After a brief discussion, we decided that we were all hungry for sushi.  It sounded good after some of the heavier fare we had eaten previously in Louisville.  I know sushi isn’t something naturally associated with Louisville, but with the national craze for sushi continuing to grow, we were fairly certain we could find some in town.  After a cool down at the hotel, we started exploring possible sushi restaurants.  Lori looked in some local magazines and area guides. Jerry went down and checked with the person at the front desk for recommendations.  I looked online for some possibilities.

When Jerry got back, the guy at the front desk gave us three places six to eight blocks down from the hotel, two of which matched up with places Lori and I had found.  We decided to check those places out and proceeded to walk through downtown Louisville in search for sushi.  The first place turned out to be very formal and we were dressed in shorts, so we went to the second place on the list of recommendations given to us by the front desk manager.  We went in and were seated.  As we looked at the menu, we did not find any sushi.  We asked and found out that they did not even serve sushi, so we excused ourselves and headed to the third place on our list.  As we walked there, I checked again on my Droid and found another place near the third recommendation.  This gave us two possibilities within walking distance.  As we came upon the place I found on the internet, we found that it was closed.  It only operated Monday through Friday.  Undeterred, we walked on down the block to find the third recommendation from the front desk to also be closed.  It also was a Monday through Friday joint.  We were 0-4 and wondering whether it was worth the trouble to find sushi in this “ghost” town.  We also were bemoaning the great advice offered by the hotel front desk manager.

As we walked back to the hotel, now hot from our 15-20 blocks of exploration in search of sushi, we debated whether it was worth the trouble to find someplace where we could drive for sushi.  A hot dog was beginning to sound good to me and the Louisville Bats ballpark had good dogs, as Jerry and I had discovered the night before.  We came to the consensus that we still wanted sushi.  In other words, Lori told us we were going to find sushi if it killed us.

We got back in the car and headed toward Bardstown Road where we had eaten the first night in Louisville and where we had seen several sushi places.  As we drove, we found at least three places on the internet where we could get sushi in that area.  When we got to the first, we found that it was closed for a private party…0-5.  We went on down to the next place after fighting a bad intersection to get out of the last dead end and found that the other place was also closed…0-6.  Even the most tenacious person would have given up and decided that this was a failed mission and that it was time to go to Plan B…anyone for a dog at the ballpark! 

We decided to try this last place on up the road.  It had good reviews and was just another half-mile down the road.  When we got there, to our surprise it was open!  It was full, but there were seats open at the counter.  Apparently, everyone in Louisville in search of sushi had found this to be the only casual place open to get sushi in Louisville.  We were relieved, yet a little wary that some other form of disaster was surely ahead, given our track record up to this point.

As it turned out, we found this place to be an amazing place for sushi.  The rolls were huge with some of the best sushi we had ever tasted.  In fact, we had so much that we were barely able to finish it all…but we did!  It turned out to be well worth the difficulty of our journey.  We found that the long and frustrating path that had led us through six different disappointments had actually led us to the best possible finish with a great, satisfying culmination to our journey.  It made us all realize how easily we could have missed out on this great culinary experience if we had given up along this exhaustingly frustrating trek in search of sushi.

It led me to reflect about how this relates to the much more important quest for God that so many experience.  I hear about so many folks who allow one bad experience or disappointment to derail their search to know and commune with God.  Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a divorce, a job loss, a serious illness, or some other major life change or struggle, people so quickly use that difficulty to disconnect them from the loving and gracious God who created us, offers to redeem us, and seeks to sustain us through the difficulty that we can experience in a broken world.  It doesn’t even take a major setback or problem to bring a sudden stop to our walk with God and life in God’s will.  Sometimes we allow a petty act or comment, a blow to our ego or our pride, or some other relatively minor disturbance or occurrence to end our journey to walk in harmony and synergy with God.  It can even be a minor difference of opinion or a matter of style that can change the course of our quest for life in Christ, not because God has abandoned us, but because we have given up on God and given out on our journey with God.

I can’t help but mourn the number of God’s children who have missed the ultimate blessing of salvation God offers through Jesus Christ, let alone the journey in God’s will and way because they had no endurance, got bogged down in frustration, or allowed something to obstruct their recognition of God in their midst.  We see it in the petty squabbles that disrupt the church and disconnect folks from our body today.

