all the time for birthdays, weddings, baby and wedding showers, poker games. There is generally an RSVP request with contact information toward the bottom of the invitation. RSVP are the initials for the French phase, ‘Répondez s'il vous plaît’, basically meaning to please respond. The literal translation is ‘Respond, if it pleases you.’

Sometimes I get the sense that the host is begging me, “Please tell me you are coming.” “Please, please contact me at 555-555-5555 or by email at lovemybaby@rsvp.com or using the self-addressed stamped envelope.” They seem desperate for my attendance and are anxious to know if I am coming so they can prepare the house for me, have my favorite drink ready, and to make sure that I am comfortable and relaxed. I believe God wants our RSVP for all those things. Though it is more a longing than a begging.

How should I respond to God’s invitation? What is his chosen method for the RSVP? I need to respond with an open heart to Jesus Christ, his chosen contact and use the Holy Spirit to transmit my acceptance to join him. God’s invitation is not a ‘Regrets Only’ RSVP. If he doesn’t hear from me, he assumes I will not be joining him. If he hears from Me, I’ve already accepted his invitation.

It is important to allow time in a corporate worship service for each person to connect with God in prayer, to touch the hem of his garment in a way that allows power to go from Jesus to the believer. I believe this should be early in the service so that corporate worship and singing flows from a place of personal contact. We need the opportunity to RSVP before we jump into the party, otherwise we are just a part of the din trying to harmonize.

I listen for the invitation from time to time. Most often it is during walks, hikes, bicycle pedals, motorcycle rides, or floats when I have some solitude and I’m away from the requirements of social interaction. There is a meditation technique where I envision myself walking along until I find what I'm looking for. I have two such walks that are effective for me in my prayer/mediation life, such as it is. In one, I picture myself hiking in the Sierras, most times I am wending my way through the forest until I find myself hiking along a rushing stream tumbling down the hillside to spread itself through a meadow and into an alpine lake. At some point, I see myself walking with Jesus, talking as to a friend.

There are times that my meditation takes me up a set of switchbacks to a mountain pass where I hope to find the stream leading from the snowpack to the lake on the other side of the pass. When I find myself on this trail, I often come across a rockslide blocking the trail and I need to clear the rocks, some being large boulders. It is hard work to clear the path and I often fail at it. When this happens, my hope is that my work to clear the path has been an effective RSVP and that he will meet me in my labors.

Jesus himself, being fully God and fully human, shows us the need for prayer to connect to God and he practices the art to show us the way. Luke 6:12 tells us “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.” This is how Jesus prepared himself to deliver the Sermon on the Mount and gave us the beatitudes. Should we do any different to prepare us for our day?

Don’t forget to RSVP.

In His grip,

Jerry

Author’s note: After writing my first draft for this post, I went on a bicycle ride. I found it nearly impossible to hear the invitation or to make any meaningful connection. Even riding around the Rose Bowl and Brookside Golf courses where it is a relatively safe place to ride, there are too many things to think about – other cyclists, joggers in the roadway rather than in the pedestrian lane, cars, or golfers crossing the road between holes that feel no need to stop and look. Maybe I’ll get to the point where the pedaling is second nature and hearing and responding to the invitation is first nature…

The Fast That He Has Chosen

 

Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” American Standard Version

I had a hankering, a yearning, and I longed to take up a spiritual discipline I had sitting dusty on the shelf of underappreciated disciplines. I used to fast on occasion when I was hitched to particularly difficult tasks. It has been several years since I last undertook a fast to clear the way for the Holy Spirit but I’m in a place where I find that I am again in need of the discipline.

I turned to a couple of old friends, if you don’t mind me being so familiar with them. Dallas Willard and Richard J. Foster both wrote about the discipline of fasting. Dallas in his The Spirit of the Disciplines, Understanding How God Changes Lives and Richard J. in Celebration of Discipline, The Path to Spiritual Growth.

It is interesting to me that these men eschew the use of Dr. on their book covers and instead simply use their names. I have seen them both in person and their humility is worn about them like an old familiar sweater.

Dallas Willard is known for his writing on Christian spiritual formation and having had a focus on ‘phenomenology’, a study of the structures of experience and the consciousness. He says of fasting, “Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in him a source of sustenance beyond food. Through it, we learn by experience that God’s word to us is a life substance, that it is not food (“bread”) alone that gives life, but also the words that proceed from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4)”

Again, from Willard: “We learn that we too have meat to eat that the world does not know about (John 4:32, 34). Fasting unto our Lord is therefore feasting – feasting on him and on doing his will.”

