X Marks the Spot

A treasure hunt! Gone are the days of X marks the spot on a crumbling pirates map. Geocaching is the technogeeks foray into the scavenger/treasure hunt of today's world. Utilizing the Web, the Geocacher acquires the coordinates of the treasures he wishes to attempt. Then, using a GPS, the adventure begins. Boonie stomping through all sorts of terrain in search of a waterproof container just to sign it, replace it, and go on to the next treasure. It can be an easy or very difficult find. The draw is in the challenge that the puzzle presents. Perhaps Geocaching should be listed with exercise programs since there is a potential to do a fair amount of walking. More than the destination is the journey. The nest of wild turkey eggs, the baby turtle no bigger than a quarter, the lake hidden from everyday eyes, or the discovery that the world around you has more to offer than just what is seen from the road. There is also the negative side, I suppose, poison ivy, mud, snakes, thorns, or a myriad of other things. You have to admit, though, that life has positive and negetive aspects too. How much do we miss if we only play it safe? Perhaps going on pretend treasure hunts could serve to develop the daring to begin seeing life as a type of treasure hunt adventure. You never quite know where the treasure might be found, but if you refrain from taking part in the hunt, it is certain that someone else will enjoy the treasure you could have had.

Lazarus come forth

When Jesus was told Lazarus was sick and He responded basically that there was no hurry, Lazarus was going to die. Picture yourself as one of the disciples at this point. The disciples knew Jesus and Lazarus were friends and now this response. I'm sure that it seemed that the Jesus they knew that healed people had suddenly changed. How could He be so callus to dismiss the problem of His close friend? Jesus figured on fixing the problem, but the disciples couldn't imagine how He would be able to fix it? Perhaps even if they had left right away it may have been too late anyway.

Lazarus had been dead 4 days by the time Jesus and the disciples showed up. Mary refused to run to meet Jesus. What would you have felt at that time? I'm sure I would have been feeling hurt, angry, disillusioned, and wondering if Jesus had lied to her about caring for them.

I, at this time, take a look at this story and think about how I felt when my position was eliminated. Mary and I would have commiserated. It seems like God has abandoned you when He knew there was a problem and appeared to ignore it. You feel like saying, as Martha did, "You could have done something about this. Where were you? Why didn't you?" I wonder if the tears Jesus cried were more about the pain He saw in Mary and Martha than about the death of Lazarus, since He knew He was about to raise Lazarus. Jesus ordered the stone rolled away and then Lazarus to come out. I look at this as the waiting time for another job to appear and the steps that have to be taken for my job hunt to result in a resurrection. The ultimate lesson here has nothing to do with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is entirely an emphasis on God being glorified. Perhaps that is why God doesn't always answer our prayers right away. He wants the glory and if He gave us everything we prayed for every time, it would appear that the glory would go to us. We prayed, it happened, not we prayed, God made it happened.

The incident with Lazarus also was a type of prep for Jesus own death and resurrection.

The Road Not Taken

We come to many forks in the road on our journey through life. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like now if you had taken the left fork instead of the right? What if, instead of joining the Air Force I had continued to work for Sara Lee? What if I hadn't gotten a divorce? What if I hadn't lost my job at Root-Lowell? The last one is still a big question mark, but also a chance to choose another fork. Should I go left or right? Which way? I've been seeming to wander aimlessly lately. The whole adventure is like going spelunking. The cave is dark, you can't see beyond your flashlight, and if you don't take precautions you could easily get so lost you can't find your way back out. On the other hand, there is the potential of finding hidden treasure, underground beauty or seeing something no one else has ever seen. My choice right now is to either see losing my job as something terrifying and debilitating or to see it as a chance to experience something new and be looking for the hidden treasure. What I really need right now is wisdom to choose the best fork in the road. Even though I may choose the "other fork" and things don't work out as I would like, somehow, God can turn it around if I allow Him to. Perhaps having a destination in mind would be a good idea. Remember what the Cheshire Cat said to Alice,
Alice:I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as...
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter which way you go.

Buying a map is a great idea, reading it helps more than just carrying it with you.
If I have a Bible and do not read it, how will I know God's voice when He speaks to me?

Never Alone

The sky is a canvas of progressively gray cumulus clouds. I can almost imagine tornadoes and waterspouts hiding behind the great puffs of moisture infused clouds. The wind has increased in intensity even within the last few minutes. A storm is brewing. A storm on the outside to match that on the inside. How do you defuse a storm? Or do you? Riding out my own personal storm is so much more difficult than riding out a storm with rain, wind and hail--it passes and the air is clean and fresh. Sometimes it leaves damage in its wake, but not always. I think that a personal storm is more difficult because you have less of a handle on it. It's difficult to predict the intensity, length and impact. It also is one of the times in life that God, who we are taught has everything under control, seems to be absent and powerless. Here we stand, alone with the elements beating and battering, barely able to endure the onslaught wondering where God is in all this. I lost my job. It's been several months and honestly the future doesn't look good at the moment. God has promised to prosper me in this yet there are days I wonder if the storm will ever end.