The search for God through Jesus Christ is worth the difficulty and frustration that sometimes accompanies the journey.  For those who endure, the blessing of God’s gracious salvation is worth the trouble we often find along the path of life.  God has prepared a wonderful and satisfying banquet, a veritable feast, for each of us.  May we stay the course and experience the fullness of God’s blessing…it is worth the trouble!

One significant change was the flow of the toll roads that are prevalent throughout the Western Suburbs of Chicago.  When I lived there, everything was either exact change automated toll booths or cash at employee manual booths.  Now, electronic sensored toll areas were predominant, much like the ones we have around Houston with EZ Tag.  Unfortunately, as outsiders from out of state, we had to use the manual booths that took much longer to navigate due to the lines and longer transactions.  This was a vast improvement for the folks with the automated sensors versus those of us bogged down in the cash lanes.  I still remember vividly the automotive ballet that predominantly typified the old exact change booths of two decades ago.  I also remember the chaos associated with the outsider who didn’t have the change ready when they got to the booth or missed the receiver with their coin toss.  It would initiate a symphony of horns from the impatient insiders behind them.

I actually found my way to the home I had owned in the Naperville/Aurora area.  Though the area had grown and changed significantly, the house where I once lived looked eerily the same, although a bit older.  I missed the green spaces and the openness that once characterized this area.  Yet, it displayed a new vibrancy and offered many more amenities than it used to provide.  In the midst of all of this growth and change, the house that was once my home looked like an older, dated relic of a time that had passed. 

I also saw the church where we attended during our year and a half living there.  Unfortunately, it looked as though nothing had changed much there either…not in the romantic way of “just like I remembered it to look”, but in the older and, frankly, a bit rundown way.  We were there in the middle of the afternoon of a weekday and there was not a single car in the parking lot or a light on in the building.  It was locked tight.  The landscaping was unkempt and the painted portion of the building was beginning to show signs of peeling.  Frankly, I was sad to see it in decline.  When we were part of the congregation, it was a relatively new church born from a merger of two churches in the area.  Now it just looked to be barely surviving in the midst of the thriving area that had engulfed this neighborhood.

After dropping LeAnn off at Midway Airport in Chicago on Saturday, I drove to South Bend.  This journey initially took me through some scary neighborhoods on the Southside of Chicago near the area where I once traveled as part of my work for Exxon two decades ago.  I don’t know whether I just was seeing things differently or whether they had really changed that much.  I imagine it was a little of both.  I do know that some of the romanticizing that I had been prone to offer about this area and that time of my life was met with a new reality like a car careening into a brick wall.

It was a weird mix of the familiar and the unknown as I traveled to South Bend.  While there were continual markers of the old days of my time there, many things had drastically changed.  Some of this was due to the natural change associated with the more than 20 years of distancing from the days when I once lived and worked here.  However, there was also a new awareness of a changed perspective that accompanied this literal drive down memory lane.

Parts of South Bend certainly showed signs of decline.  Some of the most prominent employers from my time there were either out of business or operating under a significantly reduced level of activity.  One of the petroleum distributors with whom I once worked closely had their facility in a state of decline, with rusty fencing and other signs of aging without a great deal of grace.  The area on that side of town had definitely declined with many houses and lots in disrepair.  There were people sleeping in the parks and on a few of the street corners in greater numbers than I recall from my days there.

The area around Notre Dame looked about the same, but definitely with more developed landscaping and some new hotels and other businesses in the immediate area.  As I got closer to my old neighborhood, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Would it look similarly aged as my home in Naperville?  This was the place I called home, where I brought two of my children as newborn babies for the first time, and where many special memories were created.  The sub-division looked good.  Some of the homes looked the same, but almost all of them were in good shape.  When I turned the corner and saw my old place, it looked great.  It had new siding of a very different color than when we lived there, but it looked great.  The yard was in great shape.  The foundation of the home of my time there had been cared for in a way that allowed it to thrive in the present.

As I drove to my old neighborhood, I noticed that my former church had built a new building closer to my old home in what used to be a field during my days there along the main drag running north-south.  After stopping by my old home, I made a quick trip to check out the church and find out when services were scheduled for the next day.  On the sign, I noticed they had another campus where the church originally was located.  The original location was where both Zachary and Kari were baptized.  As I drove to the South Campus, I saw that it was now the Youth and Outreach Center for the church.  Where my children were once baptized, now they play games and eat, romp and have concerts, and serve the needs of the community through an outreach and counseling ministry.

