Over the years I have come to appreciate cherish some profoundly simple moments, and simple places. One place I have found that is a great reminder of my place in this world, and God’s rightful place on his throne above is the airport. I believe that there is no place in which we become quite as human, and there is no place at least for me where I get such a clear grip of where I really am.
I love gazing out the window of a plane to look down on the world below, I think in a lot of ways it helps me to be realistic about the size of what’s important in my life. From 30,000 feet, no problem can be that big of a deal…it all gets reduced to a scale that seems so much more manageable.
I love watching people navigate all the lines and protocols at the airport. Protocol strips us all of our worldly “rank”, and evens the playing field. No matter who you are or how much you make, your shoes are coming off, you’ll present your ID, and you’re going to play by the rules to get to where you need to go. It’s not negotiable, we all are reduced to the same level (despite what we think about ourselves).
I love imagining the lifetimes that somehow all get to meet and the same intersection on a 2 hour flight from Atlanta to Newark. I love knowing that God’s level of intimate involvement, love for, and care over everyone is the same no matter what aisle, seat, or flight we’re on. Sometimes it just helps me to understand how big he is when I remember he’s got the whole world in his hand, not just my silly little life.
Airports, as bad as they can be, do much good for me, particularly when they help me to reconsider what really matters, and to what extent the things that matter, matter. They help me be and stay in the present tense; they help me live where I am.
Like the seasons, nothing lasts. Sometimes I find myself being all too concerned with what was, or what is yet to be, and I miss out on so much. I spend my Summer readying for harvest, I spend my Fall, stocking up for Winter, I spend my Winter bitching about snow and cold temperatures, I spend my spring regretting my Winter…I mean its not a literal sequence of how my life works, but the point is that there is so much out there that we have to keep us from savoring where we are. I have missed the colors, scents, and sights at many times in my life. I am learning to slow down, I am trusting that the quantity of time I get largely isn’t up to me, but the quality of my time here can be impacted by my choices…one of which being pace.
Time, just like anything is a gift from God, to abuse it whether by carelessness, or selfishness, through hurry or laziness, is treacherous.
None of it lasts, and when we come to embrace this fact as truth, we learn to gently embrace each moment…always being seasoned with the right amounts of past and future to give the present a succulent sweet aroma in our lives. Ultimately we end up having our pleasures and problems all in the right size…as opposed to being the focal point of the dialogues of our lives they become footnotes, and we begin to focus on the real story…the story of God’s love being worked out in our lives.
I think fear is one of the greatest poisons that distracts our priorities…fear either hurries us or makes us stagnant…enjoyment, in balance, is the only way to hold the present tense in proper reverence…
Using the food metaphor…if life is an all you can eat buffet, I’m the guy who eats himself sick, and dies of an arterial blockage 30 years before his time…fear leads to eating disorders, either we gorge ourselves or starve from not partaking the food of life.
I have been thinking a lot recently about how things change in life, what we learn from that change, and how we choose to respond to change.
Understanding the concept of being temporary has substantial implications on our lives. When we come to embrace the concept of transience of our circumstances, we ready our hearts for change and we loosen our grips on this world. The reality is that it never lasts…no matter what it is. Pain, pleasure, wealth, famine, beauty, youth, popularity, social accomplishment, professional accolades…we are promised that it all fades to nothing. When we come to view any of our earthly conditions as permanent we experience an extreme detachment from all that is holy, and we destine our selves for a place of hopelessness. Whether we subscribe to the permanence of evil, or the permanence of good on this earth; assigning permanent qualities to impermanent things communicates a hugely out of balance view of this world.
When we start to embrace that all that we have is borrowed time, we begin to live coexist with the delicate balance that is living in the here and now…the present tense. Some would conclude this concept of fleeting existence to be disturbing or depressing, but when held in the context of Christ it liberates us in so many ways. We no longer become slaves do finances or cultural believe, instead we enable ourselves to indulge deeply and richly in a life focused on the now, founded on God’s work, and honoring and enjoying God forever (amen).
I feel we all benefit from assessing the attributes of those things we deem to posses permanence, and upon careful consideration, we’ll have a clear picture of all that matters in our lives, and where we put our faith. If at the end none of it is left standing then I guess it might be time to rethink the way we live, the way we love, and the way we spend our present tense.
Personally, I’m thankful to know that whether or prosper or am in despair, that none if it lasts and that all that matters is the love of Christ for me, and my life’s purpose, to honor him.
