Light After Dark

One of the jobs that comes my way fairly often is to talk with people going through a dark passageway in their life. Again and again these dear souls have apologized to me for feeling the way they do. I try to assure them that these kind of passageways are a normal part of being a human being. Some of the most amazing people who have ever lived on this planet had their own "dark night of the soul." Included in that list are people like C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther, and Mother Teresa: it seems that even those with great spiritual maturity face these times in their lives.

I recall a conversation with my own Father about such a time for him. He described his feelings of anger, sadness, confusion, and hopelessness. His great challenge was not that he did not believe in God but like Job, he did believe in God and could not understand why God would let him suffer the way he was suffering. It was a very painful journey but after a time the darkness of his grief began to fade and the light of God's love was shining again in his heart. His faith was even deeper and stronger on the other side of this hard journey.

Martin Luther had a period of great despair which he wrote about in 1527. His prayers seemed pointless, he said. God seemed silent and distant and unconcerned with his pain. Some of his friends were so concerned about him they thought that he might not survive and feared for his life. It was bad. Very bad. But somehow the darkness did not overwhelm him. In fact, he wrote a hymn during this time - one of the greatest hymns of the church: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. It is an old hymn so you may not know the words - here are some of them.

"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing ..."

There are things in life that we do not get over - we simply must go through them. What I know now from my own experience with God is that I will never have to make that journey alone because he will go with me.

Remember: God is not afraid of the dark and when we pass through those dark places in our lives and are gripped by fear, God is not. God is not afraid of our questions, our grief or our doubts.

"God is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:2

A received a note not long ago from a person I had talked with, listened to, and prayed with during a very difficult time for them. The note said, "I have found God's "Yes", even after what seemed like nothing but "No" everyday."

So good to hear!

Just thinking, Steve Yates

Pumpkin Stuff and the Seasons of Life

For the first time in a long time the air outside feels cool! Perhaps it is finally Fall - Autumn has arrived! When Fall arrives this heart of mine turns to all things pumpkin!

I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin patches, and carving pumpkins! I even like those little candy pumpkins that are really candy corn in the shape of a pumpkin. I watched a brief story about the new world record pumpkin that some farmer grew this year. I think it was about the size of Rhode Island. It filled the back of a large pick-up truck. I saw the elephants at the Houston Zoo chowing down on pumpkins - they were in pumpkin heaven!

Along with my pumpkin love, I love the change of seasons. People say the seasons don't really change in Texas - we only have two seasons some say - hot and less hot. But on days like today, I feel the change of seasons in the air. Thank God for the change!

The truth is human life is seasonal and thank the Lord that things change. Thank goodness I do not have to be 13 years old (the nightmare year of my life) all my life. It was nice to run those Marathon's in my 30's and 40's but I have no interest in going back. Life has never been more enjoyable than it is right now - this season is the best so far!

With the seasons of change that come with life we experience newness that you cannot experience any other way! The arrival of my Grand kids took me by such surprise - the love and affection and joy they have brought to my life is a serendipity I could not experience until now! In my 30's I was a know it all - in my 50's I see how little I really know.

There is the line about Jesus in Luke 2:52 - it says he grew in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God, and with man. He was 12 years old when we hear that and the next thing we know he is 30 and beginning his public life of ministry that would change our world forever.

While I likely will not be any taller in the days ahead, I do want to grow in wisdom, favor with God and in favor with my fellow human beings and the seasons of life give me the opportunity to do so.

Welcome the seasons and grow!

Just thinking, (about pumpkins and stuff)
Steve Yates

Serious Humor

I love to laugh. It is good medicine. In fact, I believe that it is one of the most readily available ways to "be healed" from a tough day, a hard week, or even a difficult year.

One of the things that I have noticed is that when I try to be funny, I am usually not. There is a kind of natural humor that comes with just being transparent and honest. When I am not concerned about protecting my ego I find that humor is a blessing to me and to others. Canned jokes often go over like a lead balloon but a story that reveals my humanity and presents the joy of living life with family and friends who love you, even when you look foolish, is received with big smiles and often genuine laughter.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Joy is the serious business of heaven." I love that line.

There are things that you can talk about that are very serious and important matters, that are communicated much more effectively when presented in partnership with humor.

I have watched people burst out in joyous laughter and a few minutes later they are so touched by something serious that tears flow down their cheeks.

I love the scenes in Genesis where Abraham and Sarah laughed when God told them they would have a baby. They were both old and beyond the normal years of having kids. It was a moment of serious humor - who would not laugh at such an idea! At the same time, they were called to trust God in a way that was truly amazing and they did! (Gen. 17:17; 18:11-15)

Thank God for the gift of laughter - gracious humor - that can help us deal with some of the most serious things of living.

Just thinking and laughing, Steve

I Like People!

We laugh in my line of work and say that this job would be easy - a piece of cake - if it wasn't for people! The truth is I really like people. This job would be boring with out people and it is certainly not boring!

People are amazing! They deal with the most complicated lives, families, jobs, and situations and many of them keep a smile on their face.

People are surprising! I keep experiencing things with people that I could have never imagined. Just about the time I have decided I have seen it all and heard it all, a human being will do something so surprising.

People are mysterious! I know people who live the most mysterious lives imaginable. They work at jobs that even when they explain what they do, I still do not really know what they do. I know a guy who commutes to work over 200 miles each day, four days a week. Six plus hours in a car every day - wow, that is something that is beyond understanding to me. (My commute is 10 minutes each way.)

People are durable! My father was one of the kindest guys you could ever have met but he was so tough. He could endure things that seemed so daunting to me. Work three jobs at a time, caring for his dear ailing wife for years without one complaint, and giving people a second chance, time and time again!

Give me people - all kinds, all so interesting, challenging, and spectacular!