And again, “Actually, fasting is one of the more important ways of practicing that self-denial required of everyone who would follow Christ (Matt. 16:24)"

In his Celebration of Discipline, Richard J. Foster quotes John Wesley: “Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it.”

Foster says, “Scripture has so much to say about fasting that we would do well to look once again at this ancient Discipline. The list of biblical personages who fasted reads like a “Who’s Who” of Scripture: Moses the lawgiver, David the king, Elijah the prophet, Esther the queen, Daniel the seer, Anna the prophetess, Paul the apostle, Jesus Christ the incarnate Son.”

There are a range of fasts: full fasts where we abstain from all food, solid or liquid, but not from water, partial fasts whereby we restrict the diet without total abstention (Daniel 10:3), and an absolute fast where nothing is taken in. For reference, these are people who fasted in the Bible: Esther in Esther 4:16 for 3 days, Paul in Acts 9:9 after his visitation, and Moses in Deut. 9:9 and Elijah in 1 Kings 19:8 for supernatural absolute fasts of 40 days.

For the most part, fasts are of an individual and personal nature. There are times when groups are called to fast such as the Day of Atonement for the Hebrews or when in 1756 the king of Britain called for a day of solemn prayer and fasting because of threatened invasion from France. Of this fast John Wesley writes, “The fast day was a glorious day, such as London has scarce seen since the Restoration. Every church in the city was more than full, and a solemn seriousness sat on every face. Surely God heareth prayer, and there will yet be a lengthening of our tranquility.” France did not invade.

In any case, group or individual, partial fast or complete or even absolute, we must remember one central tenet as Foster put it, “Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained.”

I have leaned on Foster for what I am thinking of as the process for fasting:

1.       Define your fast objectives. Outline whatever you hope to breakthrough on during your fast and define it but remain open to the Holy Spirit to redefine it.

2.       Jesus said in Matthew 6: 16-18, “¹⁶And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

3.       Define your fast parameters. What are you giving up and living on? How long will you fast? The following is a list of progressions to take for fasting. Figure out where you fit on the spectrum from beginner to ‘old-hand’:

a.       Begin with a partial fast of 24-hours.
  i.      Use fruit juice and water, plenty of water
  ii.      Repeat weekly for several weeks
  iii.      Monitor the attitude of your heart – prayer, meditation, singing, and worship

b.   Graduate to a full fast of 24 hours with water only and lots of it. Use the normal time spent on eating for prayer and/or meditation.

c.     Step up to a 36-hour full fast or three meals.

d.    Consider a multi-day fast of three to seven days and then after, even longer if you feel up to it. Things to consider on the long fast:
i.      The first three days are tough as the body rids itself of toxins.
ii.     Headaches are mild withdrawal systems from caffeine, consider weaning yourself before a long fast.
iii.  Around the fourth day your hunger pains should begin to subside, there may be feelings of weakness and occasional dizziness, these should be temporary.
iv.   You should feel stronger and more alert around the six- or seven-day mark of your fast.
v.     Your longer fasts should be broken with fruit or vegetable juice and small amounts of those until your system gets back to normal. I learned the hard way on this one. As a 20-year-old zealot of sorts, I broke my 4-day fast with a big greasy burrito. It was not elegant.

Foster writes of fasts extended from seven to 40 days. I won’t go into these here. If you are moved to do anything longer than I have covered in this short post I recommend a deeper study of fasting on both the spiritual and physical levels.

CAUTION: If you have, or suspect that you have underlying medical issues consult your doctor. It is best to go into the discipline of fasting with your eyes wide open.

We must remember that the major work of scriptural fasting is in our spirit. What goes on in our hearts and souls is more important than what is occurring in our bodies. A spiritually critical period is when we break our fast and relax. Fasting can bring us breakthroughs in the spiritual realm that we can’t find any other way. I have seen it work in my own life and am looking forward to it doing so again.

We should remember Paul’s warning to the Colossians in chapter 2, verse 23, “Many things have an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh.”

Finally, let’s remember that it is His fast and the purpose is to break chains of bondage.

In His grip and under His Grace,

Jerry

Authors note: In reaction to a sermon, I alluded to in this post I swore off purchasing and eating meat. This was not a lifestyle change but a fast of protest, surely not a spiritual fast in any shape or form. I discovered in writing this post that I no longer held my grudge and have taken up eating meat again, but I have determined not to do so in the presence of my vegetarian wife, daughter, or grandson. I have perceived it as an affront to them the numerous times vegetarians have been denigrated from the pulpit.

