As I go through my mom’s possessions following her death in July, I continue to find some hidden gems. A few weeks ago I shared a letter she had written about my brothers and me. Recently, behind a photograph I was in the process of hanging up, I found another letter securely taped. The photo was of my mom and dad having dinner in New York City the day he arrived back home when WWII ended. He had been on the beaches of Normandy, in the Battle of the Bulge, and other places of bravery and horror.
When my mom wrote the following letter, she was 20 years old, he 23, and my parents had been married around 6 months. I know she would not mind me sharing excerpts from this letter as I believe her words have much to offer. Remember, when she wrote this letter, she did not know whether she would see my dad again because of the war. Here are the excerpts…
Dearest Peter. This is not a goodby note. This is an I love you note. In it, I want to tell you something I learned today. Love is as sacred as two people make it. It is beautiful only as they allow it to be beautiful. It is as God-like as they wish it. The word love is often misused and hence the world in general gets a very rough and uncouth idea of what it is.
Love is the unselfish gift of one person’s self to another. Unselfish is the important part of love. Only unselfish love can be complete and permanent. Neither you nor I yet has completely unselfish love for each other. Do not be shocked for I don’t believe that we will attain it on this earth or even until we reach the culmination – the merging of our souls with God. But in our desire and striving for it we lift ourselves above ordinary love.
Through my mother’s words of so long ago, I am reminded of what one person in our own era says. “Hate is not the opposite of love, selfishness is.” Indeed, selflessness is at the heart of what love is all about, something Jesus clearly understood and lived by.
My mom’s words are not only invaluable for loving couples to ponder and act upon, but they are words useful to all of us whether in a relationship or not. To be selfless is to follow the footsteps of Jesus and to be selfless is how to relate to those we encounter day by day.
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul wrote these words to the people living in an area called Galatia long ago. His words really are quite extraordinary if you think about the culture at the time in which women had few if any rights. I have never understood patriarchal societies, inequality of any kind between the sexes, nor limiting the roles that men and women can have.
I am who I am because of the women in my life. Women have shaped who I have become in every area of my life. I have been blessed not only by an extraordinary wife and daughters and of course a son, but I have been taught and mentored by astonishing women over the years. This in part, is why I have always loved the Book of Esther. What a hero she was.
Esther’s story is about a woman, a woman of courage, guts, and doing the right thing even when the consequences of doing so could have been catastrophic. But in addition to Esther, there are so many stories of amazing courageous women throughout scripture, so astonishing in fact it is unbelievable that any church got started without having women at the top of leadership. Many of the greatest leaders, passionate faith followers, and engagers of bold action in the Bible were women.
Take the Samaritan woman at a well in John’s Gospel. She was a foreigner and part of a despised religion. And yet, she does not run from a man named Jesus. Instead she engages him, questions him, and takes the news of who he is to disparaging men. Take Deborah, an amazing leader at a critical time who was instrumental in military victories that freed the people of Israel. Take Hannah who boldly prayed to God over and over again and dedicated her son to God’s service.
Take Abigail whose husband nastily rejected a request from King David. It was Abigail who intervened in the situation with tremendous courage and insight that kept David from murderous revenge. Take Mary, the mother of Jesus, who praised God in spite of the surface odds against her. Take Ruth who put commitment and integrity ahead of her personal interests. Take Mahlah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah who went to Moses over a land distribution issue. Their actions expanded the rights of women when such actions were unheard of. And the list goes on and on and on.
I share these stories because I believe we have a long way to go in our country when it comes, not only to eliminating discrimination based on gender, including within many communities of faith, but that men in particular need to continue working on speaking less and listening more.
Not long ago I joined the Board of Response, the organization whose purpose is to support, educate and empower survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Tragically such issues are rampant in the Roaring Fork Valley. I believe we are compelled by our walk with Jesus to respond and confront these issues head on.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month Quoting from Response, “The purpose of DVAM month is mourn those who have died because of domestic violence, celebrate those who have survived and to engage communities with those who work to end domestic abuse. Domestic Violence – or Intimate Partner Violence – is a pattern of abusive behaviors including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion that are used by one intimate partner against another to gain or maintain power and control in a relationship. Batterers use a range of tactics to frighten, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, blame and often injure and sometimes kill a current or former intimate partner.”
Eighty-five percent of victims are women and 1 in 3 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. It is also important to point out that men too suffer from inexcusable rates of domestic violence.
All of us are called, I believe, as people of faith, to celebrate and uphold women in our lives as fully equal partners, and work to model listening more than speaking and then acting upon what we hear from those who have suffered in a culture that often turns the other way in disbelief.
