Out Like a Lion

This piece is gonna run in the Guilford Record in April, but you guys get a sneak peak.

With all the unstable weather we’ve been having, it’s easy to think that there isn’t a whole lot left that we can be certain of. There’s economic uncertainty, political bickering, and the last stretch of the dark and cold of winter has many of us on our last nerve. Then, to add insult to injury, just as we get a glimpse of sunshine, a hint of shorts-and-t-shirts weather, here comes the sleet again to drive us back to the storage boxes in our closets where we stashed, maybe a little prematurely, our winter coats. As a culture we’ve spent a great deal of time, energy and talent creating lives in which things happen on our schedule. We complain, good-naturedly, about the rush and bustle of modern living, but deep down we love the deadlines, the schedules, and the riches and praises they bring. Even in the down economy we’ve been having, if you work hard, stay out of trouble, and make good choices, you can get ahead. But the weather…that’s a different story. There are so few things left that we haven’t managed to bring under control, and the weather is on the short list. We’ve gotten better over the years about predicting it, but even with our modern Doppler radar and sophisticated computer models we still don’t know what the hockey stick is going on sometimes. No wonder our ancestors use to sing, dance, or sacrifice animals to bring or keep away the rain. There’s something in us that wants to be in control of every last detail, and the on again, off again hot and cold we’ve been having really does a number on our nice, neat, orderly plans. All sorts of workers and businesses, from landscapers and farmers to aircraft mechanics and photographers, plan their day’s work by the weather report, and some of us, who have struggled to heat our homes throughout this cold season in the face of ever-rising energy costs, almost take this last icy whisper of winter personally, like mother nature is out to get us for not recycling enough.

I happen to think, though, that it’s not such a bad thing to have a reminder every once in a while of just how much we rely on things beyond our immediate control. Maybe the humility that losing our flowers to a snap frost will bring not bitterness, but an appreciation for the things in life we can count on. Maybe it’ll help us choose to invest our valuable time in making the world a better place. Maybe we’ll keep someone’s kids for an afternoon, or do the dishes without being asked. We might check the box on our gas bill and donate energy to needy families, or contribute to a food drive. We might even take the time to let someone know that they’re not in this thing alone, no matter how dark it may look outside.

Maybe. But I’ve still got some shorts and a t-shirt laid out, just in case.

What's your life's mission?



I just ran across my "Life Purpose Project". I had to do it for a sociology class I took at G-tech back in 2006. The teacher was a minister from Greenville, and this was one of two big projects, the other being about Hurricane Katrina. This bit of drivel comes from that project:

"The training of my body, the sharpening of my mind and the enrichment of my spirit are all things that should be my primary goals in life. It often turns out, however, that the endless pursuit of pleasure takes precedent over the more important things of life, and one major goal I have for the future is to balance out all aspects of the human experience, reigning in the reckless pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, and putting more energy into developing as a person. To facilitate this, I plan to set a series of goals, some short term, some long term, and some that stretch to the very corners of imagination."

It's funny sometimes to look back and see that as far as you've come, you really haven't changed all that much. Sometimes I wonder what we look like when God sees us. I think it's a bit like we see our past selves, a sort of congenial shake of the head. "He's just dumb as dirt, bless his heart" is sort of my summary of my past life.


Let me ask you something. Are you growing? Are you developing?

I'm not. At least, it doesn't feel like it. I suspect, however, that if I felt like I was, most of it would just be veneer anyway, and the only real way to see if I've gotten any better is to be tested. That's the rub, isn't it? In order to beat the level, you have to fight a boss battle. To get to Zelda, you fight Gannendorf first. And as uncomfortable as my current station is, at least I know enough about it not to stay up nights worrying if I have what it takes. But, since I'm staying up nights anyway, the difference might just be semantics...


So, I'll ask again: What's your life's mission? Are you any closer to accomplishing it than you were yesterday?

Keep the Change

So I’m watching House M.D. one night, right? House and Wilson are having an exchange, and House is defending his pervasive drug addiction. He makes a comment that goes along the lines of “Foolishness is trying to change when change is impossible”, to which Wilson responded “Cowardice is labeling what you don’t want to change as innate.” That phrase has been a clarion call for me personally. There’s a lot of debate between nature and nurture in the psychological and philosophical worlds right now, and the prevailing trend is that, because of our genetics, environments, or whatever, we’re pretty much stuck with what we have. Some theologies embrace that idea, as well. The question for me is, where’s the line between what I can and can’t change? And what’s the difference between the actual line and where I’ve drawn it for myself?

I, and others, I suspect, rationalize weakness. I get used to my deficiencies, I nurture them, I even celebrate them sometimes. Oh, I can’t do that because I have challenges I was born with. I can’t meet the requirements because of something outside of my control, so I don’t have to feel bad. I rationalize weakness and incompetence.

It seems to me right now, and I welcome your feedback about this, that if you don’t at least act like it’s all up to you, if you don’t act like you can achieve anything you want to, then you stagnate. I’ve heard it said that one ought to “Pray like it’s all up to God, and work like it’s all up to you.” I love that phrase for a number of reasons. It acknowledges God’s sovereignty over the events of the Earth, but it’s not a wholesale resignation to fatalism, which in my opinion is the inevitable logical conclusion of determinism.

The old cliché of “the courage to change what I can, the serenity to accept what I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference” makes more and more sense the more I mature as a result of the myriad experiences I have day in and day out. There are such injustices in the world that could be righted if only people of talent and commitment would determine to fix them. The trend for my generation is to be outraged, and wear trendy, fashionable clothing that displays that outrage, like hemp fibers or catchy political slogans on tight t-shirts. The true believers join some group, volunteering and donating funds for demonstrations or protests or political action committees or what have you.

At the same time, something that struck me about the ‘Armor of God’ in the book of Ephesians is the fact that there’s no back armor. The obvious application is that one ought never to turn one’s back to the enemy, but it also means that you shouldn’t rush forward recklessly and allow yourself to be flanked. Adequate planning in any endeavor is key. “Fools rush in” comes to mind.

I guess the point of all this is a series of questions about how to use your life. When you encounter a situation, the first question is, can I change this? If not, then how can I work to accept it without complaint, and if yes, how can I go about changing it? What sort of relationships should I form? What sort of company should I keep? What should I read, write, listen to? How much time should go for leisure and how much for work? And, perhaps the most difficult for me personally, do I have the maturity to do this successfully right now? And, if not, what can I do in the meantime to prepare myself for the next big thing?

And, perhaps most applicable to yours truly, how can I keep from freezing up while all these questions are working themselves out?