paravanes:meditations

Earlier this month, I made a decision to make peace with a major loss. As I've reflected on the process, I decided it was worth summarizing. How do you make peace with disappointments? First, all disappointments should not be accepted. Sometimes a disappointment is a chance to overcome a very difficult challenge, re-set goals, or re-focus energy. A disappointment can be an invitation to get more help, more information, more resources, a different perspective. Having done all of this, sometimes we're still stuck with not getting what we expected or are entitled to have. Then, what to do? Here are the steps I followed: First, choose to take the long view. Put your loss in perspective. Compare what has been lost to other accomplishments, achievements, resources, abilities, opportunities. Second, re-examine the opportunities currently available. How can these be used? What unobserved options are here for the taking? Why didn't you notice these in the past? Third, make peace wi...

Testimony is often considered reliable evidence in legal proceedings and in historical research. History has preserved thousands of years worth of testimony about God's relationship with humans. Some of this testimony is recorded in the Bible. Can an ancient book have any relevance for anyone living today? Millions find purpose and inspiration here, but take a look for yourself. Read and explore with an openness to the ideas presented in the Bible. Any book which has influenced so many people for thousands of years deserves some thoughtful consideration. A key message of the Bible is not humanity reaching out to God, but God reaching out to humanity . We don't naturally seek to know and understand God and often doubt God's existence or interest in what's happening on Earth. The God of Christianity is a God reaching out to us, not waiting for us to live up to a standard or follow a set of rules. A loving God who reaches out to you is trustworthy. You won't know for...

Years ago, a popular book carried the title When Bad Things Happen To Good People. The author suggested a number of explanations for the uneasiness and sense of injustice we feel when something cruel, dangerous, or damaging happens to those who seem like good or innocent people. None of us are as good as we sometimes appear, but the question implied in the book's title requires a reasonable answer. If there is a loving, all-powerful God somewhere in the universe, can this God really be trusted to do the right thing? We could choose one of three answers to this question: 1) yes, God can be trusted; 2) no, God cannot be trusted, or 3) maybe God can be trusted. Let's take number 3 first. Maybe God can be trusted to do the right thing, but maybe not. You know when a "maybe" response arises about whether someone is trustworthy or really on your side, answering "maybe" is just a nice way of saying "no." If you are not sure someone is a friend, they...