It took a while for all of this to sink in.  I realized that a lot had changed, time had passed, and the church moved forward in new and exciting ways.  I pondered this as I returned to my motel for a night of rest in anticipation of worshiping at their relatively new campus the next morning.  I wondered about how different it would be and whether I would even recognize anyone after such a long time had passed. 

When I got up the next morning, I quickly got ready and checked out of the motel and made the trek across town to the church.  Unfortunately, I got delayed checking out and was running late for the service.  I hurriedly parked and ran into the building to find that worship had already begun.  I grabbed a bulletin from an usher and made my way into the service during the opening hymn.  It was a beautiful, modern sanctuary with all of the latest technology employed.  The two pastors on the chancel area were not familiar to me, of course.  They sang the hymns and other music totally from the screens.  Special music was offered by two men playing a guitar and banjo as they sang “Wayfaring Stranger”.  The Associate Pastor preached the fourth installment in a series on Being Well and Well Being.  This was followed by communion by intinction served at the altar rail by teams of assistants.

I have to admit that I found myself checking out the sanctuary and scanning the congregation for familiar faces as I worshipped.  What impressed me most was the broad range of ages that made up the congregation.  Though there was nothing of particularly note in the service, I had a pleasant worship experience.  I couldn’t help but think about how much had changed since I was part of this congregation.  After the service, I did recognize a couple of faces among the crowd of nearly 500 at this service.  I don’t believe anyone recognized me.  I had led a Sunday School Class, played softball, camped with the camp ministry, headed up several ministry areas, and had actively participated in the life of this church during my 2 ½ years there, but that had been 22 years ago. I did not even make contact with the few I somewhat recognized for fear of taking too much time before continuing my journey onto West Virginia.

As I drove the next 6 hours to West Virginia, I reflected on all that I had experienced over the weekend.  I had been in two communities where I had lived and worked for a total of four years of my life, where two of my children had been born, and where many memories had been forged.  Although there were familiar places and experiences throughout the weekend, most everything had changed significantly.  I thought about the home and church in Naperville that looked most like it did when I was living there 20 years before, but had shown many signs of wear and tear as they survived unchanged, rather than thriving by adapting to the changing surroundings and circumstances of a new day.  I also reflected on the different, but thriving circumstances that I found at both my old home and church in South Bend.  Time had moved on, but the state of the home and the church had changed for the better through properly changing with the circumstances and embracing the opportunities the world held.

It made me think of Holy Covenant and the 25 year anniversary ahead.  I thought about how someone who was part of the church in its early days at Sundown Elementary or who had their children baptized in what now is Covenant Hall would think and feel upon returning now.  I wondered how it would feel for them to see who we are now and are seeking to become in the future.  I thought about how I would represent the unfamiliar pastor who was preaching where others once led the congregation.  As I reflected upon this perspective, I prayed that they would find a church and congregation that was adapting to its changing surroundings, thriving in its changing state of ministry, and faithful to its past, while not living in the past.

I began to see with new eyes the possibility of what God has yet in store for us together.  I see the hope and possibility of greater days ahead with new folks, who we don’t even know now, as part of the ongoing work of God at Holy Covenant.  I hope and pray that they will feel more welcomed and less bogged down than we did at those West Side toll booths.  God is constantly working and moving in the changing landscape of our world.  God calls us to change and thrive in a changing and often challenging environment for ministry.  We may play basketball where we once baptized babies and married couples.  We may serve the hungry where we once ate fellowship meals as a congregation.  We may welcome people who didn’t know we existed or never thought they would find Christ and fellowship within our church family.  We can only imagine and pray to discern what God intends for us to be.

My trip through the places of my past in the Midwest was much more than a trip down memory lane.  I found it to be an eye-opening journey, allowing me to see more clearly the possibility of what can be our future in God’s will and way.  I hope and pray it helps open your eyes and hearts to possibilities that God holds for us.

