Its amazing what a day can do...a few shots from the second trip up Corcovado...Its good to know that every once in a while the clouds break to remind us that we do not hope in vain.
CP
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
To See or not to see: Clouded Vision
Each year thousands of tourists go to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to see the Cristo Rendento (Christ the Redeemer) Monument that overlooks Rio. Yesterday morning I made the trek up to the top of Corcadova with hopes of seeing the monument, and the beautiful panoramic view that lays before the monument. As you can see from the above pictures, not only could we not see out through the cloud that came in to settle on the monument, but we could hardly make out the monument standing at its feet. The first picture was our view from the top of the mountain, the foreground is a portion of the guide to the panoramic view that we should have seen…and the background is what we saw…yep. The second picture was how we saw the monument, Comedic? absolutely, a great memory…you bet.
I guess in life what we seek is not what we find…but the view can be providential nonetheless. Faith tends for me to often be much about knowing and trusting the beauty of Christ’s plan, even though sometimes I only get a glimpse of his feet and the outline of his cloak.
My trip up Corcovado yesterday got me to start considering the lofty perches from which I often view my faith, life, and God. A lot of my major personal crossroads have been predicated by long lengths of time where my vision has been clouded by circumstance or fear, but everyday (both cloudy and otherwise) the fingerprints and influence of Christ’s divine plan are worked out regardless of the visibility. Our business as people is not subject to rain delays, or being rescheduled on account of some clouds or poor visibility, life is to be lived in the settings in which God creates. It’s much more romantic and poetic to have those moments of great revelation overlooking the vast span of creation, but that is the way I want it, and its not the way Jesus went about his business. Jesus spent his time in cities, on the street, teaching, loving, in ministry with real people, and while he could have spent his years a reclusive naturalist wandering the wilderness in the presence of his father, but that is simply not who Jesus is and its not reflective of the pursuant heart he has for his people.
When I boarded the plane to come down here to Brazil I had a lot of eager anticipation about the beauty I would get to see, and the sights that would be etched this the first (but probably not the last) time I am visiting this “Cidade Maravilhosa” (Marvelous City)…however, God has shown me something more marvelous than the view from high on a hill overlooking a city, he’s shown me his marvelous people…his greatest feet of creation. It took me coming down from the out of the clouds to see it, but the beauty is pulsing through the veins of this town on city streets, in bars, on sidewalks, on beach front sandwich stands, in futbol stadiums, in homes…and this is marvelous.
Our work, our mission is not to live lives that are spent with monumental views, but rather, we are called to live monumental lives. The way our lives play out is supposed to be a monument to the God who loves us, the one who breathed life in us, who created all we see, and who would stop at nothing to provide a way to be rectified justly to him. It’s not about appreciating the way we look or the things that make us different, but it’s seeing creation (us as people) the way God sees us, and that is as marvelous. It is not about worshiping the creation, but is about seeing beyond the clouds of personal struggles and imperfections that taint the way which we interact and go about our business each day, rather its about looking beyond the small things that are divisive and annoying, and looking to the special ways that God has made us; each of us loved in an especially unique way to match the especially unique way we were made…again, it truly is marvelous.
While it is disappointing to go to a place that has some of the best beaches and spectacular views in the world only to have days that have been primarily overcast, I’m deeply refreshed and reminded that there is work to do. There are a lot of lost people who need loving, and there is much creation that surrounds us to be marveled (people). You will find no man more thankful than I to have only seen the feet of Christ, for those feet are the feet that lead me. I trust that God uses clouds in our lives figuratively to focus on what is important, and to keep us looking at the right things and while we might not get the view we want, or see the sights we expect, we might just see a glimpse of something greater, a God who loves and marvels over us.