Foul Ball!

A tangent inspired from a men’s meeting filled with enough baseball coaches to run a team and baseball minded men to field one:

We have been playing this game since birth. The Game of Life. According to some theologians and philosophers we’ve been rigging the game since our first breath, if not outright cheating at it. Original sin, some call it. I’ll leave it to you to figure out when you started moving the pieces when you thought nobody was looking and you can determine the why of it all for yourself. That’s not the point here; well, other than a starting point.

We have runners on base in our game regardless of how far along we were when Spring Training Interuptus struck. Nevertheless,  the game of life continues. We have people we want to see on first, things we gotta do on second, and maybe our future on third. Runners all over the place – some at peril of the force out while other are vulnerable to the pick-off. The pitcher is crafty, he’s throwing heat and the hook, the backdoor-slider and the spitball and there doesn’t appear to be anyone to check for the hidden emery board or foreign substances.

We are in the midst of a long at bat with a three and two count and something less than two outs. It seem as though it doesn’t matter if we are knocked down by a pitch because it hits the bat for a foul ball and the count remains full anyway. We have to swing at everything because the umpire is sometimes sane and into the game while at other times he’s coming from left field and everything has been called a strike. We don’t hear a trash can lid or a whistle and the buzzer in our wristband stopped working in the third inning.

There are runners in scoring position. All we have to do is squirt the ball through an infield with a major shift on, even players shifted from the bench to the field and there must be fifteen studs spread out between the foul lines, one or two straddling the lines and it feels like the only safe hit will be into the stands, fair or foul. Studettes too, it’s a friendly coed game, right? No pressure, the game’s not fair.

Your runners are tired, they’ve been breaking on every pitch because the run-and-hit has been called every windup. You’re tired because you’ve swung at everything since the count went full and you’ve had to pick yourself up and climb back into the box for an eternity. Here comes the heater and you swing hitting the ball foul right into fastball alley and you hope a spectator doesn’t get brained. The ball gets tossed back at you from the stands. What the heck, this is a home game!

The runners on base slog back and touch the base. At this stage of the game it’s about the only rule in force and it’s most important to touch up before the next pitch is thrown or the runner will be called out. The pitcher knows this and is ready to quick-pitch when the ump isn’t looking. Nevertheless, your runners know and are faithful to do it while you give them time keeping one foot in and the other out the batter’s box until the runners are reset. While you watch them the base-coaches and runners are both restored and refreshed when the base has been touched. They are more relaxed, focused, and ready for the next pitch. All you need to do is put the ball in play past the drawn-in fielders and you will bring a runner home.

Even if you feel like doing it, don’t lean into the pitch to ‘take one for the team’ and move the game along. With this umpire, he’ll call you on it and with two strikes already you’ll be out and walking to the dugout with no way for you to advance your runners.

Shoot, there are less than two outs. All you really need to do is put a ball deep enough and the runners can tag up and advance. The keys being tagging up and timing their sprint to the next base.

These days with our world turned sideways and the rule-book thrown in the dumpster we need to remember the one good and safe rule - Tag Up! Touch the base and check in with your base coach for the next sign. Take a load off even if for just the span of one pitch. Relax, be ready, and stay sharp. Check in with your friends and family, the people you work with, play with, or do business with. Check the batter; make sure he or she is ready for the pitcher to make his next play. And pray. When all is said and done, that’s the base we need to touch.

In His grip,

jerry

Hebrews 10:23-25 “²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds(to run the bases), ²⁵not giving up meeting together (be it from six feet away or some sort of chat), as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching(the next pitch).”

A Believer’s Quarantine Protocol

In our home we are easily five weeks into shelter-at-home as we adopted those initiatives early on so that we could be the safest possible when we went out to Ely, Nevada to help with our daughter’s family during the time she delivered her second child via C-section. I haven’t met friends in person with the exception of blessed happenstance and on provisioning runs in all that time. But I have attended several Zoom meetings with various committees of the church and held an online class for our communicants. I have listened and watched a few online bible studies and worship services. Today was the first live Zoom meeting with a group of believers in order to read scripture, pray, and share. I’ve missed the men of our Wednesday morning gatherings and this was a much-needed time for me; in fact, I’d say it was priceless and won’t go so far as to put a value to it.

