Beach Distractions

One evening a man sat in a rickety lawn chair surrounded by pigeons. His chair was festooned with flags which presented onlookers a bit of an insight into his values. When the birds began to wander off, he would toss seeds vigorously into the air and the flock would return to nibble on the bounty. I thought this was a totally freaky sight to behold. Mary Poppins tunes played as a background sound track in my head. Norah paid him no attention.

I was curious about Norah's lack of interest in a sight I considered strange - until I realized that everything about the beach is new to Norah. I tried to notice what Norah noticed - unsullied by her own bad assumptions and judgments and prior experiences. Nature held her spellbound - sand, sea, puddles, sand fiddlers and sand castles. She showed only a slight preference for people her size versus the grown ups who were quite taken with our little running, jumping, laughing sprite in a pink hat and coordinating beachwear. Mostly, she longed to dance in the waves.

One difference between children and us older people seems to be our comparing minds. Shell collectors compare among the millions of tiny shell pieces to find the best shell among the offerings. We adults compare body type and swimwear options or who has the most clever solution for creating shade on a sunny day. Boys check out girls and girls check out boys. Surfer novices side-eye their fellow students. What a distraction!

I wonder how much we miss when we are so distracted by our comparing, judging minds.

Jesus’ Certain Way of Seeing

I have a really good friend who changes churches every few years. Me being me, I find this so interesting. "Why do you do that?" I asked.

"I like the feeling of being new." She replies.

"New?" I do not understand.

"I like being the new person, getting the goodies, having people go out of their way to greet me and make me feel at home!" Wow. This would have never occurred to me.

Aren't people so interesting? I never want to be the new girl. I grew up being the new girl-different states, towns, cities and schools. I hated that. My big dream was to grow up and know the names of the people who checked out my groceries. I wanted my youngest child to hear, "Oh, you're a McBean!" (He was not so enamored with this.) I loved it that a substitute teacher at James River High School once taught both me and my husband and she loved to point this out to my kids. (I believe, rightfully so, that she gets a little credit for their existence.) I want to be the girl people know so well that no one is startled if I show up without make-up wearing sweatpants. I want people to take me for granted and ask me to unplug the clogged toilet - but that's just me.

My friend has a different take on life. Her life is more meaningful if she is finding new experiences; I find meaning in the comfort of feeling a part of history - connected, tied down, anchored. Jesus had a particular take on how he defined meaning in life too, one that was at odds with his best friends Mary and Martha. Tomorrow's blog will dive into the day Jesus was their biggest disappointment.

The Dynamic Duo

The first baptism I ever performed was in a church. It totally freaked out those who came to be baptized. We were meeting in a school but walked across the street to a church for the baptism. I lacked imagination for what a jolt that would be to the system of our community. The church had graciously allowed us to use their baptismal font after their traditional 11 am service. Perfect. They would leave and we would arrive - no problem. Except that my friend freaked out. She was intimidated by the steeple, its people, and the formality of the environment. We survived the trauma. Barely.

Her shame attack was associated with past experiences in a church that sounded more like John the Baptist than Jesus. Remember? John was all about repentance. He went around in grunge attire shouting, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." People traveled great distances to take him up on his offer to wash away their past and start fresh.

To us, John the Baptist sounds like he is issuing some sort of threat. Why can blame us? That is how it is presented in many churches. To the people who followed John this was a promise. My friend had years of triggered messaging from a church that preached a message of fire and brimstone to her, a young woman who feared she was dancing very close to the flames. Her experience resulted in shame and guilt but their experience, those who heard the message of John, was one of pardon. My friend heard her pastor demanding that she own up to her depravity, ego and pride. But this message was ineffective because these were not her core issues!

My friend's core issue was hopelessness. John the Baptist preached the message of repentance BEFORE Jesus stepped up and taught us the concept of grace. This was not a haphazard or mixed message from God to us. God gets us. God is not focused on us as miserable sinners; he is well aware that what we need is faith in HIS commitment and power to renew and restore what humanity breaks. Soon the weather will be warm and our community will return to the water for another opportunity to wash away the past and start fresh. Our usual spot is the James River. The bottom is rocky, the water often brown with swirling mud; I usually see a snake or two observing our ritual. I'm always glad when it is over and we all manage to safely return to shore. It seems more fitting, somehow, to enter into those rocky rapids with a little fear and trembling.