When life seems empty...

This week at bible study we read John 15. Jesus's last teaching to the disciples during the last supper. He says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

A woman in our group has beautiful rose bushes in her backyard. And she called her dad about how to take care of them. His answer was to hack them until there's nothing left but a dead looking stump.

Reluctantly she hacked away till the beautiful, life-abundant bushes were nothing more than dead stumps. Afraid she had killed them, she looked out at them all winter, wondering if they would ever grow back.

In the spring, they grew. Bigger and more beautiful than the previous year.

Sometimes when life seems to strip down to nothing. When we lose our jobs, our health, our friends, our family, our favorite activities, when we have nothing left of us but dead dry stumps which seem lifeless. God is at work.

In those times all we have is God, and if we remain in him and let his love and spirit work in us, spring will come and we will arise and bear much fruit. Our lives richer and more beautiful because every unimportant and useless part had been chopped away.

So if God is pruning you. Live in it. Sing the blues. Read scripture. Pray. God will grow you again.

They shall run and not grow weary

This past weekend, we enjoyed an AWESOME time up in Gualala. As I had hoped, a prolonged weekend near the ocean brought me a sense of spiritual calm that I needed more than I recognized.

On Saturday morning, a group of us went for a run along the water. It was beautiful. It was beautiful but long. I haven't really run for a while so the 5 miles we did was more than my body was used to. On the way back I looked for marker after marker telling myself, I was 25% of the way, 50%, 60%.

We had less than a mile to go and one of the women got really tired and wanted to stop. But we were almost there. She couldn't give up now! I started clapping my hands. Run to the rhythm. Take one step after another. Almost magically, we both started running faster. We weren't tired.

The next morning at church they read the verse: "He shall restore their strength and they shall fly on wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary" (Isaiah 40) I imagined God running along side of us on the beach, clapping his hands - take one step after another, listen for my rhythm.

Life has twists and turns and a path that is hard to follow. There are so many times I just want to say - ENOUGH, I'M TIRED! and in the words of my best friend - NO MORE PERSONAL GROWTH FOR ME. I DON'T WANT TO BE A GROWN-UP ANY MORE, I'M TURNING IN MY KEYS!

That is when God runs up behind us, through a friend, through a moment, through sunlight in the trees, through the ocean, through a whisper and claps - one step after another, I'm with you. And suddenly, everything is alright. We aren't so tired and we can run but not grow weary.

Thank you, God.

My generation

The Gospel this week came from Matthew.

"How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.' John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riffraff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

Joey helped us explore this text musically through an blaring interpretation of "My generation"

The Gospel continues with...

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work...Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Naomi shared a touching story from her recent trip to Mexico where she helped build a house for a family. In the beginning, the work was hard for her. The boxes and bags heavy. But as time passed, she felt the burden lighten and was reminded of this verse. Coincidentally, it happened to be the Gospel this week.