As much as I was touched by the support for those who fought in these wars, particularly those who lost their lives, I was also impacted by the history of conflict that was also represented by this trail of war markers.  Our history as a nation has been written in a trail of blood that has been spilled through the countless conflicts that make up our heritage as a nation.  This history includes the war that won our independence from England, but also includes the war that was fought between the states and pitted brother against brother in many cases.  It also includes many conflicts fought on foreign soil that represent the many divisions and conflicts within our world throughout history.

Though not represented in this park, our faith heritage has also been filled with conflict.  From the earliest episode of sibling rivalry between Cain and Abel to the conflict that marks the fight for a promised land (that still continues even today) to the conflict within the followers of God that led to Jesus’ crucifixion, our faith heritage is also typified by human conflict more than we would like to admit.

Another concern for me is in the more personal and localized conflict that exists on a much wider scale than we care to acknowledge.  We live in a world that experiences rampant domestic violence, prejudice, abuse, and other forms of violence and human conflict.  We have become more identified by our conflict than by our resolution of conflict.  This persists in every phase of our existence today despite the many lessons of the past.

I reflect upon that wooden boardwalk winding though that marsh at the end of the park trail.  It certainly symbolizes an uncertain future that anticipates conflict ahead, just as it has been recorded in our past.  When will we awaken to the futility associated with so much of this conflict?  When will we turn to the One who calls us to unite together in hope rather than divide through conflict?

I hope that we will learn from the extreme price that has been paid for the conflicts of our past, as well as the price of our current conflicts in a continually divisive world.  I pray that we will turn to God and write our future with more peace than we have experienced in our past.  I pray that the marsh of uncertainty that concludes that trail will transform into a sea of hope that brings God’s kingdom to reality on the earth of God’s creation.

I love the hymn Let There Be Peace On Earth.  I remember as a member of Atascocita United Methodist Church during the Kuwait War singing that hymn as a choral benediction every Sunday until peace was restored from that conflict.  I still get goose bumps when I think of those powerful words, especially those haunting words that conclude this hymnic prayer, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

I pray that we will take those words to heart on both a personal and communal level as we confront the conflict that plagues our world and our individual lives.  I pray that we will seek the peace that God offers each of us through Jesus Christ and allow that personal peace to enable each of us to be part of the solution to the conflict that still typifies our path of life.

I scoped out a route based on intel from the hosts at Cedarly that took me down Mill Road toward Delafield and then a left onto a closed bike path under construction into downtown Delafield and back.  Our hosts explained to us that this bike path had been under construction since the past spring.  The soft base had been laid, but the asphalt completion had been delayed for some time while other blacktop work was being completed elsewhere in the county.  Though it was closed to bikes, it was still available for walking and jogging by the locals.

In the short time I have been here, I grew accustomed to the closed path as a vital part of my morning walking route.  Even though I changed up the route a little each day, this closed bike path was a crucial leg in my daily venture.  It provided a safe means of walking down a busy road without concern for traffic related danger.  The soft base was also easy on my legs versus the hard asphalt that made up the rest of my walking path.

This morning (Thursday, July 29th) I decided to take another route downtown through some back streets to change things up and then to return down the closed bike path, as had been my pattern for the previous three days.  To my surprise, when I got to the far end of the path on my return from downtown Delafield, I smelled fresh asphalt and heard the sounds of paving equipment before me.  As I gazed down the path, I could see that the work crew had already completed nearly a third of this 2 mile stretch of bike path.  The rest was completed that afternoon.  In one day, my soft walking path had been transformed into the asphalt bike path that had been six-months in the making.

This caused me the discomfort of rerouting my walk to the edge of the busy road leading back from Delafield toward Mill Road.  All I could think as I walked back on this more dangerous terrain of the roadside edge was about how this construction had disrupted my daily walk routine.  Why did they pick today to finally pave this path and disrupt my walk?  Why couldn’t they have waited until next week when I will be long gone from here?

When I got back to the room and showered, I resumed my study of a book by Gary Thomas titled Authentic Faith.  The next two chapters for my study were, you guessed it, on waiting (patience) and frustration (struggle).  As I read these chapters of wisdom, I laughed about how I had allowed such a small change impact me so much that morning.

None of us deal well with change.  We get comfortable in patterns of familiarity that bring us comfort.  Yet, we live in a continual movement of change.  Things are always changing.  When we don’t like how things are changing, we complain.  This was exactly how I reacted to the discomfort of this construction on my exercise routine.

