People. PEOPLE!! What Scurvey Luck!

A line from "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" that occasionally replays itself in my rattley brain. Not because I grew up watching the movie. Nope. I had the lp and I played that record on our giant brown stero thingie while I lay on the deep green shag carpet and imagined the story in my own little head. We never had a television so we had to make do with what we had.

So those words come to me at times when I wonder why on earth I love people so. Frustrating, demanding, impossible people. Especially when I myself am simply human.

It's tempting for me to go on a rant about exactly what bugs me and give you all sorts of reasons why I am unable and disinterested in engaging with people or trying to love them in any way. But I think that instead I will go on about a couple of people who have been highly encouraging to me of late. Firstly; Sara Miles. I am reading her book entitled "Take this Bread" and it's just an inspiring, raw, real book. I'd have to thank a new "darfur project" friend Karla for recommending this book to me.

I'll quote a piece from its back cover:
"Take This Bread is rich with real-life Dickensian characters- church ladies, millionaires, schizophrenics, bishops, and thieves- all blown into Mile's life by the relentless force of her newfound calling. Here, in this achingly beautiful, passionate book, is the living communion of Christ."

I laugh out loud as Sara describes the people who "blow into her life" and seemingly get in the way of her feeding people through the love of Jesus. Isn't that the way it is? You start out with an idea; people begin to pour into it; and the once fairly simply way of living out of a passion for Jesus gets all messy, untidy, complicated with the scurvey luck of loving people. Sometimes I find myself whining sardonically; "It would be so easy to be a Christian if all these annoying people would just go away and leave me alone!!"

The second piece of encouragement will be less simple to share. It was like a gift this morning when I attended church for the very first time this summer. I really wanted to go, and my morning was insane because of not feeling well; trying to do laundry really fast to get Arianna ready during a 18 hour stop-over at home between camping and camp; and the kids peppering me with questions and requests for where I should take them and how I should entertain them on this sunny, hot, summer day. I went in with a "scurvey people" attitude and a touch of guilty condemnation because I am the "decorating committee" at church and the stage has been sadly needing a tune-up for at least four weeks now which I've simply not gotten to. (but sincerely want to do).

The message was to die for. So were the songs. Once I figure out the web page, I think I'll put a link here in case anyone else wants to hear a message that makes sense. I'll try to put out a few words, and I know they will not do justice. The first word is REST. A word given to me years ago and one that has brought tremendous relief. This ties into another excellent point made which disciphered between "Christianity" and "churchianity". Who hasn't felt that pain?! And OH! Did Christianity sound restful, peaceful, and non-performance based.

Just what I needed to hear.
Like I said. My few chicken scratches here won't do justice and maybe this exercise is simply to help me get my eyes off the people who are really trying my patience right now, and to remind me to just rest. Be aware. Don't engage in the struggle for control. Don't believe the lies that faster is better or louder is righter. Let the passive-aggressives of the world suffer their own consequences without me getting sucked into their vortexes. Recognize that I cannot please everyone. And with a project growing ever larger, more people seem to think that I can somehow do it all, and quite in the way they see fit. Must have been exhausting to be Jesus. People thought he should be all sorts of things in all sorts of contexts to all sorts of people. But he only answered to his Father. If God through Jesus, couldn't please everyone.... Why the heck would we ever even think about it?! Seems to me that Mother Teresa annoyed people as well. I guess living as a human being amongst human beings is just messy and annoying.

And for now, I wouldn't have it any other way.