Poem: A Rebel Worth My Life

The cowboy

The counter-culture hippy

The peaceful demonstrator

Wielding weapons of love and joy 

God-Light invading darkness

Riding unbroken colt through a frenzied crowd

Healing while restoring

Goodness defeating deception

Revealing truth, exposing lies, standing for what is right

All the way

All the way to a terrible death

All the while

All the while knowing that death would open the door

for His followers to enter true life.

If we only knew Him better

His heart, His, nature, His personality.

We would like him. We would. We, too, would want to follow.

Hearing His voice would dim all the voices of our accusers;

Accepting His promise would eliminate our shame;

lift us to freedom to know and become who we were created to be.

Knowing His joy would overcome our fear of tomorrow.

Accepting His life, His way, would increase our life, our way in His loving hands.

He has never been a holy spirit of condemnation and punishment.

No. Jesus is a friend, a lover, an encourager, a fighter against those who would judge us.

Breathe in His fragrance and begin to see the world with new eyes.

When I first encountered this Man, this Man Person yet God spirit; I recognized the One my heart and spirit had searched for all my life.

He is worth every moment of pain in that search.

I am now home in Him; seeing through His eyes; hearing through His ears; understanding through His wisdom; living through His life; breathing with His breath; loving with His love; and I see my life on a scale of not a human lifeline, but an eternal one.

Oh, there is so much more to this Rebel, this Jesus.

So much.

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Hopeful Expectations

What if we could make fear go away? How? We stop talking about imagined disaster. We stop listening to media alarm. We begin to live again…laugh again…hope again that the world is good.

Might this defeat the weapon of fear? Might the new narrative, spoken aloud, create a different reality? Is this what the kingdom government of God might look like? If we weren’t living in fear, might we make different decisions? Might we open doors of innovation bringing new solutions to education, government, media, health care, family, life? 

Good days are ahead.

Cooler weather is coming.

The earth is stable.

What is happening is not unusual.

Sleep. Rest. Breathe.

Let's turn off the noise and turn on some music.

Dancing is healing; joy is wisdom; love is the main thing.

Job 3:25 says “what I feared the most has come upon me.”

Fear is a great weapon. Let's do the opposite and embrace hopeful expectation of good.

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Will They?

 

Will people follow darkness

            or light?

Will they move toward fear

            or hope?

Will they believe lies? 

            Or respond to an inner knowing of truth?

Will they choose wrong?

            Or run after right?

Will they serve self?

            Or will they live for the sake of others?

Will hate win?

            Or will love take the podium?

Will what is happening be an end?

            Or a beginning?

Will I do nothing?

            Or say “yes” and do something?

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Seeds of Difference-Making

I forgot about the time I was an activist in Junior High School until I ran across a newspaper clipping while going through some old boxes. There was an article about me in the Shorewood Herald. I had passed a petition among the students to protest the removal of the Christmas manger scene on the Shorewood High School grounds. The creche had been there as long as anyone could remember, nestled among tall pines. 

It was the mid 60s and tensions in our country were rising with war, racism, and talk of enforcing separation of church and state.

My dad put me up to the petition, I’m sure. But I like that he gave me a lesson in how we can make a difference in life by having a voice. Because of the petition, the manger remained that year. 

I don’t know if it still stands. But I do know the climate of our world and nation today feel very similar to the sixties.

Just like that little Christmas petition, a simple petition in a small town could work to change a school board decision, a town hall vote, or even influence a federal legislator. Small seeds. Tiny steps. What can I do today? I pray - and that’s big. I meet with a group called Women of Courage - who are wanting to make a difference together. I also write - mostly to bring healing and hope and love. Maybe that’s enough - or maybe that is only a start.

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