Choices?

I thought that we had a fairly interesting Home Team meeting last night. We talked about being willing to listen for and follow God, even when it brings us out of our comfort zone. We started by asking a pretty compelling question, that I thought I would bring to this forum. What is the smallest decision you ever made that turned out to deeply affect you? You never know how a seemingly insignificant choice could shape your future, so what choices have you made, and where have they led you?

I know my life was irrecovably changed one day by being in the wrong lane on West Roundgrove Road. Shortly after moving here, I was headed to work at what was then Mail Boxes Etc. and wound up in a far right lane that turned into a right turn only lane. Through God's working, a car kept me from getting over, and I was forced to take the right turn. In extricating myself from this situation, I chose to cut through the Meadowglen plaza shopping center, and found to my surprise the Vista Ridge Church of Christ. The best wrong turn I've ever made. What choice have you made, and how has that choice affected you?

Be Square!

Jennifer took this picture when she was in Japan last year. For some reason, it always makes me laugh. I can't imagine that making a square watermelon changes the taste of it at all. It is simply a matter of appearances (as well as the inevitable fact that squares are easier to stack and thus transport than the odd spherical shape watermelons usually come in).

I wonder if we are like this sometimes. There is a natural way in which we are supposed to grow and develop, but the world forces us to take a different shape. The very structure of life dictates that we become more selfless, from the days of an infant when our whole world is comprised of our needs, to those first lessons of sharing, to the point that some of you find yourselves at, where you must yield your wants and needs to those of the new life in your midst. Despite this the world tells us to becomes more selfish, to take care of number one regardless of the pain it causes others. Everything in nature tells us that beauty and youth and appearance are transitory and fleeting, but the world tells us to celebrate these things and place utmost value on them.

How do you stay round in a square world?

Soaring!

First off, I really want to thank Jennifer, Kelly, and Eric, who proved themselves to be really good sharers. If you haven't yet, feel free to respond with your own "Better know a VRCC'er". I reall y like it when we get to know each other better.

To encourage that spirit of sharing, let me open up about something. Jennifer and I are so not prepared to be parents! We were given the opportunity to babysit little Kaleb Wages who, if you are not familiar with him, may be the best baby I've ever come into contact with. I've rarely seen him cry, and he seems incredibly comfortable with strangers. So, Jennifer and I assumed we were getting an easy assignment when Rachel mentioned that they needed a babysitter. "Easy" might be an over statement. Now, don't get me wrong. Kaleb was still the perfect baby, crying only when he was hungry, which is the most natural of reactions and one I employ quite frequently myself when I don't get lunch as quickly as I like. Still, I was unprepared for the physical and mental concentration that it takes to care for another life, and needless to say I have a new found respect for each of you who devote yourself to a child (Good Luck, Swan!). Long story short, Jennifer and I love all of your kids, but we are not ready to have any that we can't give back at the end of the day.

The picture to the left is from our NC Spring Break vacation, which I find myself reflecting on more and more as the TAKS test approaches (five more days to get my kids ready). As I have mentioned on my personal blog, flying a kite was one of the most restful things that we did while in Kitty Hawk, but it got me to thinking about the analogy of a kite. In order to make a kite fly, you have to hold the string very tight, for without that tension, the wind will not catch the kite and it will fall to the ground like a rock. However, the art of kite flying is also in knowing when to let go of the tension and allow the kite to soar. There is a balance. If I do not use enough tension, the kite will not fly. If I keep constant tension, the kite will never be free to ascend. I think this is like life. Without some sort of tension pulling at me (pressures of work, obligations of church, bills, "honey-do's" from Jennifer), I always crash by becoming directionless, staying in bed or wasting away in front of TV. If there is too much tension, however, I am only hovering and not soaring. I lose creativity and purpose, only surviving to the next chore and not recognizing the beauty of life. The art is in balancing the two, I guess. Right now, I could use a little less of the tension and a little more of the soaring. How about you?