Ruth Graham, who passed away this week at the age of 87.
My heart goes out to the man who has done so much for God.
Some interesting thoughts about life: taken from Relevant magazine, one of my favorite pieces of literature
Writer, pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his journal only a few weeks before being executed by the Nazis,
“I have seen an end to everything, but your way is very wide.” He believed that when we take the steps to do justice and peace, God’s way widens and leads us out of the present horror and hopelessness.
More from a different article, but just as good…
“Loneliness plagues our culture and its effects can be seen all around us. Whenever we face the valley of loneliness, we often falter under the pressure. In a trying time, we often collapse under the stress and feel abandoned. Instead of being strong and staying disciplined, we often are influenced by our emotions and feelings. As an emotional tide seems to flood our hearts and minds, we often forget the simple truths that can rescue us and help bring healing to our lives.”
“We can also rely on God’s love and help to get us through. David went on to write in Psalm 42:8, “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me?a prayer to the God of my life.” Even in the midst of loneliness and pain, God directs His love toward us. He gives us His peace and presence in the midst of turmoil and confusion. When our tears fall, and we have questions that don’t have answers, we can cling to Jesus who is faithful and true. “
More… taken AGAIN from:
The Paradox of Passion
The past year of my life has been pivotal, to say the least. I could fill space listing off all the things I’ve done, missed, failed, achieved…but that is quite honestly not the point. It’s not about me or what I think I know of life. It’s about the One who has so delicately woven together this existence (more so, this coexistence) called humanity. The lessons to be learned in His grand design are innumerable, so I hope to share one small piece of what He is saying.
Allow me to begin with a realization I had as I spoke with a good friend recently. In my recently completed college degree, the classes I worked hardest at ended up being the ones in which I received a B. It puzzled me for a while, even troubled and disheartened me. These are the milestone classes in my collegiate career. Shouldn’t I be getting an A every time? Shouldn’t I be excellent at what I’m passionate about? And that’s just it…passion does not automatically equal excellence. Passion is a volatile thing. (defined below)
Excellence is difficult to achieve. Being human makes the process messy. And we often learn a great lesson through trying and failing in some way or another than by trying and succeeding the first time. Though I worked countless hours and lost sleep over some of my passionate endeavors, it didn’t mean I received the grade or result I feel I earned.
Sometimes what God is trying to teach us is this: in the end, the grade (or whatever method of judgment is in place) is arbitrary. The experience gained and lessons learned are the true things of value. How many years did I spend troubling over a letter on a piece of paper to determine my progress? And how many times do I apply this same paradigm to my life outside of academia?
Life’s richest experiences are anything but cut and dry. There is no formula for how to do this thing called life. All we know is that we are to do it together. The Bible instructs us over and over again through the stories of ordinary people like Moses, Esther, Nehemiah and David. We see God’s glory and power displayed through the acts of the heroes of our Christian faith.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us of a cloud of witnesses that surrounds us as we run this race. We follow in a legacy of unspeakable power and grace. We were meant to follow through on God’s calling in our lives, even if it sometimes means going against the grain of our culture or taking a risk. The example we follow is that of paradox, faith, trust in God and so many other dynamics of this upside down Kingdom.
Too many days we are caught up in meeting an expectation—be it spoken or unspoken. In light of understanding my own passions and seeing how those who have gone before accomplished their callings, I must ask myself often what really drives me. Is it fear? Passion? Eternity? Faith? Many days it chalks up to approval, validation, success. But ultimately, I rest in the fact that God knows my heart. Beneath all the surface desires and distractions I battle each day, He sees my deeply rooted motivation. It is to know Him and be known by Him…and to bring others into the folds of His Kingdom.
Volatile: vol·a·tile (vŏl‘ə-tl, -tīl’) 
adj.
- Chemistry.
-
- Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures.
- That can be readily vaporized.
- Tending to vary often or widely, as in price: the ups and downs of volatile stocks.
- Inconstant; fickle: a flirt’s volatile affections.
- Lighthearted; flighty: in a volatile mood.
- Ephemeral; fleeting.
- Tending to violence; explosive: a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation.
- Flying or capable of flying; volant.
[French, from Old French, from Latin volātilis, flying, from volātus, past participle of volāre, to fly.]
