The Storms that Come

I really wish I could tell you why life can be so difficult sometimes.  I wish I had an answer that made some sense of it all.  I look around at some of the people in my life and all that they are going through and all I can think is God, I don't understand.  The friend whose job is a huge source of stress and there doesn't seem to be any other options, the pastor who's daughter was murdered at the age of  22, another friend whose precious hopes have once again been shattered.  The storms that come in life can be so painful and it's so hard watching someone you love go through a storm.

A couple of days ago a storm came through Boston.  The winds were fierce and it got me thinking.  If you look at strong, sturdy trees when a strong wind blows they look a little frazzled.  The leaves are shaking wildly and the branches are swaying.  If it's a bad enough storm a branch or two may even snap, but the roots remain in the ground.  The wind doesn't uproot the tree and toss it about.  The tree is anchored because of its roots. 

For anyone in the midst of the storms that come, may you be rooted in peace today and always.  Your leaves may shake, your branches may bend and sway and one or two may snap, but may you be rooted in the shalom that only God can offer.  May you know that no matter how the deep the pain, no matter how grave the crisis, you will NOT be uprooted and tossed about.  May God's peace anchor your soul through the storms that come until they pass over. This is my prayer for you.

Following the Way,
Kevin

A Litany Of Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to God our Father and Mother for all gifts so freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
Lord we give you thanks.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
Lord we give you thanks.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
Lord we give you thanks.

For eyes that see and ears that hear, and arms and legs that move.
Lord we give you thanks.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
Lord we give you thanks.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
Lord we give you thanks.

For the breath of God within us that causes us to be and makes our mortal bodies God’s dwelling place,

Lord we give you thanks.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
Lord we give you thanks.

For all who hunger and thirst for justice, truth and righteousness,
Lord we give you thanks.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
Lord we give you thanks.

For tears and how you use them to water the soil of our faith,

Lord we give you thanks.

For unexpected loss that causes us to stop and reflect and realize what’s important,

Lord we give you thanks.

For meeting you in silence when there are no words to say,

Lord we give you thanks.

For joy and laughter and moments of wonder,

Lord we give you thanks.

For this community and everyone in it and all of the blessings they bring,

Lord we give you thanks.

Following the Way,

Kevin 

A Guided Meditation on Gratitude

This is a guided meditation I led at my church.  May it speak to your heart also.

I’m feeling incredibly broken right now.  In the past 6 months 2 people that I know have been shot and killed.  Both young women in their twenties and both from the church I was very involved in for seven years.  On Tuesday I found out a friend from college has cancer.  And in addition to all of that I’ve been processing some heavy personal disappointments of my own.  It is quite fitting that I am here tonight to talk about gratitude because if I am only able to say thank you to God when everything is going well than my thank you doesn’t really mean anything.  If gratitude is something I only express when everything is going according to plan than it can never become a spiritual practice that becomes life giving and life changing.

Someone recently asked me why am I so drawn to gratitude and I struggled to articulate an answer.  The best way that I can put it is that the ability to cultivate gratitude has saved my life.  Some of us have had many, many things go wrong in our lives and I am one of them.  As someone with a history of depression sometimes I become overwhelmed.  For me being depressed is like being locked into a pitch black room.  There are no windows, no doors.  It’s totally dark and I can’t see.  I can’t see God. I can’t see the ones around me.  It’s so dark I can’t even see myself.  But when I find something in my life to be grateful for and give thanks light comes into the room and I can see again.  The doors open and I can be reached.  I can be reached by God.  I can be reached by those who love me. I can be reached by joy even in the midst of pain.

Guided Meditation:

I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath.  Think about a painful situation in your life for a moment.  Acknowledge it.  Feel the weight of it.  Take it all in.  Now search for something good even in that situation.  Is there any good to be found?  Is there anything to be grateful for?  Find it and focus on it.  Take a deep breath and as you breathe, breathe in gratitude.  Without ignoring the pain, focus on what you’re grateful for and breathe in gratitude.  With every breath let if fill you; let it fill your body and soul.  Let gratitude fill the thoughts of that painful situation and bring in its light. Take another breath.  Take another breath.  Allow your heart to rest in this place of gratitude. Carry this gratitude with you throughout your day.

Following the Way,

Kevin 

Our Weeping God

Indeed, God has a sense of humor or at the very least an exceptionally developed sense of irony!  It was just a few days ago that I was watching an episode of Project Runway with my roommate (Don’t judge me).  I was getting irritated because there were grown men on the show coming undone emotionally and weeping like somebody died over something as small as a dress!  There was one in particular.  I know he couldn’t hear me, but I couldn’t help but talk to the screen and say “Man up!  For God’s sake man, pull yourself together!”

Well, what do you know a few days later I find myself collapsed on the cold tile of the bathroom floor weeping like somebody died!  The next day I thought, “Ok Jesus, well played.  I hear ya.  Judge not lest ye be judged.  I get it now.  Point taken Lord, point taken. Can we move on to the next lesson now?”

