t comes up. As the title suggests, I typed in "contemplation" and got quite a wide range of pictures, but this one was toward the beginning and I kind of liked it, so here it is.I have been contemplating several things over the last few weeks and I'm sure everyone who stops by here from time to time is sick of my "road to relaxation" picture, so here it goes in totally random order.
Politics: It comes as no surprise to anyone that this subject has been on the news just a little bit lately. Now, I really don't consider myself affiliated with any particular party and I can say that I agree with a few things in both camps but not a lot of things in either. I have begun to wonder how to line up the whole mess with those things that I hold most important in regard to my beliefs as a Christian.
I do believe, without doubt, that the only hope I can completely put my trust in for this life and the life after this, is the hope that Christ gives. I cannot believe that any one person (or party) can set things right. God has been about the business of trying to reconcile us back to Himself ever since that nasty incident in the garden many, many years ago. As far as I can see, He has the only plan that is going to set this world right and I may or may not ever see it fulfilled in my lifetime on this earth, but trust I will see it all unfold in the next. That being said, I do believe it is each of our responsibility to do what we can to line up our attitudes, the way that we live our lives and how we treat others with the example He gave us when He sent Christ down to earth.
Then of course, there is the other issue of country first. Now, at the risk of being considered unpatriotic, I have to say that God is really abundantly clear that He is to be first in our lives. I don't think there is any place where I have read that He gives exception to that. However, on the contrary, He gives lots of examples of what happens when we move Him on down the list. It gets pretty ugly. What keeps coming to my mind is when Jesus is asked, in my humble paraphrase, to let people know what commands are the most important in this life. He simply puts it to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love others as yourself. So again, I have sleepless nights and wonder, how do our country's politics line up with that and what should our role as Christians be? What does it mean to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? What does it mean to not be prideful? What does it mean to take care of the poor and the outcasts? What does it mean to put Christ first? By the way, if you have some simple answers to these complex questions...you scare me.
School: I started back to school in July and am on my second class of four this semester. I actually should be done in the spring of 2010 and can graduate at the same time as Isaac (although hopefully not on the same weekend)! I had to take a temperament test tonight and mine came out as the "idealist". Now, given my recent history, this made me smile because I would have not described myself that way, but I hope at some point it holds true. It tells me that I want to help people grow and fulfill their potential, which would make me happy. I do enjoy teaching, which was one of the items it mentioned, so that would seem to line up. Hopefully, someday, I will be helping someone fulfill another potential other than making a pizza! I guess time will tell....
Home: The past several months, I (as well as Dan, I believe) have been quite homesick. For me, it is somewhat odd, because once you move away from your hometown, you associate home with where you grew up. I believe it is in the movie Garden State when the main character says it is a strange feeling when you realize the house you grew up in isn't home anymore. The homesick feeling seems to have subsided and that feels good. I think I will stop with this here.
So, back to the beginning, "contemplation". Sometimes I don't think we wrestle with ideas and question things enough. I know I have been guilty of this. Asking ourselves tough questions - you know, the ones without answers, is hard. But, I guess it is in the questioning that we can really learn about ourselves and what is important us. I know that Dan is important to me and makes my world a better place. Without him, the void in my life would be immense. Loving him and being loved by him brings me peace. I know how blessed I am to have children like Carrie and Isaac who question things and want to realize their own potential as well as change the world around them. Their happiness makes me happy. There are friends, past and present that have had a great impact on my life and for them, I am thankful. More and more I have been thinking about what it really means to be a Christian and how my life should be different because of that fact. Yes, contemplation is a good thing.
Until the next time, keep the hope alive -
JAH
