all a part of the fuzzy blanket

So many thoughts are running around my head these days. Here’s just a few. Bear with me, I’m too young and scattered to even finish them:

- Love: from Thomas Merton, “Love seeks only one thing: the good of the one loved. It leaves all other secondary effects to care for themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.”

- Misunderstood; Though they know I’m a Christ-follower (not fully sure what that means to them, but I think I’m helping them understand it better), most of my “not yet Christian” friends think I’m “zen’d out” or just plain “weird” or “civilized” or “religious.” Though they know I’m a Christ-follower (maybe not exactly of the persuasion to which they’ve become accustomed), most of my “Christian” friends think I’m “weird” or “in a cult” or “outside of the box.” It’s hard to live a missionary lifestyle when people on either side of the eternity coin don’t understand how much you love them and want to show them the way of Jesus.

- Story; “I don’t want to die without any scars,” says Tyler Durden in Fight Club. Sadly we’ve all got more scars than we can count, but for the most part they’re just emotional. As such, its easier to do our best to forget them. I don’t want to die without any stories. Retelling our stories heals our wounds while we allow our vulnerable selves to shine though. Not only the sad stories, but the happy tales, the accounts of dangerous memories propel us forward as groups, not simply individuals. Everyone’s got a story to tell, and they want to be honest. Everyone’s got a story they want to tell, but we must be ready to listen. Everyone’s got a story to tell, so pull up a chair, lend them an ear, then tell one of your own.

- Community; Living with people in the manner of Jesus is neither easy nor required, though it is recommended. See the Bible for more reasons why God gave us each other. Learning to love others despite personal differences perfects the problems in "us" and releases love towards "them."

- Hope; Besides hope in a future Messiah or a Christmas message, I don’t ever remember hearing a sermon on hope. Perhaps the most amazing observation at CM thus far is that people want hope. They need hope. Not just hope in the future because most people don’t seem to care if they’re going to hell. They want a hope that gets them through the day - something that makes this world not seem so “f****d up.” Somehow, incarnating the life of Christ and sympathizing with the struggles of others and allowing them to share in mine gives people hope that their life will be ok. It gives light to the seed of faith; makes the sun worth waking up for. An unadulterated love poured out tangibly that makes every minute of the gamut between suffering and satisfaction worth living: hope.

That's all I got time for... for now.