Phil opened our time by calling for our traditional third man prayer and a reading of selected segments from the Gospel of John. Then we checked in with each other buy going around the Zoom and briefly talking about how we and our loved ones are fairing with the virus and its widespread impacts. Our central discussion was regarding how and what we, as Christians, need to be doing during this traumatic time. I’ll share some of what I gleaned from our talk in amplified bullet format.

My Believer’s Quarantine Protocol:

U  Remember that God is in control

V  Pray with that foremost in your mind.

V  Look for ways to express His control of things

V  Be wise in how, where, and when to express it – aka – be considerate of others

This one may be the hardest one to live by and project to a world that will shout back at us, “What God would visit covid-19 on people? If He is in control why is this happening?”

Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

U  Limit social media, news, and generally negative input and filter everything through a Kingdom Perspective

Colossians 3:1-4 – “¹So if you been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, ³for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”

U  Connect with your brothers and sisters in the faith

V  Stay in tune with your families

V  Talk it out

V  Be open and genuine with both your faith and your fears

V  Let others help with your burdens

V  Do this in such a way as to be a responsible member of the community and don’t limit Jesus to meeting with us as believers only when we are physically together

Hebrew 10:24-25 – “²⁴And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

U  Stay in touch with your ministry area

V  If you lead, connect with those who you shepherd

V  If you serve under another’s leadership, connect with and pray for the leader

I believe the Hebrews verse above applies here but let’s try a little Ephesians 6:18-19 – “¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…”

U  Stretch – body, mind/soul, and spirit

V  This is how you will increase your talents, don’t burry them and expect that to suffice

V  Reach for something new, it’s likely you have more time for a new field – go for it

V  How and what you exercise with is what will grow and what you will end up doing better at the end of the day

Check out the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30

U  Worship. Find ways to lift praise and adoration to the Father

V  Find a source online to worship with. So many of the churches are embracing this, find some that work with you

V  Sing out loud God’s praises as you listen to songs on the radio or online

V  Be creative in your worship – take time to be quiet and let your love rise like incense to the Father

V  Be one whom the Father seeks

John 4:21-23 – “²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.”

U  Pray. It’s part of worship. Intercede on others behalf.

Phil left us this morning with a charge and I’ll extend it you anyone reading – reach out to one of the brothers or sisters that have been on your heart and mind and take action on what the Holy Spirit has placed within you.

In His grip,

jerry

Early Morning Foray Into the Sanctuary

I went into the Sanctuary this morning, the first time I’ve been on the church campus in a couple of weeks or so, a notable rarity for me. Such is the advantage of being a key-holder, though in days long gone by we kept a key on the ledge over the door to the Fish Bowl as the room was known. Well okay, it was a bread-knife and the doors were not the higher quality of security doors we have in place today.

The pre-dawn sky back-lit the stained-glass windows, at least the ones still in place during our refurbishing process. (give people!) Being in the place alone and in the dark is one of my favorite times there and only in part because the darkness masks the scars technology is leaving on the walls but more so because I feel God's presence. The hush was reverent as I eased my way along the empty pews, so unlike the hush that’s come over the streets and malls and parks and our beaches during our time of social distancing and hunkering down at home.

It’s easy to pray here along but difficult to focus on the greatest area of need for prayer. I’ve been wondering what the story arc is for covid-19, how its epilogue will read. I decided to ask Jesus whose likeness looked down from the round window above our altar. Alas, no answer was forthcoming. However, I’ve decided to ask it of Him each time my random reminder to pray goes off. I am surely not the answer and I’ve no brain power to bring to bear on the problem. Who is? Who will rise up and bring the answer and allow us to return to a more level and even new normal? I suspect that the answer will only come when God’s people humble ourselves in pray and heat up our passion for His Kingdom. 

Surely the answer is not to return too soon to how things were and simply power through the crisis as though the loss of even one extra person is worth the ‘boost’ to the economy so the rich can maintain robust portfolios and tout how the middle class is so better off because of it. You know the rich, those folks with concierge healthcare that can buy a covid-19 test at the drop of a hat when the folks on the front lines can’t find one to save a life? This is a folly preferred by the ignorant and greedy.

Who will rise up and provide the definition of a new normal and give guidance on how we should live and thrive? I’ll ask, and ask again and sometime someone will come forward…

Come quickly Lord.

