SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

There’s nothing worse than being both lost and disoriented. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced that frightening duo but high on the list of things that simply do not go well together have to be the experience of both being lost and disoriented. And if you think about adding another dimension that just makes being lost and disoriented even worse it would be not knowing where the destination is. Not knowing where you are and not knowing where you are going and which direction takes you there, that’s big time lost.

In my view spirituality is all about dealing with this dimension of orientation. Where are we? Where are we going? And what’s the direction to get there?
I recently visited with a dear friend who like all those diagnosed with a terminal illness is living out notice of his last days, months, years. While he has always been a wise man, I find his wisdom bears an added measure of worth as he tacks into the wind of this ultimate challenge. More often now I find pearls in what he says.

We were talking about the mystery of life, this reality, this consciousness that we are caught up in. And he said, “Life, our circumstance, being caught up in life is so mysterious, so vast. Nobody can possibly say they have it figured out, that they have the answer. Nobody knows. So you shouldn’t adopt anyone’s views or what anyone says about the mystery of life. And that includes me and what I have just said.”
I found what my friend said a beautiful word picture, an almost poetic expression of the vastness of this mystery.
We are all caught up in this great mystery, coping with it as best we can. I suppose that one thing all of us have in common is that in our coping we tend to rely on what works for us. All of us have ways of coping with the mystery of life, those that tend to not only help us cope with this predicament of being caught up in this mystery, but those that also consistently help us find joy in being with life. And these are the ways of coping that we strive to rely on more of the time.
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God in the Ordinary

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving to Harry’s house for a brainstorming session. We hold these sessions about once every 6 weeks to generate new ideas for services, and this particular day, I had nothing. I was completely empty of ideas.

SO on the way to Harry’s, I turned off the radio and I began thinking about the types of topics we typically explore and it occurred to me that what we’re doing many times is examining some aspect of the human condition; those ordinary experiences that touch all of our lives. This thought led to the idea that if I were to go through my day, I would inevitably come across something that resonated with me spiritually, and if I was lucky would inspire a theme for a service.

Now before I share what I discovered in examining my day, I want to clarify what I consider to be a spiritual experience, or the experience of “God”.
Up until now, my idea of what “God” is has been only a feeling that I’ve struggled to verbalize, it’s been more of a picture in my mind.
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Longing For Home

In the film clip this morning, there were two views of home. The brother and sister experience “home” in very different ways. I will speak of both of these view of home. Every year people ask each other: “Are you going home for Christmas?” And for many of us, that question has a special meaning. Home and Christmas go together. Images of Christmases past evoke memories of a wonderful place and time in our lives. And, in reality, home is a special place - where you feel you belong - you feel safe.
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Rhythm and Balance

This past September was a difficult time for me. The lazy days of summer had ended and I found myself thrown back into the world of school and extra curricular activities. I was chairing an event at my children’s school that took place the first week of classes. My daughter was just starting ballet, tap, and gymnastics. My son was beginning a new therapy and a new social skills group. And both kids were beginning piano lessons.

There were changes here at Journey’s as well. Steve Franz announced he would be leaving and Valerie Bornemann let us know she would temporarily be unable be a part of the creative team. Days were beginning to get shorter and I was exhausted.

I remember coming home from Journey’s one Sunday and feeling completely wiped out, I was drained of all my energy. On Sunday’s, my husband and I like to take the kids hiking or kayaking when the weather is nice, so I got myself up and went, but as soon as we got home I went straight to my bedroom and collapsed.

As I lay there, I remember asking out loud, “What is wrong with me?” Within a couple of minutes, as my mind began to clear, pieces of information that had been gathering over the previous couple of weeks, starting to come forward into my consciousness.
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