In the Psalms there is the line about human beings;
"You made humans a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honor." Psalm 8:5

C. S. Lewis commented that we should be careful when we meet a person because there is the potential, because of God's design, for true greatness - the kind that would take our breath away if we could see all that will come of their life.

Enjoy people - welcome them into your life and get ready for something truly amazing!

Just thinking, Steve

Hot Sauce

I could eat Mexican food everyday. I love spicy, tasty food. I love to try a new salsa, hot sauce or spicy dish. I want my taste buds to get a jolt.

In general, I do not like to live a bland and boring life. I want to try new things, explore new ideas, and read things that give me a jolt.

One of the problems people often point out about religion is that it tends to be boring. I confess that this has often been true. Institutional religion becomes so preoccupied with maintaining the status quo that it loses its vitality and sense of mission and purpose.

A genuine contrast to the bland, boring religion that we get so exasperated with is the life and times of Jesus. Jesus was anything but bland and boring. His greatest opponents were always the religious authorities and establishment because he did not follow the traditions of the established religion. In fact, he openly challenged their practices and became a focal point for their anger. The amazing thing is that modern Christianity has so "tamed" Jesus that we have made him boring. This really breaks my heart and I fight against at every turn.

I believe we need to rediscover the real Jesus. Religion has often been an ugly thing in our world - Jesus, on the other hand, is universally seen as a remarkable teacher, visionary and an example of a person who put his words into practice. Many people are drawn to Jesus and repelled by organized religion - why is that?

Part of the reason is that churches spend far too much time trying to protect their "interest" rather than shape their ministry and their message through an ongoing relationship with Jesus.

I have been spending hours each week just reading and reflecting on the life and the ministry of Jesus and it is often shocking! Jesus is one "spicy" person - he will challenge your thinking, your lifestyle, your values and leave your breathless. To be sure, it is exciting and often scary!

I hope you will give it try - get to know the real Jesus. He is never bland or boring and he will call you to a new life lived for the sake of others. (Read one of the gospels from the Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke or John - I think you will be surprised at the Jesus you encounter.)

Just thinking, Steve

Time to Think

I just returned this week from a brief sabbatical designed to allow time for quiet, reflection, study, meditation, preparation, prayer and thinking. I did a lot of thinking.

There is a statement from one of the greatest thinkers, Albert Einstein, that captures the challenge of good thinking. Einstein said, "We cannot resolve problems by using the same thinking that created those problems." So true.

We say things like "Think outside the box" to try to get at this idea of new and creative thinking. I reflected on Jesus as a great thinker. The results of his life demonstrate that he was a truly creative thinker. For example, his disciples were having an arguement about which one of them was the greatest. (Matthew 20:20-28) Jesus response to this kind of thinking was to say this is the way the world thinks but there is a better way - to think soberly about ourselves - with humility. We don't promote ourselves as powerful and all knowing, we choose to think and act like a servant. This Jesus says is the way to true greatness.

This is creative, out of the box, thinking. In a world of self-promotion, preoccupied with gaining power, control, and dominance this is a dramatically different way to think and live.

I want to think deeply - to mediatate on things day and night for a while before I take action. Often it is days into thinking and meditating on something that clarity about a good way to respond comes. For sure, good thinking should lead to good actions that solve problems and help others solve problems.

I recalled that once Jesus' disciples came to him and said we have this huge crowd of people and they are hungry and we need to send them away so they can find food. Jesus said no. Do something - find a solution - don't ignore the problem. (Luke 9:12ff.) This is bold thinking and acting.

I read recently about an avid runner who came up with an idea to help people who did not have shoes. He starting asking fellow runners to donate their slightly worn running shoes to the cause. The first year he collected and gave away 500 pair of shoes - more recently he collected 5000 and gave them all away. He came up with a creative way to help rather than not think about it.

So as I close with my "tradtional" way of closing my blog each time, I am still ....

Just thinking, (but hoping and praying to be a better thinker with each passing day)

Steve

What You Know

I admit it - there are plenty of things that I do not know. I love learning and discovering new things. One of the ways I do that is to hang out with my Grand kids - Ella, my almost 9 year old Granddaughter, is a storehouse of information and knowledge. We often say in our family that if we don't know the answer we just "Ella it" (not Google it). She often knows the answer - for example, when I asked her about a "sloth", she asked "Do you mean a two toed sloth or a three toed sloth?" Silly me I thought they all had five toes! My Grandson, Owen, is an expert on cars - he has hundreds of Hotwheel cars and can show you and tell you the unique features of each. I often say "Wow!" when he shows me something that I did not know.

So, as you can see, I don't know everything. But I do know many things and I have learned that it is helpful to others to live from the foundation of what you do know.

I know that honesty and integrity are essential to a good life. I know that commitment is the glue that holds my deepest relationships together. I know that hard work and sacrifice are their own reward. I know that love and forgiveness are critical to daily living. I know that I live daily by the grace of God.

People are always asking me questions about things that trouble them or they don't understand. I consider those questions very seriously. When I attempt to answer, I do it from the foundation of what I know, not from what I don't know. Sometimes I will mention a favorite scripture that has spoken to me on the subject or share an experience where I learned how to cope with what they are facing -- sometimes my answer is to ask if I could pray for them. All these responses come from my place of "knowing".

What we know is a powerful anchor for our daily lives - rather than focusing on what we do not know, I find that what I know is a rich resource for me and others.

Jesus is described as living from the foundation of knowing - he knew that he had come from God the Father and he knew that we would return to the Father and he also knew that God would grant him great power to make a difference in the world. (Read John 13) Then from that knowledge he acted - he lived. Which included taking the role of a servant and washing his disciples feet - he could do that because of his foundation of knowledge.

So take what you know and act out of what you know and be a blessing!

Just thinking, Steve