maybe when Paul said we Christians are "more than conquerors" he didn't mean
conquerers and then some.
maybe he meant we are greater than conquerers...
just a thought...
(Romans 8)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
More Than Conquerers
Just a thought:
maybe when Paul said we Christians are "more than conquerors" he didn't mean
conquerers and then some.
maybe he meant we are greater than conquerers...
just a thought...
(Romans 8)
maybe when Paul said we Christians are "more than conquerors" he didn't mean
conquerers and then some.
maybe he meant we are greater than conquerers...
just a thought...
(Romans 8)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Glad to Finally Move Out of Your Parents' House?
I am living in Eugene now. I love it here. I moved here for school, and am attending the University of Oregon. God has been so providential, and I ended up in a substance free hall. My roommate is quite possibly the most considerate person I have ever met, and quite frankly, I love being around the people in my dorm. There is a Bible Study that meets in the basement of my building, and I have already been encouraged by the faith of a girl a few rooms down. The food is great, and really close. The campus is beautiful. Even my fish seems to feel more alive here.
God has really blessed me.
But this strange thing keeps happening. When I talk to people about how much I love it they always say the same thing. They all ask me one question that puzzles me, and every single time I simply don’t know how to respond. Everyone says, “Glad to get out of the house?” or “finally getting some space from the parents?” ….
I don’t suppose this question would puzzle me if it was being asked by people my age. I don’t expect people my age to have with their own parents the type of relationship that I have with mine. But I have gotten this question from adults, more often than not.
I guess that it makes sense that people who know me and know that I lived with my parents a year longer than most of my friends, and just went to community college after graduating high school would guess that I felt some sort of amplified version of what the normal teenage desire to get as far away as possible for at least a year. I understand that even my friends who have good relationships with their parents still feel the need to get out. I just didn’t. And I still don’t.
I don’t need to find out who I am, I know. And as funny as it may seem I found out more clearly who I am and who I want to be in the last year, while living with my parents. I watched my mom, a lot. And I saw in her some of what I aspire to be. She has patience, and gentleness that I can’t even imagine maintaining in the kind of environment that she is in everyday. I have known people who do similar things as my mom does. But there is one difference that stands out the most: she doesn’t complain about them. In situations where other adults in my life have endured slight versions of what my mom does every day I have heard complaining that turns even their most beautiful acts into something repugnant. In this my mom amazes me. Shortly after visiting another woman who I look up to and seeing her pour herself out, and then complain about it I began to really appreciate this in my mom. Not a week later my mom was sitting at dinner and announced that she thought she complained too much and she had everything that she needed. She said that God gave her everything she could ever want, and she complained about it, and felt convicted… I want to be like my mom in that. Even more, though, I admire her perspective. In situations where I would get angry, she sees a reason to love. Talking to my mom is a wondrous, and a humbling thing. Living with her this past year taught me who I want to be. And my dad. His perspective is one that I want, too. My dad sees so much of God in this broken world. He always can seem to find some theological perspective, pulled from the Word of God, that I could never see on own. I know who I want to become, because I know my dad. He studies the heart of God for this world, in its justice, in its peace, in its power. I found myself in a piece of his passion for God’s kingdom. My dad is brilliant. I know he doesn’t think so, but he is. He taught me how to think, how to form thoughts, when I was a baby, a kid, a student (in a formal logic class), and especially in the last year. He taught me how to start to think of things in the context of the kingdom of God. That is what I want to be like. My dad judges his responses to any situation according to his faith. I have never met someone who could instantly see what a right course of action might be and why, in, say, a relational disagreement or a specific problem someone is having. In this last year I saw things in my dad that I want to emulate. He is a faithful man, who serves his God to the best of his understanding. And he is a wise man, who always seeks to understand his God. He is a man who God has used mightily, and will continue to use mightily, and I cannot wait to see what God has been preparing him for these last couple of years (and to all those who think that they missed their chance to be used by God, because they aren’t as free as they were in younger years, get ready. I mean, God is expert at freeing people up from impossible situations so they can serve him. And also, He made His entire nation out of Abraham, but only after Abraham turned 100. I think God likes doing crazy stuff with old people. )! While watching my dad, I learned what I want to be like. In talks while picking up my little sister from school, I discovered what I love, and what I am passionate about.
After that 10 year rant, I guess you might be able to understand why that question (I know it’s been awhile since I talked about it, so let me remind you: “glad to finally get out of the house?”) might confuse me. The truth is, I am not glad to be out of my parents’ house. I love it here in Eugene. I plan to stay for quite some time, and I will enjoy it. But not because it’s away from the watchful eyes of my parents. I understand that it is important that I learn to live without my parents holding me accountable for my actions, or guiding my every day, because I need to learn to get those things from my Lord. But I did not resent that when I had it from them (that’s a lie…. I did at some points, but not in the last year). It was my parents that taught me how to follow, and who to follow, so that I can serve my God now. The fact is, I miss living at home. Not because I miss childhood, or responsibility, but because I miss learning from them, I miss being part of their daily stories in following Christ. I miss watching them as they figure out what exactly it means to be followers of the Messiah. I miss it a lot.