In His grip, jerry

I Don't Understand

I Don’t Understand

I don’t understand Lord. How could this happen? We prayed and kept praying. Knocked and continued to knock. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to figure it out and can only hug my friend in her loss. Even then, how will this help us know why?

I think at times like this, when we lose someone dear to our hearts, especially our own children, that we lack the capacity to ken the reason for their passing. You could explain it in our own language, plain English for me, or any number of languages throughout the globe. I doubt I could even understand where it to come from the mouths of angels via the gift of tongues. It hurts and I doubt. This vexes me, a purported man of faith, to have no answer.

It is one thing to lose someone after a long and full life, say a parent who has aged and deteriorated, or even a spouse who has done the same. The emptiness and loss are real for this but we understand that we age and have a finite time on earth to live. We can grow to accept the loss though never really come to love the emptiness. But to lose someone in the fullness of their life struck down by random rebellious cells in their own body, someone who can bring so much to so many and ease their pains, how do we live with that?

As you now Lord, I lost a friend to a random and senseless accident well before he even touched on the potential of his life. I still don’t understand that one. You know I became bitter over it and the whole thing drove a wedge between you and me. It was only a miracle at the hands of a bunch of junior high kids praying over me that I was cured of the bitterness. I still have the question but have accepted it as the way things are.

But, from where will the miracle come for my friend? How will she understand, accept, and move along? The family needs peace, Kristy’s struggle has worn them out. A mother and father grieve. A husband and little boy are deeply saddened. Friends hang their heads and weep. Clients, people who’ve felt healing and wellness at her touch, have an empty spot in their hearts. Our community has a hole where once a bright and warm light emanated and provided comfort.

I don’t understand it and can’t give them the explanation they feel they need to come to grips with the deep longing for a better outcome of the struggle. I can only pray and hope for a miracle to find them, envelope them, and give them a purpose for continuing down the trail of life without her.

And so I do pray and hope and look for peace. Bring it Lord, quick and sure, bring peace to our hearts.

In Your grip Lord,

jerry

Surely Not I Lord

How can we be so sure it is not us?

During the Lord’s Super Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples when he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:21 NIV)

The disciples were very sad and replied one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?” (Matthew 26:22 NIV)

Jesus expanded on His prophesy saying that it would be better for the betrayer not to have been born. Judas then asked, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” (Matthew 26:25 NIV)

Look at the difference between how the eleven ask and how Judas offers the question. The eleven know Jesus is Lord while Judas still thinks him a simple Rabbi. That lack of revelation allowed Judas to betray our Lord out of greed. But, how could any of them been so sure he was not the one?

I prefer the English Standard Version translation of the question, “Is it I, Lord?” I can’t be sure enough to say ‘Surely not I.’

When things go a bit wrong or completely haywire we too often hear, “Not my fault” and then a bunch of dissemination coupled with defensive positioning and a digging in behind half-truths, outright lies, or self-deluded beliefs about one’s own actions and culpability.

What I need to do in those times is to respond with, ‘am I the one?” Then I need to react like David in Psalm 139:23-24, “²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (NIV)

I will rarely resolve anything by saying that it is not my fault. We will never advance God’s Kingdom with that approach – never come close to what we see for ourselves in God, or bring our vision for the church to fruition unless we hit the deck and cry out to be searched. And the first to do this need to be the leaders. Publicly. They cannot say that it’s the congregation’s fault, it’s not the pastor’s or elder’s or director’s fault. We must lead by example and be the first to hit our knees in repentance. It is the only way or it will be us that betray the Kingdom.

When we do this it clears the way for the Holy Spirit to act because God does not despise a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 51)

So, take five or ten minutes today and pray to be searched. Read and meditate on Psalm 139 or use Psalm 51. Then, do it again tomorrow and act on what the Holy Spirit shows you.

In His grip,

jerry

Always Room for a Misstep

Route of the Day

Matthew 7, 13 & 14: ¹³“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

A thought came to mind while walking with Ollie Verdoodle on the Catalina Verdugo Trail and the Ridge Motorway. I followed that one up with others I could imagine as we trekked along.

There is always room for a misstep of one kind or another – there is some sort of guarantee in that statement, just don’t try to cash it in. What is not guaranteed is an open and soft landing spot when we fall.

The Ridge Motorway is wide and there isn’t much chance of falling down the hillside on it. Unless you’re driving a motor vehicle. So there isn’t much chance of a bad spill when we trip over our own two feet, slide down-slope on the gravel, or stumble over a rock or some downed brush. Or is there? Our hands lead our trip to soften the landing and later that afternoon we are sporting a cast or two from our elbow to our wrist. We twist out of our stumble to land on our rump and miss and later that night we are being escorted down the hall for our first walk on our new hip.