While there will surely be sunny days ahead, I’m using the clouds in my life, for there are many, not as a distraction but as a means to focusing on the task at hand. While I’m sure off in the distance there are great adventures, mountains to climb, battles to be won, beauty to be cherished; at my feet and in my hands there is plenty to do today and with that I am content. I of course hopefully anticipate all that is down the road, but I’m not there yet and honestly its really hard to see that far (and I certainly have tried), and even though I am hopeful I am busy marveling at what God has created at my fingertips today, and only today.
In awe (but still hoping for sun)
CP
Monday, November 10, 2008
Expectation Shaping
This Friday marked the last day of a chapter in my career, I’m going to be changing jobs and heading back into financial advisory work for distressed businesses. As I walked out the door of my employer’s office in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon, I was nothing short of excited. As I’ve been reflecting over the past few weeks about my tenure, my current circumstances, I have had an increasing sense of optimism and excitement about what lies ahead. At the same time I have a deep sense of thankfulness of what the LORD has afforded me and his very clear, very present hand in every aspect of my life, as the mantra goes, “Life is Good.” With all this going on in the backdrop I’ve also been thinking a lot about how my heart is, (and was) when this chapter of my life was still being written and I lacked a tangible sense of direction and closure on what direction I am heading. Certainty affords peace in a lot of ways.
At the same time I have been thinking a lot about what happens when things don’t go my way, and how I respond, for I believe character, if not defined in those moments, is certainly apparent in our active process in responding to unmet expectations. When we don’t get what we want, or when things don’t play out as we plan, we revert quickly back to greedy toddlers who throw tantrums on a whim and define the whole of our existence in temporal circumstance. All too often we define what “good” is by getting what we want, knowing what the big plan is, or having control.
On top of my professional situation being an element of my life that is on the verge of drastic change, I also have found myself much more politically engaged than usual with this years election…no soap box here, just keep reading. Regardless of who I voted for or how I feel about the election, I was thinking long and hard Tuesday evening about how the results of the election would impact my interest and involvement in politics. In short over the course of the past 8 years I have transitioned from being entirely indifferent about the political environment in which we live to being engaged and interested, who knows maybe, just maybe, I am growing up in this way. What I realized is that the things I believe in and the ways in which I choose to be an active contributor to those things should be a static element of my time and efforts. They should in no way be subject to circumstance or contingent upon whether or not they are in flow with my personal plans and agendas. Can my beliefs and convictions change? Absolutely! However, the way by and extent to which we go about engaging in God glorifying activities based on those beliefs, should not.
If I define my perception of “good” purely on a basis of my expectation, I am stripping an infinite quality of God’s grace and subjecting it to my viewpoint of the present tense. In the same sense, if I allow my involvement in ministry, politics, and relationships to rely upon the world around me complying with my rules and expectations then what does that say about where my heart is in the matter? As I look at my own life, I realize that my ability and willingness to serve and be involved is largely at risk to my expectations of how things will shake out.
When we allow ourselves to have expectation shaped realities, we exchange a firm foundation of core beliefs for a weak behavior pattern that is crafted around the direction that the circumstantial winds may blow.
Luckily for us, God is in the business of meeting needs not expectations. If our perception of God’s work is limited to our expectations then we reduce him to some sort of cosmic secretary who either did or didn’t do things as we had hoped. I, for one, am deeply grateful that God’s work doesn’t rely on my circumstantial thoughts about what’s best for my life, but rather its based on his deep and unshakable love for me, and his plan for not only that which is good but for that which is best. I am frequently guilty of compartmentalizing God and my view of him…but, the more I go through as a person, and the more I learn to trust him with my good and bad moments, the more I am learning to set no expectations for God whatsoever. In doing so, I am consistently blown away by the amazing ways the he works, and how much greater things are as he lets them play out…especially when compared to how things might have gone if I would have gotten my way.
So, when our chapters are unwritten, and wide open, do we still view and trust God to be good? Further more do we allow our unmet expectations to impede upon the beliefs and convictions that are nested in our hearts?