I love life here, I love life there. I am not glad to be out of my parents’ house, but I am glad to be in Eugene. I guess I am kinda glad people have been asking me that a lot lately. If only I could find a way to say all of this in a condensed enough way for a socially acceptable phone conversation………….
God has really blessed me.
But this strange thing keeps happening. When I talk to people about how much I love it they always say the same thing. They all ask me one question that puzzles me, and every single time I simply don’t know how to respond. Everyone says, “Glad to get out of the house?” or “finally getting some space from the parents?” ….
I don’t suppose this question would puzzle me if it was being asked by people my age. I don’t expect people my age to have with their own parents the type of relationship that I have with mine. But I have gotten this question from adults, more often than not.
I guess that it makes sense that people who know me and know that I lived with my parents a year longer than most of my friends, and just went to community college after graduating high school would guess that I felt some sort of amplified version of what the normal teenage desire to get as far away as possible for at least a year. I understand that even my friends who have good relationships with their parents still feel the need to get out. I just didn’t. And I still don’t.
I don’t need to find out who I am, I know. And as funny as it may seem I found out more clearly who I am and who I want to be in the last year, while living with my parents. I watched my mom, a lot. And I saw in her some of what I aspire to be. She has patience, and gentleness that I can’t even imagine maintaining in the kind of environment that she is in everyday. I have known people who do similar things as my mom does. But there is one difference that stands out the most: she doesn’t complain about them. In situations where other adults in my life have endured slight versions of what my mom does every day I have heard complaining that turns even their most beautiful acts into something repugnant. In this my mom amazes me. Shortly after visiting another woman who I look up to and seeing her pour herself out, and then complain about it I began to really appreciate this in my mom. Not a week later my mom was sitting at dinner and announced that she thought she complained too much and she had everything that she needed. She said that God gave her everything she could ever want, and she complained about it, and felt convicted… I want to be like my mom in that. Even more, though, I admire her perspective. In situations where I would get angry, she sees a reason to love. Talking to my mom is a wondrous, and a humbling thing. Living with her this past year taught me who I want to be. And my dad. His perspective is one that I want, too. My dad sees so much of God in this broken world. He always can seem to find some theological perspective, pulled from the Word of God, that I could never see on own. I know who I want to become, because I know my dad. He studies the heart of God for this world, in its justice, in its peace, in its power. I found myself in a piece of his passion for God’s kingdom. My dad is brilliant. I know he doesn’t think so, but he is. He taught me how to think, how to form thoughts, when I was a baby, a kid, a student (in a formal logic class), and especially in the last year. He taught me how to start to think of things in the context of the kingdom of God. That is what I want to be like. My dad judges his responses to any situation according to his faith. I have never met someone who could instantly see what a right course of action might be and why, in, say, a relational disagreement or a specific problem someone is having. In this last year I saw things in my dad that I want to emulate. He is a faithful man, who serves his God to the best of his understanding. And he is a wise man, who always seeks to understand his God. He is a man who God has used mightily, and will continue to use mightily, and I cannot wait to see what God has been preparing him for these last couple of years (and to all those who think that they missed their chance to be used by God, because they aren’t as free as they were in younger years, get ready. I mean, God is expert at freeing people up from impossible situations so they can serve him. And also, He made His entire nation out of Abraham, but only after Abraham turned 100. I think God likes doing crazy stuff with old people. )! While watching my dad, I learned what I want to be like. In talks while picking up my little sister from school, I discovered what I love, and what I am passionate about.
After that 10 year rant, I guess you might be able to understand why that question (I know it’s been awhile since I talked about it, so let me remind you: “glad to finally get out of the house?”) might confuse me. The truth is, I am not glad to be out of my parents’ house. I love it here in Eugene. I plan to stay for quite some time, and I will enjoy it. But not because it’s away from the watchful eyes of my parents. I understand that it is important that I learn to live without my parents holding me accountable for my actions, or guiding my every day, because I need to learn to get those things from my Lord. But I did not resent that when I had it from them (that’s a lie…. I did at some points, but not in the last year). It was my parents that taught me how to follow, and who to follow, so that I can serve my God now. The fact is, I miss living at home. Not because I miss childhood, or responsibility, but because I miss learning from them, I miss being part of their daily stories in following Christ. I miss watching them as they figure out what exactly it means to be followers of the Messiah. I miss it a lot.
I love life here, I love life there. I am not glad to be out of my parents’ house, but I am glad to be in Eugene. I guess I am kinda glad people have been asking me that a lot lately. If only I could find a way to say all of this in a condensed enough way for a socially acceptable phone conversation………….
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