However, when we don’t like how things presently are, we can’t wait for change.  We want it yesterday.  As much as we detest change when it brings discomfort to our normal and familiar patterns, we also can’t have it take place soon enough when we are dissatisfied or frustrated by the status quo.  I imagine a few area cyclists were in this camp, excited about the long-awaited path completion.

Here was the culmination of so much frustration for folks waiting for the completion of the bike path that would provide a safe and resilient means of travel.  It was a long awaited culmination to a frustratingly long project for the area.  Here I was, frustrated and out of sorts, because I was being inconvenienced by this construction effort.  I was comfortable in the interim state of the soft base foundation that had been long prepared for the final blacktop bike path and irritated by the process of the construction crew bringing this project to completion.

This really spoke to me as I reflected on it during my reading later today.  How many times are we comfortable in the status quo of a season where God is simply preparing a foundation for something greater and more permanent than the transitional state in which we find personal comfort?  Are we willing to endure and embrace the changes God is working in our world and lives to provide a more lasting and blessed state of affairs?  My reading and reflection calls me to greater flexibility and patience as I combat my tendency to get frustrated by the changes at work in my life and ministry.

I also have reflected on how this relates to the transitions taking place at Holy Covenant.  I know some are reluctant to embrace change, comfortable in the patterns and activities that are entrenched in our ministry as we have come to experience it.  Some long for days gone by and aspects of the church that no longer are prevalent today.  Some are reluctant to embrace changes ahead, fearful of the discomfort it brings to our comfortable patterns and activities. 

The ministry of God is constantly in a state of change.  Remember the reaction of many challenged by the new thing God was doing in Jesus Christ.  Jesus challenged understandings and patterns that many had grown accustomed to embracing.  I feel that this little construction experience during my retreat has awakened me to the discomfort and disruption that even the slightest change can bring.  It has made me more sensitive to the concerns and fears others experience in the changing scope of our ministry together at Holy Covenant.

God calls us to grow and embrace the life that is ahead by waiting patiently and enduring the inconveniences associated with the change God is working in our midst.  May we not get comfortable in the interim or long for what was, but instead look forward to what lies ahead, as God brings to completion that which has been creatively in process.

However, last week we had a vivid reminder of the frustration and difficulty associated with constant interruptions.  While we were enjoying a beautiful day at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, we found ourselves constantly interrupted in our game experience.  First of all, I have never been to a sporting event where more vendors made more frequent rounds during a game.  This is a great thing if you are wanting a beverage or a snack, but we found that they were constantly obstructing our view of the game by continually making their way to the front of the section, standing in the aisle and barking out what they were offering.  As soon as one would leave our aisle, another would make their way to the front and begin the routine over again.  This happened with a regularity that I have never before experienced.

If that were not enough, the fans in our section had no better sense of appropriate timing.  There was an entire row of fans right in front of us that moved with a frequency and rhythm usually reserved for ant hills and bee hives.  There was an entourage of about a dozen who rotated through three seats in the row in front of us that created confusion throughout the game.  LeAnn commented that it was like a crack house in front of us. 

Even though it was a great game with lots of action, we were constantly contorting ourselves and straining to follow the action on the field that many seemed oblivious to.  Many of you who know me are wondering if my face got red or my blood pressure went ballistic.  Actually, I did pretty well with all of it…considering the chaos before me.  Even LeAnn was affected by it and commented several times that she could not believe the insensitivity to the fans who wanted to see the game.

I write this post, not to out the fans and vendors of the Milwaukee Brewers, but to illumine a discovery for me that day.  As sensitive to the disruptions and the distractions that we faced that day, I wonder how many times I allow myself to be the disruption or distraction in others lives.  Am I helping people experience the Almighty One through my life and ministry or am I getting in the way and distracting people from what is important and salvific? 

I wonder about the ministry of the church and the activity of our daily work.  Are we revealing Christ and assisting in the experience of God that we profess to offer or are we standing in the way and obstructing it with countless activities that have little to do with Christ?

I find myself personally reflecting on whether I am helping or hindering the experience of Christ we all profess to desire.  Am I offering Christ, like one of those vendors at the park, in such a way that I am getting in the way and obstructing the view for those who are searching and longing to see and experience the real thing?  Are we so caught up in our own lives and journeys that we are unaware of how we are blocking the view for others?  Are we revealing Christ or are we just in the way?