I’m eagerly anticipating living my life at the right pace for 2009, neither starving nor over-indulging at the buffet of life, just savoring what I have, and knowing that this too shall pass.
I love gazing out the window of a plane to look down on the world below, I think in a lot of ways it helps me to be realistic about the size of what’s important in my life. From 30,000 feet, no problem can be that big of a deal…it all gets reduced to a scale that seems so much more manageable.
I love watching people navigate all the lines and protocols at the airport. Protocol strips us all of our worldly “rank”, and evens the playing field. No matter who you are or how much you make, your shoes are coming off, you’ll present your ID, and you’re going to play by the rules to get to where you need to go. It’s not negotiable, we all are reduced to the same level (despite what we think about ourselves).
I love imagining the lifetimes that somehow all get to meet and the same intersection on a 2 hour flight from Atlanta to Newark. I love knowing that God’s level of intimate involvement, love for, and care over everyone is the same no matter what aisle, seat, or flight we’re on. Sometimes it just helps me to understand how big he is when I remember he’s got the whole world in his hand, not just my silly little life.
Airports, as bad as they can be, do much good for me, particularly when they help me to reconsider what really matters, and to what extent the things that matter, matter. They help me be and stay in the present tense; they help me live where I am.
Like the seasons, nothing lasts. Sometimes I find myself being all too concerned with what was, or what is yet to be, and I miss out on so much. I spend my Summer readying for harvest, I spend my Fall, stocking up for Winter, I spend my Winter bitching about snow and cold temperatures, I spend my spring regretting my Winter…I mean its not a literal sequence of how my life works, but the point is that there is so much out there that we have to keep us from savoring where we are. I have missed the colors, scents, and sights at many times in my life. I am learning to slow down, I am trusting that the quantity of time I get largely isn’t up to me, but the quality of my time here can be impacted by my choices…one of which being pace.
Time, just like anything is a gift from God, to abuse it whether by carelessness, or selfishness, through hurry or laziness, is treacherous.
None of it lasts, and when we come to embrace this fact as truth, we learn to gently embrace each moment…always being seasoned with the right amounts of past and future to give the present a succulent sweet aroma in our lives. Ultimately we end up having our pleasures and problems all in the right size…as opposed to being the focal point of the dialogues of our lives they become footnotes, and we begin to focus on the real story…the story of God’s love being worked out in our lives.
I think fear is one of the greatest poisons that distracts our priorities…fear either hurries us or makes us stagnant…enjoyment, in balance, is the only way to hold the present tense in proper reverence…
Using the food metaphor…if life is an all you can eat buffet, I’m the guy who eats himself sick, and dies of an arterial blockage 30 years before his time…fear leads to eating disorders, either we gorge ourselves or starve from not partaking the food of life.
I have been thinking a lot recently about how things change in life, what we learn from that change, and how we choose to respond to change.
Understanding the concept of being temporary has substantial implications on our lives. When we come to embrace the concept of transience of our circumstances, we ready our hearts for change and we loosen our grips on this world. The reality is that it never lasts…no matter what it is. Pain, pleasure, wealth, famine, beauty, youth, popularity, social accomplishment, professional accolades…we are promised that it all fades to nothing. When we come to view any of our earthly conditions as permanent we experience an extreme detachment from all that is holy, and we destine our selves for a place of hopelessness. Whether we subscribe to the permanence of evil, or the permanence of good on this earth; assigning permanent qualities to impermanent things communicates a hugely out of balance view of this world.
When we start to embrace that all that we have is borrowed time, we begin to live coexist with the delicate balance that is living in the here and now…the present tense. Some would conclude this concept of fleeting existence to be disturbing or depressing, but when held in the context of Christ it liberates us in so many ways. We no longer become slaves do finances or cultural believe, instead we enable ourselves to indulge deeply and richly in a life focused on the now, founded on God’s work, and honoring and enjoying God forever (amen).
I feel we all benefit from assessing the attributes of those things we deem to posses permanence, and upon careful consideration, we’ll have a clear picture of all that matters in our lives, and where we put our faith. If at the end none of it is left standing then I guess it might be time to rethink the way we live, the way we love, and the way we spend our present tense.
Personally, I’m thankful to know that whether or prosper or am in despair, that none if it lasts and that all that matters is the love of Christ for me, and my life’s purpose, to honor him.
I’m eagerly anticipating living my life at the right pace for 2009, neither starving nor over-indulging at the buffet of life, just savoring what I have, and knowing that this too shall pass.
Paced,
CP
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