Jesus wept.  John 11:35

 It’s the shortest verse in the Bible but it says so much.  Jesus wasn’t weeping because he was having a bad day or feeling particularly emotional that day.  He wept because he looked upon the pain of Martha and Mary as they mourned the loss of their brother and was moved by it.  He could not see their pain and not feel it himself.  He could not look upon their tears without shedding his own.

This is our God, our weeping God.  A God who loves us so much that our pain becomes God’s pain.  A God humble enough to leave the majesty of heaven to come weep with us, in our pain, in our sorrows, in our difficulties, in our broken places.  In the silence of our grief our God can be found holding us, comforting us, simply being present and bearing witness to our pain.

I was not alone on that bathroom floor.  Jesus saw my pain and just couldn’t help himself.  He came down, found some space on that bathroom floor and wept with me.  For this I am grateful.  For this my heart is overflowing with love for this weeping God and my mouth with praise.  For this I cannot help but tell the world I have a found a Love beyond words that never fails, never fades, and never falters.   It is always enough.  This weeping God is enough. 

My heart is fixed on this, that I am never alone and we are never alone.  Our God is never ashamed to weep when we weep and I will never be ashamed of our weeping God.

Following the Way,

Kevin

The Blessing of a Broken Heart

There's a blessing in having a broken heart.  I know this may sound strange, but I know it to be true in my own life.  In fact, I believe it is true for anyone following the spiritual path.  For believers it is important to remember that Christ did not come to remove our brokenness.  Anyone who thinks that following Jesus means you'll never cry or experience pain or illness or setbacks and difficulty is dead wrong!  For Christ did not come to remove our brokenness but to dwell more fully within it.  We are not blessed or broken; we are blessed and broken.  Christ came to dwell in our brokenness; to make our broken places his dwelling place.  So a broken heart with all of the grief and heaviness that comes with it is an opportunity to sink deeper into Jesus and for Jesus to sink deeper into us.  For this I am grateful.  Sometimes the only thing that can water the soil of our faith is our tears.

This is what I've been experiencing recently.  Facing some heavy disappointment I turned to God in prayer and felt the love and comfort only God can provide.  I said "God I lift my broken heart to You" and immediately felt God's response: God's abiding indwelling presence.  When I look back over my life I can't imagine how I would have survived if not for God carrying me through the hard times.  Over the years I've discovered that a heart that is broken has more room for God to dwell in.  A broken heart can be the catalyst for intimacy and drive us straight into the arms of God where we realize everything we need can be found there.  It reminds us of our need for God and allows us to rediscover the comfort and encouragement only God can bring.  For this I am grateful.

So when you find yourself with a heart that is breaking know that you're in a good place because a heart that can be broken is a heart that can be touched, that can be filled, that can be moved by the suffering of others, by the sound of laughter, by the simple sensation of a gentle passing breeze.  A heart that can be broken is the perfect place for God to dwell.  We are often ashamed of our brokenness, our weakness, our shortcomings.  Not God; for our brokenness is the place where God desires to dwell the most.  From God's perspective it's the best room in the house!  It's the place that God can mend, heal, restore and cause to expand.  You are blessed even in your brokenness so allow God to dwell in your broken places. It will make all the difference.  It has for me time and time again and is so even now.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God".  1 Corinthians 2:3-4

Following the Way,

Kevin

Surviving The Storm

Boy was I unprepared for the sudden rain storm that hit yesterday!  Thank goodness there was an umbrella in the office.  Looking out the window it didn't seem so bad, but the moment I stepped outside it just started pouring buckets.  I haven't seen rain fall like that in a long time.  Wearing just a t-shirt and shorts I clung to that umbrella, but the rain was pounding against it so hard I wasn't sure if it would hold up.  By the time I got home I was a wet mess!

The storms of life are often the same way: sudden, blinding and intense.  You can't help but wonder in the middle of it, "Am I going to make it out of here"?  They come out of nowhere and just descend.  An unexpected car accident, job lay-offs, illness, conflict in relationships, these storms can suddenly descend with a fury that makes us wonder are we going to survive.

"I've never been through a storm that did not pass over".  This is a line from a gospel song; it's so simple and so true.  A few hours after I came home a sopping wet mess yesterday, the rain stopped completely and the sun made a reappearance.  The storm and all it's fury passed over.  Every storm comes to an end regardless of how big, bad or ugly the storm is.  Every storm passes over.

I'm not sure what storms you may be facing in your life at this moment.  I've got a few storms raging right now myself.  Maybe you're dealing with a storm of loneliness, depression or economic hardship.  Whatever the storm is, no matter how strong the wind, no matter how blinding the rain, no matter how loud the thunder, know this: EVERY storm you face in life WILL pass over.

There is life after failure.  There is life after divorce.  There is life after a miscarriage.  There is life a after a cancer diagnosis.  There is life even after your hopes and dreams seem to shatter into a million little pieces.  You will survive the storm.  Let me say it again.  You will survive the storm.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Following The Way,
Kevin