Shortly after my mom died at age 95 in July, my wife Regina found the following letter in my mother’s desk drawer. Her letter is a brief reflection on her three sons, one of whom is gay. While there is much within the letter, at its core, it reflects not only who my mom was, but the essence of Matthew 22: 36-40. I love my brothers and I love and miss my mom.
Written some time ago by Mardee de Wetter:
“On this small earth, we equally receive the love of God. But as the world sees, we are differently disposed. Some of us have lived the simplest sort of lives, cradled from the beginning by loving parents, growing up in ways that pleased. We had the opportunity to meet and fall in love with God’s own choice for us. We spent our lives in chosen fidelity and in constant love for one another.
When children were born to us, one grew up worldly-wise and made his way, living by prescribed civic rules, honored because of his many contributions and loved by his wonderful wife and children. One was born with great sensitivity and spiritual gifts with which to become a pastor, a preacher of unique ability. He too had the great love of his wife and children. Then among the three sons one was born with a difference, though his talent and intellect told us at once he was gifted.
This special one, the creative child, found his rather lonely place among those who compose the music, play the instruments, paint the art, and pen the books. He learned to fend for himself in a world so hostile that those of us who live in pristine elegance of spirit never know their pain.
Every once in a while God looks down and selects a family, so sublimely blessed with understanding that He says, ‘Ah, here are those that will welcome this child of mine and learn of him and love him. They will always cherish him as my own child, vouchsafed to them. He, in turn, will open doors for all of them as many lives are better for his touch.’
Does it matter then that the self-righteous Pharisees offer him condemnation? Does it matter that the church which nurtured him through childhood now renounces him? Does it matter that he who served his church in its choir, as an acolyte, as a vestryman now finds rejection? It must not matter, because in the end this is God’s world and Jesus takes each one of us unto his breast and comforts us. Our family, learning through its pain, has found that all God’s people are intended to share His Rule of Love, as Jesus, our persecuted Savior, taught the Way.”
Claire Wineland had a national social media following and it is no wonder given her character, strength and wisdom. She died this last week following a 21 year long struggle with Cystic Fibrosis. I never had the blessing or opportunity to meet her, but I wish I had. Near the end of her life, Claire, as quoted on CNN, said, “Go enjoy your life. Really. I mean that seriously. Go enjoy it because there are people fighting like hell for it.”
These are powerful words worth not only reflection, but incorporation. For a number of years I had the privilege of working in oncology with both staff and patients when I was a psychologist. So many of those I worked with, in essence, said the same thing Claire Wineland did as she neared the end of her life.
Enjoying life is not a self-centered, egocentric, narcissistic stance. Rather it is an approach to day to day living that is based on a heart of gratitude. I believe if more of us woke each morning with gratitude and began our days with such intention, we would find our culture to be vastly different than what we are experiencing now.
Fighting, caustic commentary, negativity, hostility, division, hatred, and quick reactivity is not reflective of people who are living from a place of gratitude. Yes we can have passions and convictions, but who said we need to be so ugly about it all. I believe gratitude, while not a panacea, would address much that ails what has been happening in the country.
Gratitude is not a denial of what is wrong. Gratitude is not about sticking our heads in the sand. Gratitude is not about inaction. Rather gratitude enables us to face difficult and complex problems from a vastly different place in our hearts and minds. Gratitude can be a common ground from which we approach each day with an expectation for positive change, listening, empathy, and respect.
And let us all remember that our walk with Jesus is all about gratitude whether we work as a server, in business, at a school, or even if we work in Washington at whatever level. From beginning to end, scripture is filled with stories of gratitude and what happens when gratitude is lost and replaced by much of what we see happening in our nation today.
I invite you to join me in spending some time thinking about Claire’s words. “Go enjoy your life. Really. I mean that seriously. Go enjoy it because there are people fighting like hell for it.” Ponder how such a stance might lead us to gratitude and how gratitude could change everything in our own lives and those around us.
Charla recently sent our Chapel staff team a video. The title, “If You Use a SmartPhone…” I was immediately interested because virtually everyone I know uses one.
The video reviewed some recent data on something known as digital dementia. As the speaker on the video simply states, “Smartphones make us stupid.” When we depend on smartphones we tend to use our brains less.
Examples were given such as the fact we memorize fewer phone numbers, we let the phone do simple math for us, and we rely on the phones to keep obvious and regular appointments, etc. In other words, just as muscle atrophy happens when we do not exercise, when we stop using our brains as much because of smartphones, our brains may very well degrade.
All of this worries me with regard to children, teens, and adults, and raises big concerns about me because of my smartphone use.
