God

Interstellar

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So…have you got a spare 2 hours and 49 minutes this week? Maybe you want to go to the theater and catch Matthew McConaughey’s newest work!

I never did quite get the whole story, but it seems good ol’ mother earth is about to croak. And Matthew and his team are sent through a worm hole to find new digs for the human race. As you can imagine, worm holes are scary places and whats on the other side can be equally alarming.

I will, of course, NOT spoil the plot for those who intend to go see it.

For the record, I did not regret the almost three hour investment.

It was funny though. As we left the theatre, I asked my son what he thought. His response: I think I’m going to have to process this a bit. Interpretation: I have no idea what I just saw!

Granted…the visual effects were incredible. The actors and actresses (McConaughey, Hathaway, Chastain, Caine, Lithgow, Damon, and others) were phenomenal. I can’t imagine the film missing many awards.

There is one thing missing in film: God. Not that I expected Him to show up in the final credits or dialogue.

Bit it IS the perfect film to see if you want to imagine mankind in it’s worst moment and no one to lean on but themselves.

Ironically, with all the great acting, stellar effects (no pun intended), and ‘imaginative’ storyline, mankind seems so very small, so very pathetic when it’s left to its own efforts and devices.

Perhaps that’s the real moral of the story…that in our most desperate moments, despite bravery and creativity…life without

God WILL feel very small.

Plans

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I’m your average planner. I’m not obsessed with the future. I just like to see things work out as I hope. Unfortunately…moving isn’t one of those things.

We listed our house and in due time, we had a ratified contract. Next step…find a place to live. In short order, I found the perfect house. In the country, considerably smaller than the present house. It’s a rental because things are a bit up in the air. Buy or build…or just go ahead and buy the retirement boat now and buy a condo.

So today was moving day. Imagine my disappointment when the forecasters begin talking about snow. 2-4 inches. How often do they get it right? I studied the charts and decided we were on the edge of the event and would likely be the 2 inch group. Wrong.

4:30 this morning I hear the snowplow in my culdesac. Ok…so…they really don’t plow for 2 inches. After tossing and turning for a bit, I got up and measured the snow on my deck…8 inches.

(Do you ever have those moments when you wish God would look out for you and cause the whole region to miss a snow or rain event just so YOU can do what YOU want? That was me).

I waited until an appropriate time to call the movers… ‘hey..uh..maybe we should postpone this thing until Friday?

No one in the office…I left the message and waited. Soon the phone range…the movers were on their way.

Action went into high gear…tear down the beds, and blow snow out of my driveway so the multiple trucks could get in.

THEN I had to go to the new house and blow snow out of the long driveway.

It was beautiful there as the snow continued to fall. I got the driveway open and tried to move the trailer around to store in the garage. Ooops…I drove off the driveway and got the truck and trailer stuck in the snow. It wasn’t budging.

And then the phone rang…turns out…it’s way to slick to load the trucks..so the move is put off til Friday. Yay!

Unhooking the trailer I kept working and finally got the truck unstuck. Welcome to country living.

Last Friday I worked the phone to get all the necessary services moved to the new house. What do I do now? I spend more time on the phone.

In all of this…I kept thinking of Proverb 19:21 “Many  are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”.

The truth is…most of my life is pretty uneventful. And when I have to make a move like this…I just want MY plans to succeed. Not so fast my friend…it is the Lord’s purpose that matters.

So…The rest of my week will hold some of the normalcy I need…and we get to do it all again Friday.

Plans…..

 

 

Blow-Up God

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kitsch_vintage_retro_blow_up_doll_face_postcard-ree77918e26124a1bb65abc232fb4e4a4_vgbaq_8byvr_512So…a friend suggested I watch a Ryan Gosling movie called Lars and the Real Girl. The premise is simple: a guy who has problems relating romantically to women buys a life-sized, anatomically correct doll to be his girlfriend. I’m not sure which is harder to watch…him as he relates so tenderly to this ‘thing’ or the way his friends adapt to his ‘girlfriend’ and incorporate her into their lives too.

For a while now (long before Lars) I’ve been thinking about how we treat God a lot like Bianca (Lars’ bogus babe).

Think about it: like a blow-up doll we carry both sides of the conversation. If there’s affection, it’s our responsibility. It’s often a tragically one-sided relationship.

I wonder why we relate to God this way. Could it be we’re really uncomfortable with silence? The people of Israel waited 400 years during the intertestimental period (between Malachi and Jesus). Or perhaps we struggle to distinguish the difference between His voice and our own. The truth: it mostly takes a quiet heart to hear His voice. Not that He can’t get our attention anytime He chooses. Annie Dillard said if we really knew who God was, we’d all wear crash helmets to church each weekend. And He certainly shouted at times in history. But mostly…it’s a still small voice.

So…how do we go from God the blow-up doll to God the one we sense, feel, and hear?

Allow Him to be Him. Allow for mystery. Don’t think for a moment that you can order Him around or use promises in the Bible to bribe or coerce. And like any other relationship…it has a certain rhythm. It also has highs and lows. Times of elation and times of quiet reflection.

One more thing…don’t treat Him as if you have Him entirely figured out. Trust me…you will NEVER get THERE.