Jesus is telling us in Matthew 7 that it’s easy to walk the road to destruction. But while we are tripping along Easy Street we can end up hurt before we arrive. Maybe that would be a lifesaver and lead us to later find the small gate and narrow road.

The Catalina Verdugo Trail is narrow and full of switchbacks and old slides from previous rains. Rocks strew the trail, canine companions race by as do trail bikers, and bushes grow from up-slope over the trail to block the way. It’s easy to trip on one obstruction or another, a simple task to have your boot slide out from under you. And our landing? No guarantee we’ll be anywhere near the trail when we stop. And, the same simple endings to a fall on the motorway are still available to us on the narrow trail.

What is the advantage of one over the other, narrow over wide? The end-goal.

Don’t bother with the wide gate and broad road. If you want God’s presence you’ll end up doubling back to the narrow gate anyway.

What’s the counter plan to a walk full of stumbles and falls? Prayerful vigilance. It’s the only way.

So, have an adventure and walk the narrow way with its switchbacks and steep runs – the vistas are amazing. But, be vigilant, take Jesus with you, and pray.

In His grip,

jerry

Finding Sea Glass

@Cayucos - birds and people searching

We were in Cayucos, CA and I wrote the first draft of this from our room at the Shoreline Inn. We had what I can only lamely describe as a lovely day together. The purpose for our visit was underscored by our somber gathering to remember of my beloved mother-in-law. However, were I to regale you with a recount of our day, I would miss the central point I am making but nonetheless enjoy the writing.

We had driven roughly four hours from home, the last half of which was through intermittent rain squalls. As I checked in at the counter, Cindy walked Oliver out to the beach where he is allowed run off-leash. (Cayucos appears to be the most dog friendly place on earth) I joined them after having unloaded the car and was refreshed by both the fine rain and pounding surf. As I looked up and down the beach, I saw people either standing in one place or moving slowly along while gazing intently at the rocky shoreline and I wondered what they could be looking at or for.

The young lady I spoke to at check-in had invited us to bring Oliver in to meet her and shortly after showing Ollie the room we walked him over and made the introduction. During our time chatting she shared her collection from the day of sea glass that she found during her morning break. This is what all those folks were doing up and down the beach, looking for sea glass. Sea glass are shards of glass washed on shore after having been polished and the edges worn smooth by the action of the surf for years. Apparently this is the time of year for the search as the sands have washed out to sea by winter tides and left a rocky strand. Cayucos has an annual Sea Glass Festival in March where sea glass arts are featured. I think we’ll need to go back for this.

I’d found a couple of pieces during a quick walk on the beach later and followed that up with a successful find in the afternoon. Every time I looked out at the surf and over the beaches, there were people searching for the stuff. My best luck, if you’ll allow the term, was walking along toward one place or another and simply watching where I was stepping. I could see the glass standing out from the surrounding rocks and then harvest it. However, I found that when I peered in any particular spot looking for shards, I was unable to find any. Once, I had spotted a piece, I looked up to greet Oliver, and then was unable to find the glass when I searched diligently for it.

The first day's find, destined for a cynene creation

 I was thinking that, for me, finding God’s hand in anything can often be like finding sea glass. The harder I look for it, the more difficult it is to identify. When I expect to see it, look intently where and when I think I should see it, His influence is often masked. I have found that if I have a task or a particular destination and I am moving toward my target, I find Jesus along the way. As long as I remain open to finding him, just as I am hoping for sea glass while walking along the beach, I see him and find him in the darnedest places or people.

The key for me is to go through life hoping to see Jesus, expecting that somewhere along the line, he will be there. Just walking along rarely does it for me. Would that be like vigilant ambivalence? Could there be such a thing?

Upon further reflection I have to say there are many ways to find Sea Glass. Some peer for long moments at a single square foot of rocky beach. Others walk a step or two, stare down, and shift the rocks about with their feet. Still others sit down and sift the sand and rocks through their fingers or scoop out depressions between their splayed legs and search as though shards of Sea Glass will drop in their lap. Whatever the strategy, the key are the same – look expectantly and always hope for a piece that fits perfectly to your life.

Take a walk, look for the simple shards of Jesus’ presence, and be rewarded.

In His grip,

jerry