As the video finished, however, something equally if not more troubling came to mind. Our relationship with God requires quiet, down time, making room for few distractions, and turning computers off or at least walking away from them. When we have a smartphone in hand and it inhibits us from truly focusing on the person in front of us, if we keep smartphones in hand when communicating and listening to God, does it not also diminish our focus on God?
Also, when someone reads a text or email or tweet we send along, the person receiving the message only has the opportunity to respond and react to words. Words in isolation do not represent a whole way of communicating with a person in any way shape or form. This is why e-mails often get people into trouble because words alone can be misinterpreted.
We are all much better off communicating directly with people. And if this is the case, if our brains are affected by smartphones, are we then, therefore, not more likely to be relating to God in a diminished way because smartphones train us to focus on words alone. When God communicates with us, God uses many modes of communication, not just words alone.
I believe God is calling me to make some changes in response to all of this, changes that are not easy to make because so many of us, including me, are addicted to technology and smartphones. That said, I realize if I don’t make some changes, my relationship with God will be affected in an unhealthy way. I invite all of us to examine and pray about where we are with this whole issue and to take some time with God, and to ask God what God would have addressed. If we do so, I believe we will find our journey with God to suddenly become far deeper and more transformative.
As many of you know, my mom, Margaret Belding de Wetter, died July 11 after 95 years of living, 94 of which were wonderful. The last year of her life was tough on everyone as she slowly degraded in mind and body. She spent many arduous hours lying in bed, unable to do anything as her body shut down. I have grieved much in my life, but losing a mother is different. A friend of mine said, “When I lost my mom, it felt as if the world shifted.”
I, along with many are so grateful and thankful to God for my mom’s life. We are grateful she lived the life she did and we feel the same way about my dad who died 19 years ago. My brothers and I along with our families are so blessed we had the parents we did. That said, in the midst of gratitude, celebrating her life, being thankful her rough journey at the end is over, I for one am experiencing a litany of feelings, including deep sadness in the midst of the joy I have for her life.
I’ve recognized for many years that when life is full and then ends, it is not tragic. That said, the journey in grief we each take is unique. When families lose someone, I pray that members of the family will give each other the room and space to grieve in various ways and that the journey in grief for each will be honored by all. My family certainly has been doing exactly this. For me, our faith invites each of us to allow ourselves to feel the full range of emotions God has given to us, whatever those feelings might be.
In the midst of everything, this last week I have been reminded once again about the heart and spirit of the Chapel. Thank you for being so incredibly loving, kind and supportive. Regina and I have felt so loved and cared for since we arrived 9 years ago. Thank you. We are grateful!!! Thank you for showing us what it means to walk the talk as we all follow Jesus.
Years ago I wanted to get into shape. I said to family and friends, “I am going to get in shape. Being in shape is important to me. My health matters for many reasons.” Days passed. So did weeks. Even several months. My mantra was the same, “I am going to get in shape.” I soon realized that despite my words, I was not serious about my physical health, had I been, I would have exercised. Clearly being in shape did not mean much to me as my words and actions did not match.
This is a trivial metaphor of something tragic about America. We say we care for children, we say we love our children, we say children are important, but reality does not match what we say out loud. Millions of children are hungry. Millions do not receive adequate medical care. Millions do not have access to mental health care. Millions are in deficient academic environments. Millions suffer from abuse and neglect. And what is completely shocking is that every child in America could be killed any day in any neighborhood while sitting in a classroom. Twenty-two shootings have occured this year alone in America’s schools.
A February, 2018 NY Times article states, “Since a gunman killed 20 first graders and six adults with an assault rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, there have been at least 239 school shootings nationwide.”
Frankly, I am grieving not only the horrendous loss of life, but I am not proud that our nation does not care about children. If we did, the facts would be different. Elementary school children would not be slaughtered.
Caring for children will only happen when we and those in leadership positions are willing to be apolitical and put all and every option on the table for how to be a nation that cares about kids. Are there people that care? Yes. Are there great parents? Yes. Are there great ideas and programs out there based on those ideas happening? Yes. But as a nation, we have failed and are failing every child as long as there is hunger, as long as schools are danger zones, and as long as all the issues harming our children continue.
I am shattered when I talk to kids and drills for active shooters are part of their vocabulary. I am embarrassed to be part of a nation that is so incredibly uncaring and instead so agenda and partisan driven. I am horrified by the fact that my children have to worry about being shot every day they go to a campus.
As a religious leader I believe we need a national time of repentance. A time of listening and being honest. The facts speak for themselves. I am sick to my stomach over the state of children in America for the reasons I have outlined.
