Different or Weird

Pastor Tim Ortberg said in a talk some years ago that many Christians, knowing that with Christ in their hearts their lives should be different and finding that it isn’t, default to being weird instead. This brings up a great question with which I’ve wrestled many times:  What is it about being a Christian that fundamentally makes my life different than someone who’s not a follower of Christ?

The New Old

As a new semester arrives like an oncoming bullet freight train, I am praying for great patience. One of the things I have to remind myself continually is no matter how old the mistakes and the immaturity may be, it is a new crop of students and so I can’t get frustrated with them because this is the thousandth time I’ve had to deal with this. I hope by reminding myself of this already, I will achieve a new level of patience, so that even if it is the tenth time for a particular student, I can respond (rather than react) to them with the serenity and mentoring attitude I had the first time I ever heard their issue from a different mouth as a TA 18 years ago.

I am also trying to remind myself to watch for the good students, to let the problem students fade into the background rather than dominating my attention, coloring my perception of the class as a whole.

The squeaky wheel may and should get the grease, but the others deserve attention also, and praise. There is a forest of students out there, and only a few thornbushes. I need to enjoy the forest even as I prune the thorns.

My attitude makes the difference, for all.

SDG

The Power of Passion

I live on the outskirts of a small town near Austin. About a mile and a half away as the crow flies is a driving range on the highway. Tonight, they had a fireworks show that just floored me. It was virtually non-stop with many going off simultaneously for 30-40 minutes, which I learned was shorter than the last couple of years. It was one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen, and we were right at the scene of the action—I have ash and bits of unburned cardboard all over my hair and clothes. About half of the driving range was literally covered with the tubes and an army of about 15 people were down there setting things off, rushing from one stash to the next. They had patriotic music going, closing with Kate Smith belting out God Bless America. The finale tubes were maybe 50 feet away and consisted of a line of tubes producing about 3 minutes of non-stop streams of purple and yellow that formed a sheet of fire 50 feet tall with the sound of Niagara Falls magnified. I had to cover my ears.

It was a dollar donation to park, and that earned you a raffle ticket with dozens and dozens of prizes. There was a silent auction, and booths sponsored by groups within a local 7^th Day Adventist church. There were a number of small business sponsors.

But the heart and soul of the show was two brothers (I think from that church), who have been doing this for the community for about 20 years. It used to be three brothers until one passed away. They just love pyrotechnics and so said, “why not?” I can’t imagine the expense of the event—not only were there probably $20,000 worth of fireworks, but they had several of those solar powered highway information signs advertising it along the highway, and local law enforcement for traffic control. They admitted the sponsorships hadn’t covered the full cost and asked for donations. This wasn’t some government sponsored event, just two locals turning their passion into a gift to the community. It was people taking charge and doing for themselves, not waiting nor wanting government to step in and take care of it for them.

As I reflect over the amazing evening, it is encouraging to see people like these brothers having a passion for something grand and making it happen annually for 20 years and counting.

Some may think of this as a waste of tons of money. I don’t know. I didn’t talk with the brothers long enough to find out what their true motivations are, but I have a hard time, on the surface, thinking God is displeased with them for bringing such joy to hundreds if not thousands of people, with simple, clean entertainment for their neighbors. Yes, it is an act of passion. It is also an act of agape, the unconditional love for others. No one is turned away, no one asked for qualifications, just “Come. Enjoy. Relax. Encounter Awe.”

What is our passion? What are we willing to make happen because we simply love it?

PS-the email functionality has been down for about a week. I apologize if you are an email subscriber. I think the problem is fixed. If you aren’t reading this, let me know. ;)

SDG