This Weekend

This weekend, in no particular order, I slept in on Saturday morning, enjoyed the sun, kicked back, and took naps. I trained a college summer volunteer at the hospital, taught Sunday School (where I was repeatedly reminded of how energetic 5th and 6th graders can be). I saw the second goal by Switzerland within the last 20 seconds of the match, then I saw the hole-in-one by Zach Johnson during the US Open, watched France beat Honduras, and the Spurs win the NBA Finals. I had a wonderful time chatting with one of my best friends. Oh, and I cleaned my room some more. This weekend was awesome. Not necessarily because I did anything awesome, but because taking a break to relax was such a welcome change.

To A Hurting Friend

Do you remember the times we went running along the Esplanade over the summer? This was the summer of 2012 and the brick high-rise was unbearably hot. In the shade of the trees lining the Boston side of the Charles, there was usually a breeze and it was refreshingly cool. Do you remember the conversations we had then - about life, about dealing with hard things, about faith? I wish I could be back in Boston running along the Esplanade now, talking to you about these things once more for what I told you then still holds so true today.

You told me recently that you feel so lost, unsure of who you are in light of recent events. You said you feel so empty. How you used to love and hope but now it all just feels so pointless. How, you asked, are you supposed to deal with all the hurt that you're feeling? Can you remember what I shared with you two years ago about faith and how it helps me to get through the tough times? I told you then that if we build our identity on our accomplishments, on our relationships with others, even on who we perceive ourselves to be - we will be hopelessly lost. There is no constancy within ourselves - even if that were something that we were striving towards. Take a step back and think about it. As a society we focus so much on bettering ourselves in one way or another because we perceive that there's something still missing about us - we see that none of us is perfect. That's why I think it's so important to find meaning in life outside of ourselves.

You told me before that you acknowledge the fact that Christ died for your sins. But could I ask you to take a deeper look at what that really means for you, personally? If He is our savior- and I believe that He is - what difference does that make for our lives? Let the weight of His love overwhelm you. Think about it - God the Father was willing to send His only Son to this world, broken and full of hurting people, to die and take the punishment for our sins Himself so that we might have a relationship with Him. We were designed to have a relationship with Him and each of us decided to rebel and try to do things our own way. Without Him then, we will always feel empty and that vacancy in our hearts can never be quite filled with anything this world has to offer. Because He is perfect and nothing in this world is. If we look for security in any relationship apart from one with God, we will be let down each time. No matter how much both parties love each other, no matter how much each cares for the other, we can never perfectly exemplify true love. There are many beautiful glimpses that we get of love on this earth because we were made in God's image. But to experience perfect love, we need to go back to the One who is perfect. His love is unfailing, unconditional, and perfectly strong. We have a savior who is not only able to save us but to understand us. He knows the pain of betrayal - because He was himself betrayed by those closest to Him. He knows how hard it is to get through life. And yet He loved us even when He knew the cruelty of the human heart. He loves so much more deeply that we can dare to love those around us. So it is when we have complete security in Christ that we can open up our hearts to love others around us. It is when we have the reassurance that we are held in His hands that we can be vulnerable enough to feel again. Everything in this world is not out to hurt you, but it can be hard to open up again once you have been hurt. Yet imagine the loneliness of a life lived by yourself within a thin protective shell that you build up to prevent yourself from getting hurt.

I've told you this before. I really am convinced that those who feel more deeply not only have the capacity to enjoy life more but also to get hurt more. So I'm praying that you will run to Jesus and find meaning for your life in Him. That you would be able to find your identity in who you are in Christ - not based on what you have done but on what He has done for you. That you would trust Him completely and allow Him to fill the emptiness that you've found in yourself. That you would let His love and grace heal your broken heart. That you would learn and take to heart the Biblical meaning of hope - not a "fingers crossed" type of hope - but a steady anticipation of things yet to come knowing that the victory has already been won. Placing your life in God's hands, knowing that He is far greater than we ever will be, stronger than we could imagine but more gentle with us than we could ever be. That by finding your purpose and security in Christ, you would be freed to love others and to feel deeply once again, enjoying life the way you were made to live.

Doodle #2

Bird in a Tree

Bird sitting in a tree happy as can be. Amidst the scrawls intended to represent leaves, quite well hidden I believe...

