Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Stuff I'm Reading...

Closing sentence in an essay: "If we don't pray according to the needs of the heart, we repress our deepest longings. Our prayers may not be rational, and we may be quite aware of that, but if we repress our needs, then those unsaid prayers will fester." - Madeleine L'Engle in Glimpses of Grace

Opening sentence in an essay: "An agnostic is somebody who doesn't know for sure whether there really is a God. That is some people all of the time and all people some of the time." Frederick Buechner in Beyond Words

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Truth in a Movie...

I'm sitting in the living room watching a movie I've seen more times than I can count. It isn't even a very good movie, but it is fun and I knew I wouldn't have to pay much attention and could work at the same time.

I'm watching Pure Country. George isn't much of an actor. But it is a fun story of trying to find one's roots. I'm not really writing about the movie because I'm a fan; rather I was impressed by something Grandma Ivy said.

I've had a few conversations lately about asking questions. I notice that as many of us move into a place of seeking and asking questions we have one goal in mind...answers. I was so blessed to go to a school and be surrounded by friends who forced me to ask questions.

Now I'm still not sure I'm much of question asker, but I keep trying. However, over time I've learned one thing. I've learned that asking questions isn't always about finding answers; often the question is more important than the answer.

Earl was asking Grandma Ivy where Wyatt was and she gave him some long answer about a tree growing too fast and something about its roots. Earl had no idea what she was saying and told her he had never heard her answer a question directly. She merely smiled and said, "There are no answers, only the search."

Now she wasn't intending to claim any spiritual truths, but I wonder if she is right. I wonder if Jesus is more interested in our search, our journey, than he is us discovering answers. I guess one day we'll learn, for now I'll just keep searching.

I'm excited that I have a new friend in the search. Two guys helped change my life. Mark and Jason were a big part in me becoming who I am today. Now some might not compliment them on that but I sure do. I'm not yet where I desire to be or where I think I'm created to be. But I give a lot of credit to those two for where I am on the journey. Their faithfulness in our accountability has done wonders for me.

Last week I started to meet with a new guy. Now we are meeting together to live the journey. We are trying to hold one another accountable and ask tough questions about one another's walk; about faith; about life. Together we search. One other thing I think I've learned is that the search is supposed to happen in community. Thankfully I've found some.