I pray that we will look deep within ourselves and our communal work together to provide an unobstructed view of Christ and an uninterrupted experience of the Almighty God to those who hunger for that life giving experience that only God can provide.

This week has been absolutely wonderful.  The weather in Wisconsin has been relatively comfortable and mild in comparison to Texas.  The hottest day got up into the upper 80s and was very humid.  Otherwise it has been very comfortable and pleasant in the 70s…you are hating me already, aren’t you?

What has been really wonderful has been the freedom from the distractions and infringements on my time with God and with LeAnn.  The media fast is not easy for us, but has brought a renewed awareness of quiet time with God and one another.  Yes, we missed the finale of The Bachelorette and some of the news and events of the week, but in place of these usually necessary parts of our days we have experienced some amazing experiences of God.  We both have promised one another to make this quiet time a more prevalent part of our days when we return home.

While we have been at Cedarly, we have read more than we have in the past 6 months.  We have watched all types of birds feeding at the many feeders around the property.  We watched a fox scatter the squirrels and chipmunks that were gleaning below the bird feeder in an attempt to feed her young.  This morning we saw a wild turkey and her 6 chicks feed outside the window, not ten yards away.  LeAnn and I have hiked, talked, played, dreamed, and communed with God and one another.

This live post is an announcement to those we love who are following our trip that we are truly alive and well.  In many ways, it is the most alive I have felt in some time.  I sit here with new energy, new excitement, new perspective, and new hope in the things God has in store for us at Holy Covenant.

One of the books I have read was an advance copy of the book we will be using for our churchwide study, Three Simple Rules.  It is an easy read with thought-provoking insight into the profound impact that following these three rules can have on our lives and our relationship with God and one another.  I am excited to have the opportunity to preach and teach some of the insights I have experienced in reflecting on this book for myself.  I hope you will take the time to read it and encounter it for yourselves.

Well, that is enough for now.  We feel your love and prayers all the way in Wisconsin…aye!  Please pray for the rest of our week together, for LeAnn’s flight back to Houston this weekend, and for my continued road trip/sabbatical journey.  I rejoice to share that I am alive in Christ and ready to follow faithfully where God leads me.

Grace and peace!

As I ponder the purpose of this sabbatical, I realize that this is a significant opportunity for me to more clearly reflect on my life, the state of my soul, and the fruitfulness of my ministry.  I find that this journey has forced me to see more clearly the features and the flaws of my life and my ministry.  It has forced me to examine how well I am reflecting the image of God in which I was created (as are we all).  It has also caused me to reflect on how well I am staying connected to God as I seek to serve God.  Am I reflecting God as authentically and faithfully as I desire or am I seeking to have God reflect me and my desires? 

This time away has allowed me to examine all of the flaws, as well as celebrate the features of my life and ministry.  I am humbled by the love and support I receive constantly from LeAnn, my family, my church, and so many of my colleagues and friends in faith.  I absolutely feel your love and support through your thoughts and prayers as I make this journey.

In addition to the travel and the activities of this trip, I have also taken time for some much needed reading and reflection.  I have read Scripture and the writings of thoughtful and insightful authors to guide me in this reflective process.  Like that mirror in the room, these writings have helped me see what I need to see, even when it is not what I want to see.  I know that I am much clearer on what God is calling me to be and to do as I move forward in ministry.

LeAnn has also provided me with some clear images of who I am and need to be.  She has been so supportive and understanding throughout this trip and this process.  She continues to see me with eyes of love, but with more clarity than sometimes I want to admit.  Throughout this process of reflection, she has continued to urge me to see the best of God’s image in my life, as well as the stuff that distorts that image.  

The image of God is imprinted in all of us, as we are all created in the divine image.  Our sin, our selfishness, and our brokenness distort that image.  As people look to us to see a reflection of Christ, what do they see?  As I was reading Mike Slaughter’s book, Change the World, I saw this convicting quote from Mohandas 

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.

Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Those are harsh words from such a pacifist as Gandhi.  Gandhi’s perception of Christians is as stark as the image I am forced to see in that mirror in our hotel room.  Obviously, the reflection of Christ he saw in Christians did not match up with the proclaimed source.  These are vital words for you and for me as we reflect on our witness to the one whose name we take on as the critical source of our identity, the one we are called to reflect to a world in need of Christ.  As I continue this sabbatical, I hope I will grow to better reflect the source of all that is good within me to a world in desperate need of Christ.

The Water Tower is both a beautiful reminder of what was Chicago and a stark reminder to what is no more.  It has boldly stood the test of time and simultaneously has found itself strangely out of place and isolated in this chaotic and bustling city.  Surrounded by shops and office buildings, the Water Tower stands as an isolated, in many ways even odd, fixture on the landscape of “The Magnificient Mile” of Chicago.

I can’t help but ponder the words of scripture that call us to live in the world, but not be of the world.  Words that remind us that we are part of an ever-changing and oddly distorted world, equally part of its landscape while called to live in contrast to the broken nature of that very same landscape.  We are both beautifully created in the divine image and also distorted by the inherent separation associated with our fallen nature.

I stand, gazing upon this architectural jewel, reminded of what was, what is, and what can be, not only pondering the changing landscape of Chicago or more broadly speaking, our world, but also the varied nature of what I was created to be, what I am, and what I can be.

Christians are becoming oddly out of place in a post-modern (now even characterized as a post-Christian) world, where people have become too sophisticated, too busy, or too apathetic to be concerned with God, the intention of God, much less the call of God upon their lives.  We are called to live in the world, but not be of the world.  Yet every indication is that we are continually slipping into a social paradigm where matters of faith are out of step and certainly not of importance. 

We live in a world where our jobs, our hobbies, our leisure activities, and our social obligations take precedence over matters of our faith and the life of the church.  We want the church to stay out of our way until we need something from it…comfort, support, healing, or some other form of assistance.  Yet, we are quick to renounce our faith for even the slightest social benefit or personal gain.  We are afraid of somehow finding ourselves out of step with the “real world”.  We fear becoming the odd fixture in an otherwise changed landscape of life.  We don’t want to be the Water Tower in the midst of the seemingly attractive landscape of a changing reality.

When I gaze upon the Water Tower in Chicago, I see it very differently.  I see it as a fixture of enduring quality in a trendy and shallow world of change.  It stands as a beacon to what was, what is, and what always will be a part of Chicago.  In the same way, the love of God in Christ, the enduring role of the church, and the call to steadfast discipleship for those of us who take on the name of Christ, these things are to stand steadfastly in contrast to the capricious and changing landscape of the worldly as true signs of that which was, is, and always will be.  This monument of survival in the face of disaster reminds me of my call to stand fast and reflect that which is eternal in the face of that which is temporal and often more popular in the worldly of today.  To some, the faithful Christian is odd and out of place, but to God, the faithful Christian stands as a sign of hope and possibility that overcomes the disasters of sin’s folly.

I am also impacted by the connection between the very purpose of the Water Tower as a source of vitally needed water, primarily for fire prevention, to a city that burned to the ground by fire and the vitally needed “living water” that sustains my life through the enduring nature of God’s love and grace for me in Jesus Christ that too often is denied by a life lived on my own terms.  That sustenance from Christ gives me the courage and the strength to more faithfully live in odd juxtaposition with a distorted, yet oddly, alluring world. 

I encourage you to search with me to find the enduring hope and lasting blessing symbolized by Chicago’s Water Tower for our life witness to the timeless God who created us and continues to sustain us through the “living water” of Jesus Christ.  May we, too, stand faithfully as timeless witnesses to the enduring, even eternal, nature of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.  May we respond to the timeless call to discipleship in Christ and become an enduring, contrasting sign to others who struggle in an alluring world that leads to devastation and ruin.

Our faith is steeped in a tradition of Sabbath rest.  Our first understanding of creation is one where God rested on the seventh day after six days of creative activity.  This defined and justified a faith understanding that we are called to pause and rest, but more so, to offer a day of devotion to God.  We are to give a day to God and to ourselves for reflection and devotion.  I find it very difficult to faithfully offer that day of rest, reflection, and devotion to God.  My Sundays are not days of Sabbath rest.  They are busy days of not only leading worship, but more often days of meetings, events, and other obligations.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my ministry and my opportunity to serve God and the church as an ordained minister.  However, I too often fail to carve out quality time for myself and for my needed time with God for devotion and personal communion.

