Homesick

Do you ever have that sense, one rooted in a deep ache,
A place of hurt and loneliness
That sense that you have lost something,
But are not quite sure what it is
Or was

You only know
That you don't have it
And, perhaps didn't know
In the having
What it was you had

When the cry
Is answered by silence
And no one
Remembers
Who you are

And if they do
It is in passing
And you miss them too?

The Lone Nut

Thanks to Teacher Tom , I stumbled across this awesome TED talk that is ostensibly about leadership--yet, it's central point is the essentiality of giving over power and the importance of followers.  I think it serves as a pretty awesome illustration of the role played by the disciples in the early church--and how church growth may (or may not!) succeed.

"It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader...the best way to make a movement if you really care is to courageously follow and show others how to follow."

Where?

"Where Wise Men go?"
"Where guy go?"
"Where Advent go?"

These were the questions that I fielded over the course of the Feast of Epiphany.  And, as my 2.5 year old son gazed at me earnestly, I began to understand...

He wants all that he loves, and all that he likes, together.  This is his dearest hope and wish.  He is happiest when surrounded by people who love him.  "Mama, Mommy, Aye Aye" are his litany each night at his "God blesses", and as his circle expands the litany becomes longer.

And, isn't it amazing, how this longing to live in the Kingdom of God begins?  When I was in high school I would draw pictures of what I wanted the perfect neighborhood to be like--coffee shops, feminist bookstores and all of my friends on the same block (I think Melissa Etheridge was located in a house next door to mine in one particular drawing...).  And, now (minus, perhaps the next door location of my high school, favorite, rocker) I imagine the Kingdom of God to be something like that perfect neighborhood--where all of my friends, all those I love, live nearby (and of course--because Christ tears down walls--everyone I don't care for is there too!  But, in the Kingdom, I am delighted to have them there!).

For somebody who has spent the past 17 years moving from place to place (moving every time it felt like I had a community, a "family")--the idea of being settled in this kingdom, surrounded by all those I've ever loved and lost, is compelling.  So, I get it, when my son inquires plaintively where those guys went, where the animals, the mamas and the mommies have gone...he is asking why we don't get to live in the Kingdom yet.

Good question.

2013

2013 holds so many promises and hopes. But, today is today and yesterday, yesterday--and those days were once promises and hopes that have become already. And, along with the fruition of what was dreamed came the reality that unwished for pain and tears have their place alongside our hopes. 

So to all I wish a blessed today, a remembered yesterday and a hoped for tomorrow--all right here, right now. Happy New Year everyone!

And...good luck with getting the year right on written documents for the next 6 months or so!