Media: Fountain pen with Noodler's black bulletproof ink on acid-free sketchbook paper

On Sunday School

I’ve been helping out with Sunday School at my church. There are approximately somewhere between half a dozen to a dozen 5^th and 6^th graders that show up on a given week, and it has been absolutely wonderful working with them. It has been a privilege to teach them about defending their faith – about learning more about what it really means to be a Christian so that their faith is theirs, not that of their parents, not simply a canned set of answers to questions that they’ve heard at church. It’s been fascinating to see how their minds work to process new concepts, and I’m always amazed by how they are able to simplify and capture the true essence of what they’re learning in just a few words. It’s humbling to see how open they are to sharing their faith with friends and classmates – none of this worrying about how others will react just yet. Each week they challenge me – without even knowing it – to grow in my faith, to ask more questions, to take all that I learn to heart. And when they ask me questions, it forces me to really process the abstract concepts so that I can come up with a concrete example that they can understand. I’m starting to understand why Jesus used a lot of parables even with grown-ups. When we have a concrete example, an application, something that we can relate to, whatever we are learning at the moment becomes so much more real and it becomes ours.

By watching Mr. L lead the class, I’ve learned a lot about structuring content and asking questions to guide kids to the answer. And I’ve appreciated his support as I’ve tried to learn how to teach. Several of the key lessons so far:

•  Prepare a lot and expect to cover about 10% of what you’ve prepared.  
• Always. Always. Always provide a real-world analogy. Example: explaining that the authors of the Gospels likely have slightly different accounts because they had different perspectives probably won’t get across too well. What might work: tell them to imagine that people are standing on different corners of an intersection when a red car hits a white car. When the policemen interview them about what happened, witness 1 says one of the drivers was wearing black shoes. Witness 2 says that one of the drivers was wearing a baseball cap. However, the important question is whether the red car hit the white car or whether it was the other way around. If the witnesses disagree on which car hit the other, we’ve got a problem.
•  Stay away from abstract concepts. If you find yourself heading down the path that leads to an explanation of what is circular logic, RUN.

Yesterday was the last class for the school year. Next week, I will set out to try and teach this group of happy, curious, fidgeting kids without Mr. L. I expect to be stretched. I expect it to be a very humbling experience, and I expect it to be hard. All prayers would be much appreciated.

On DailyPosts

Many of the posts that are popping up will be tagged “DailyPost” so I thought I'd give a little bit of an explanation about what it is. Several of my friends and I have been talking for a while about doing things together even though we’re remote. One of my close friends, Liz, and I have been reading a book together. Others have been trying to work on projects. (And I say trying because despite our best intents and efforts, we’ve all been busy…) Liz and I have been talking about posting things regularly and keeping each other accountable about it. (As well as about reading the Bible, but more on that later.) So, when P and I thought it would be cool to do something like that as well, I decided it was time to actually try it to see whether I could do just a tiny post every day, or at least almost every day. Some days I just don’t get online at all so the post belonging to that day will show up later. (I’m still counting it as “working” if I have 14 posts after 14 days.) So far, one clear benefit has been a sharp decrease in the amount of TV that I watch. DailyPosts will probably entail either drawing an animal or writing something with way too many adjectives. Maybe it will even lead to an improvement in the stick figure qualities of my drawings J

Saturday's Quickie Dinner

Ingredients: chicken, onions, bell peppers, salsa, corn tortillas, spices, a little bit of oil to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan

Please excuse the paper plate and inattention to the presentation of the food. After a long day, I figured if it tasted good, I really didn't care about how it looked. And, yep. I didn't want to do extra dishes.

The Week in Review: Friday, May 30th

1.          I spent lots of time hanging out with my brother. Not so great at videogames having never really played them all my life… we got stuck on one particular level (Super Mario Brothers Wii) and it was primarily a combination of me bubbling across the screen/ falling into the liquid fire… Something about the music for that level is just unnerving and I fall even when it’s a perfectly easy jump I’d be fine with on any other sunny level.
2.            It rained. A LOT.
3.            Work observation of the week: Sometimes where you get career-wise isn’t only about the work you do but whether you’re able to present your skills and deliverables well, all while getting along with others. I’m learning a lot by watching my coworkers. Maybe someday I’ll write in more detail about it.