Weekends are filled with catch up errands, chores, and other obligations, including weddings, counseling, gatherings, hospital visits, and other surprises.   With Leann working Mondays through Fridays and having such a long commute, our quiet time together is very sporadic and often filled with interruptions.

This trip has been a special gift for us to have some uninterrupted time to have fun, relax, and be refreshed…to focus on one another and to share intentional love for one another.  It has been a true gift.  This week is filled with travel…five cities in eight days is not a walk in the park.  However, taking this trip and having some quiet time together in the car and the motel of the day have blessed us…at least it has blessed me.  I am so blessed to have LeAnn in my life.  We share so many common interests and really travel well together.  Needless to say, she is very forgiving and understanding, which is very important in a relationship with me.

We have shared the driving.  I write most of these posts when she is driving or when she is catching some sleep when I am still wide awake in the motel de jure.  More than the driving, we are blessed to share a very deep and abiding love.  We get one another and have had the opportunity to enjoy some of the things we don’t get to enjoy very often in our hectic, chaotic lives.  It hasn’t just been the big, planned things, but often the little jokes, shared experiences, and trivial observations that have been most memorable. 

Our tour of ballparks and dives across the Midwest has been a lot of fun.  We have seen some great places, experienced some fun events, and have eaten some memorable meals.  It has been a wonderful preparation for a more spiritually focused time together next week at the retreat center in Wisconsin.  There we will share a time of intentional, spiritual exploration as a couple in ministry in a quiet, beautiful setting.  As we continue our journey to Wisconsin and this special retreat, we are enjoying this uninterrupted time of travel, recreation, and intentional presence for one another.

This trip has made me realize how much we need this intentional and uninterrupted time as a more prevalent part of our daily routines.  My prayer for those who read this post is that you will discover this for yourselves and for your relationships without having to take a trip.  As I pray that I will be more intentional in making uninterrupted time for my spiritual well-being and for my relationship with LeAnn, I hope you will discover ways to recapture it for yourselves.

Unfortunately, that night I started to feel some worsening sinus symptoms that I had been experiencing since late last week.  I woke the next morning with  a pool of water in our bathroom from a pipe leak and a killer headache from my right eye through my neck.  The leak got resolved, although some clothes were soaked from the flooded bathroom.  I felt so bad, LeAnn made me go to an urgent care center as we were heading out of town forcing us to miss some other KC opportunities we had planned for the morning.  After an hour there, I left with two prescriptions and hope that things would get back on track as we headed to St. Louis with LeAnn at the wheel.

We ended up with a late lunch in Columbia, Missouri, where we had a surprise lunch experience at Addison’s that was very tasty.  I was already feeling better from the meds and we were on a fast track to St. Louis to catch the Cards (already had the tickets).  However, we did not make hotel reservations and were having great difficulty getting a room…everyone decided to go to St. Louis mid-week in late July in the middle of a heat wave, even a group of little leaguers from Katy we later saw at the ballgame.

When we arrived in St. Louis, the weather became threatened by some dark cloud cover and Texas-like humidity.  We got a room reservation after a dozen attempts only to learn that the hotel was overbooked and may force us to find another hotel.

We enjoyed another great game with the Cards dominating the Phils for a 7-1 victory.  When we finally got to the hotel, we not only had a room, but with an upgraded arrangement.  We just got checked in and settled to hear the thunder and the sound of heavy rain outside.  Our upgraded room was next to the guest laundry, facilitating the washing of the damp clothes from the early morning flooding incident and the sweat soaked clothes from the sauna-like conditions at the game.

At the end of Day 3, we laughed about the crazy journey that brought us to this point in the journey.  We had experienced highs and lows, twists and turns, planned events and unexpected surprises.  All of these experiences had shaped an experience we will never forget.  We had overcome difficulty and skirted on the edge of disaster as we found our way to just where we hoped to be. 

We have truly enjoyed the journey in spite of the many problems and surprises.

I take away from this chapter the critical importance of perseverance and flexibility in this trip and in the greater journey of life.  Enduring the pain and the difficulty has made the trip that much more special.  In a much more profound way, it guides me to be greater endurance and openness in my spiritual and life journeys.

I leave you thankful for the events behind us and the opportunities ahead.