Tag: human

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Being human Reflections on the Christian Life

We Have a Beautiful Christmas Tree

We have a beautiful Christmas tree this year. But I couldn’t appreciate it yesterday. There were so many things to do. I worried that it didn’t have enough water. First, I jumped up to add water to it. Then all of the presents to open. We had to get through all of them. And there was breakfast and then clean up and lunch and to get to all the rest that we needed to do.

We all know the routine. We fill our days with so many good things that we struggle to taste and enjoy them all.

This morning I am happy. 

This morning I was able to enjoy the Christmas tree. 

I am sitting and looking at the intricate detail. The tiny little ornaments and the reflected lights. There is so much to look at. But it is not overwhelming in this moment. It is just a joy to take it in and not to have to stress or worry about anything in particular.

How could I get to this place today when I couldn’t yesterday?

It is the quiet of the morning and no one else is awake yet (other than our beagle and she is mostly sleeping again anyhow!) I was able to sip a cup of coffee and read from my Bible. 

This morning I read from the book of Daniel. In it I read of the dream of king Nebuchadnezzar. This dream was an amazing and grand dream. It encompassed all of human history and told of the many kingdoms that would come and go. In the end they would all become as dust on the threshing floor when the final kingdom is established.

I asked myself, “Why did the Lord give this dream? Why did Nebuchadnezzar need this? And why do we need this?” 

The answer came in the form of the Christmas tree in front of me. 

The world is filled with complexities along with so many things to do and think about. We rush around and fill our days with activities. We build empires. These empires are the most important things to us it seems. But while they may last for a season, they will eventually become dust. They will pass away. They will become as dust on the threshing floor. They will all be blown away. But in their place, we will have something permanent and right and true. We won’t be bothered or care about the others blowing away because of what replaces it. It will be right and true.

We can rest in this knowledge. We can pause and stop running around. We can sit and enjoy and know that there is a plan.

I can relax. I can look at the lights on the Christmas tree not worrying about the details. I can just enjoy them. I can look with wonder at the intricate details of the many ornaments. (Sarah loves Christmas ornaments.) I can just enjoy them. And for the 1sttime today I can feel peace. I do not have to do everything or rush or hurry. I can and should stop and enjoy.

It is a hard feeling to communicate. I don’t know if I can adequately do so, but I will try.

There are lots of things for you to obsess or worry about today. There are lots of activities that you feel that you must get done. There are so many good things for you to do today. But for one moment can you understand that they are all temporary? What seems so important in this moment is perhaps not as important as you might think. 

Can you break free for one moment? Can you keep the forces of the now from robbing you from a single moment of enjoyment and peace? As I type this the clocks chime at me. They are yelling at me that time is passing. But I am going to be strong. I am going to ignore them and fight against them. I am not going to let them rob me of the now.

Can you do the same? Can you understand that there is a greater plan and that there are greater days to come? It is enough for now to pause and enjoy what is in front of you. Just look at the lights on the tree. Look with a sense of fun and joy and peace at the ornaments and how they reflect. Or look at the small and intricate ones buried in the inside of the tree. 

The “things” that you have to do will all be gone as a puff of dust. You will later get to a day by the graciousness of God and by his redeeming power when we can enjoy the world. If we are His children and accept Him and His grace, then He will bring us to that day. It will be a day when all the “things” suddenly make sense. We will get to slow down and taste and see and hear and enjoy them all. We won’t be struggling or running with frantic things to do. We can enjoy His creation in the way that He intended.  

But for now, He gives us glimpses of that day. For me it is in the Christmas tree in front of me. 

I didn’t fill the water up yet. I can do that later. I am just sitting and looking at it. I am not trying to figure it all out. I am just enjoying it and feeling a sense of deep peace. God is in charge. All the things that worry me are temporary. They will be blown away as dust. For now, I can just sit and enjoy. I can dream of the day when we finally will be able to just enjoy the world. We won’t be sick or tired. We won’t feel loss or grief. We won’t be stressed over building empires. We will be happy to be together. Every blade of grass and every leaf on the trees and every curving hill will bring beauty and enjoyment and peace to all of us.

For now, it is enough to look and breathe and enjoy the Christmas tree.

We have a beautiful Christmas tree this year.

Categories
Being human Reflections on Life, Being Human, and Medicine Reflections on the Christian Life

Gentleness and Respect

This is the sunset one evening in Mazatlán, Mexico. I love the subtleties and richness of the different colors.

“Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”[1]

I share a lot of who I am on this blog.

Out of gentleness and respect I do not commonly get very strongly into the reason for the hope that I have. 

But these words are profound. They show how we are to share with each other. I wish we would learn them and listen to them.

Gentleness:  Each of us have been bruised by life. It is not always an easy go. And on the other side of it, most of us are “fix it people.” We want to take your painful, complicated situation that you cannot get out of and “fix it.” 

The intention is good but in so doing we can inflict real harm. 

Obviously, you would fix it if it were in your power. And we can do so much harm if we shove a solution at you. We are to be gentle with each other. I am sorry for the harm and pains that life has brought your way. I am sorry if I or other well-meaning people have tried to “fix it” without gentleness.  

I promise – as I have been taught – that I will be gentle.

Respect:Why is it that when it comes to issues of religion, we think that it is ok to assume that our friends are idiots. Perhaps it is not that extreme, but we all are intelligent. We all have walked through many life experiences. We all have ideas of what we think and believe and why. 

We all deserve respect. I want you to give it to me. I don’t want you to come up and shove something at me. In all honesty I want you to respect me. I want you to recognize I have a brain and to value what I think. 

If I respect you, I should assume that you have some wisdom for me. It is only common courtesy that I must assume that there are things that I can learn from you. Dialogue is good. Listening more than talking is really good.

We don’t have to agree with each other. It is not a surprise that we might think differently about things. But can we still talk and learn from each other? Could we be so wise as to do this with “gentleness and respect?”

If all we ever do is talk to people who agree with us, what good is that? How do we grow from that? But if we are so brave as to listen to people when they might think differently, there is immense power in that.

But we have to do so with respect. We often jump to debate mode. I would encourage you to click into “respect and listen” mode. If they are wrong there will be time later to reflect. And if they would engage in “respect and listen” mode by your example you will have a chance to bring your thoughts back to them. But if you immediately defend your view you likely have not taken the time to listen and truly hear. You likely have missed out on learning something. They have a brain. They have had life experiences that you have not had. Remember that. Pause. Listen!

And so, what is the basis of the hope that I have?

I will gladly answer that for any who want to know the reasons for my hope. 

But it does no good, and in fact I think it does harm, for either of us to shove what we believe down each other’s throats. Could we each offer it up freely as a gift to each other so that by so doing we could each learn and grow from each other. Could we treat each other with gentleness and respect?

For me, I have found a loving God who holds me and teaches me and gives me hope. He has blessed me in so many ways. He gives me a promise of a great future. This is both on this earth and beyond. I say this not in arrogance or drumming up a delusional belief to make myself feel better. I say this based on my life experiences and the rational brain that He has given me.

I also really feel good when I thank him for you and all that you mean to me.

Message me if you want to share the reasons for your hope or joy. I would be eager to hear. I promise to listen. You can leave it as a comment here but only if you promise to do it with gentleness and respect.


Message me if you want to talk more about my reasons for hope and joy. I too will promise to do so with gentleness and respect.

 Can we all please do the same?

This is a view from our sailboat “Mes Trois Filles”. This is sunrise on 7/13/18. We are in the middle of Lake Michigan on our trip from Holland to Chicago. 

[1]1 Peter 3:14-15 (NIV)