"Success is a peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."
- John Wooden
My page doesn’t do a very good job of noting the re-blog. from http://kellyoxford.tumblr.com/
I speak in to the easiness of your last kiss
found wanting as the tide begins to drift
it stills me knowing that someday i’ll see
the beauty of love in certainty
in foundations that blossom into gardens of peace
we find growth in the little things, even the weeds.
and i find myself sitting, pondering your love;
resting amidst the restlessness of infidelity,
teasing out the sprouting filth that weighs on me
and deadens me.
as the flowers stretch up to reach your light
and the ocean is pulled to you each night
so i bow and confess your faithfulness
your glory and peace which help me rest
knowing that in you is life alone
and that by your grace you’ll pull me home.
amen.
Moments of grace spilled out in front of my eyes this week and last:
1. A wearisome poet coming home after 10 years of being on tour. In this final show, the aches of being ready to stop and rest reverberated into our hearts. He didn’t deny his restlessness, but let it be, and let us witness the honesty of saying ‘goodnight’ rather than pushing through to doing one more poem.
2. A state trooper steering a frightened mother duck and her three ducklings down a busy interstate onramp.
3. This Song: Middle of June – by Noah Gunderson
4. Being gently and faithfully awoken early each day by God.
5. A beautiful spring night
6. “Put your ear to the sky
and listen my darling,
everything whispers I love you.”
7. A beautiful spring day.
8. Community to share both the good and difficult aspects of life with.
“People trying to be original always arrive at the same boring old answers. Ask people to give you and original idea and see the chaos it throws them into. If they said the first thing that came into their head, there’d be no problem.
An artist who is inspired is being obvious. He’s not making any decisions, he’s not weighing up one idea against another… How else could Dostoyevsky have dictated one novel in the morning and one in the afternoon for three weeks in order to fulfill his contracts?”
"
Sometimes I forget how awesome walking is. I forget that it allows you to be more in touch with your surroundings. The noises of a neighborhood, the rhythm of the people, the details of the buildings. As I walked through Capitol Hill today I noticed a building I’ve never seen before. It looked like an old Seattle homestead or law building, rich with history and character (as much as Seattle’s short history allows), which intrigued me.
The sign on the window read ‘Gilda’s Club Seattle. Living with cancer? Come as you are’.
Come as you are. Come broken, hurting, sick. Come in the clothes your wearing, in the feelings your feeling. Come imperfect. It’s ok.
These are God’s words. This is ministry. Come as you are and we will be with you, listen to you, hold you. We will rejoice with you in your rejoicing and cry with you in your mourning. Come as you are.
I think we have an unfortunate tendency to forget that message, particularly in the church. I mean, how incredible would it be if that were the mission of the church? To proclaim boldly day in and day out, ‘come as you are’. There are no prerequisites to God’s love. No right thing to wear, no right thing to say, no right way to feel.
It saddens me that the church is an intimidating place to so many people. That there is hesitation for fear that they won’t fit in - that they will stand out as an awkward outsider. What is striking is that the church, the body of Christ, is meant to be the one place where all fit in. Where all are outsiders welcomed with open arms. This is the place where the divisions of our world are being mended and transformed into peaceful differences. Where we find ourselves under the common authority and love of Christ alone.
So my question today is this: Do you feel comfortable coming to church exactly as you are? Or do you feel that you have to maintain a certain image at church in order to be accepted?
If so, I encourage you to stand out. I encourage you to come just as you are. Because I promise you that doing just this frees others to do the same: to feel comfortable in their skin, in their feelings, in their clothes, in their doubts, in their fears. My hope is that we can begin to embrace the true diversity and beauty of the body of Christ - beginning with ourselves.