I am so thankful right now for where I am, there’s a lot that’s going right, and there is a lot that isn’t going great. As I see it, its not a matter of things going with the flow as I perceive it, but rather, it’s a matter of going with the flow of that which God has ordained, period. I don’t know exactly where I’m going to end up or what will happen tomorrow, but I do know that God’s in the process of crafting me to be more like his son…sometimes this feels better than others, but I’m glad to be refined in this way.
I’m glad Christ’s love, his grace, and his work are not dependent on my expectations…if so, we’d be living under the hand of a pretty lame God. The creator is still creating, and he works in creative ways and all because of his real sense of what is good and that which defines our needs.
CP
At the same time I have been thinking a lot about what happens when things don’t go my way, and how I respond, for I believe character, if not defined in those moments, is certainly apparent in our active process in responding to unmet expectations. When we don’t get what we want, or when things don’t play out as we plan, we revert quickly back to greedy toddlers who throw tantrums on a whim and define the whole of our existence in temporal circumstance. All too often we define what “good” is by getting what we want, knowing what the big plan is, or having control.
On top of my professional situation being an element of my life that is on the verge of drastic change, I also have found myself much more politically engaged than usual with this years election…no soap box here, just keep reading. Regardless of who I voted for or how I feel about the election, I was thinking long and hard Tuesday evening about how the results of the election would impact my interest and involvement in politics. In short over the course of the past 8 years I have transitioned from being entirely indifferent about the political environment in which we live to being engaged and interested, who knows maybe, just maybe, I am growing up in this way. What I realized is that the things I believe in and the ways in which I choose to be an active contributor to those things should be a static element of my time and efforts. They should in no way be subject to circumstance or contingent upon whether or not they are in flow with my personal plans and agendas. Can my beliefs and convictions change? Absolutely! However, the way by and extent to which we go about engaging in God glorifying activities based on those beliefs, should not.
If I define my perception of “good” purely on a basis of my expectation, I am stripping an infinite quality of God’s grace and subjecting it to my viewpoint of the present tense. In the same sense, if I allow my involvement in ministry, politics, and relationships to rely upon the world around me complying with my rules and expectations then what does that say about where my heart is in the matter? As I look at my own life, I realize that my ability and willingness to serve and be involved is largely at risk to my expectations of how things will shake out.
When we allow ourselves to have expectation shaped realities, we exchange a firm foundation of core beliefs for a weak behavior pattern that is crafted around the direction that the circumstantial winds may blow.
Luckily for us, God is in the business of meeting needs not expectations. If our perception of God’s work is limited to our expectations then we reduce him to some sort of cosmic secretary who either did or didn’t do things as we had hoped. I, for one, am deeply grateful that God’s work doesn’t rely on my circumstantial thoughts about what’s best for my life, but rather its based on his deep and unshakable love for me, and his plan for not only that which is good but for that which is best. I am frequently guilty of compartmentalizing God and my view of him…but, the more I go through as a person, and the more I learn to trust him with my good and bad moments, the more I am learning to set no expectations for God whatsoever. In doing so, I am consistently blown away by the amazing ways the he works, and how much greater things are as he lets them play out…especially when compared to how things might have gone if I would have gotten my way.
So, when our chapters are unwritten, and wide open, do we still view and trust God to be good? Further more do we allow our unmet expectations to impede upon the beliefs and convictions that are nested in our hearts?
I am so thankful right now for where I am, there’s a lot that’s going right, and there is a lot that isn’t going great. As I see it, its not a matter of things going with the flow as I perceive it, but rather, it’s a matter of going with the flow of that which God has ordained, period. I don’t know exactly where I’m going to end up or what will happen tomorrow, but I do know that God’s in the process of crafting me to be more like his son…sometimes this feels better than others, but I’m glad to be refined in this way.
I’m glad Christ’s love, his grace, and his work are not dependent on my expectations…if so, we’d be living under the hand of a pretty lame God. The creator is still creating, and he works in creative ways and all because of his real sense of what is good and that which defines our needs.
CP
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