I am praying diligently about all of this and asking the Holy Spirit to guide and lead me to do something, somehow about caring for kids. And frankly I feel convicted that to date, I have not been part of the solution. Please join me in prayer. Pray that God will intervene and that each of us will be willing to put everything on the table and to shed our divisive partisan views with regard to our kids.
We overcame the evils of the Axis powers as a nation in the 1940’s and we did so because all Americans had the same goal in mind. We need such a shared vision and passion if we are going to say we care for children with any sincerity.
Do people change? And perhaps more importantly, can people change? I think these are important questions because as I look around our world right now and listen to the news, I sure hope and pray transformation is possible for all human beings.
When I hear stories about parents hurting their own kids, or company executives squandering their employees’ pensions, or see people making a villain out of someone with whom they disagree, my prayer indeed is that people can change. When I see how ugly partisanship has become, or how opioids are taking over neighborhoods, or how some people treat others based on nationality, skin color, or religious orientation, I hope people can change. When I see scenes from the streets of Damascus, or hungry people on the Gaza strip, or scared looking faces in towns across the Golan Heights, I ponder whether things will ever be different.
Frankly, I not only hope that circumstances and people can change, but I pray I can too. As long as I have lived I have understood that change and transformation is not only what I seek, but what I pray for in various areas of life. But I know I am not alone in this. Most of us, if honest with ourselves, I believe have at least some dimensions, aspects, or ways of being we’d like to change or morph into something different.
And I think many of us would like to trust the words of scripture on this whole topic of transformation and change. Words like, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Or, “Behold, God is doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” For sure, scripture is full of verses and stories of people changing and becoming something new.
As I am out and about, I often hear people express a lack of optimism that people can change or that things can be different in a meaningful way. And when we are hurt by others or endure tough things in life, sometimes our scars make new beginnings difficult at best.
A week ago today was Ascension Day. The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified and that He died. His body was then taken to a tomb. On the third day, His followers discovered that Jesus had been bodily raised from the dead. 40 days later Jesus ascended into heaven.
However Ascension Day looked or however it was experienced by those there, what it means is that after Jesus was raised from the dead, and after appearing, teaching, and speaking to over 500 people on various occasions for 40 days, the visible Jesus went to be with God. Ten days after Jesus’ Ascension, the day of Pentecost occurred. Pentecost was the time that Jesus sent His Holy Spirit among human beings that would change the course of the early church and it is that same Holy Spirit that continues to transform our lives right now.
And it is immediately before His ascension that Jesus says something important that is recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 1.
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. It is important to point out that the Greek word for power that is used in the Book of Acts in this verse is the word dynamis. Dynamis means power.
There are a variety of meanings of the word dynamis or power. As several people note, “dynamis means to be able to do something, to will, to have great ability, and possibility. It means having the power that leads to healing and to have the spirit of love and self-control. It conveys having the strength of God.”
Also note that our word dynamite comes from the word dynamis. While dynamite is strong and destructive, it pales in comparison to the power and healing of dynamis, or the power of God. The power that Jesus says lies within you and within me right now. Dynamis is in you and me. And I think that is Dynamite.
On Ascension Day, Jesus did not say to his followers, “Depend on yourself. Do it on your own. Live life through your own power.”
Instead Jesus said, “When you are muddling your way through life, remember that I am plugged into you. My power is within you. My dynamis surrounds you. And it is my power, the Holy Spirit, that will enable you to overcome, to move beyond, to heal, and surmount any difficulty you encounter.” Jesus also made it clear to his first followers that day that it would be his power, his dynamis that would empower them to go out into the world and spread the news of God’s unbounded healing love for all people.
In essence, on Ascension Day, Jesus said to His followers and I believe says to each of us now, “Never say never. Never say I will never recover. Never say I will never get it. Never say I will never learn. Never say I can never change. Never say my life can’t be different. Never say transformation, a new path, a new beginning, a new way of living in being is not possible in this life.” Jesus wants us to remember to plug into His power.
I love what one person writes about Ascension Day. She writes, “When Jesus spoke that day what he was saying was, ‘Believe in my goodness more than in your own badness. Have more faith in my power to make things new than in your own power to mess things up.’”
God never created us to function without being plugged into Him and His power. I pray that none of us will give up hope and that we will remember that change, transformation and new beginnings happen through the power of Christ that is within you and me.
There is a powerful image I first heard in the Alpha program that has stuck with me for years. It is an image that represents well what is happening at the Chapel. The image is told in the following short story that I’ve adapted a bit.
There once was a woman who felt that life was meaningless. She struggled finding purpose in her days and the faith that she once had felt empty. In her mind she believed in God but her heart was just not there. When she was faced with challenges, she tried to pray, but it often felt as if there was no one listening. One cold winter day she went to her pastor and described what was going on. He was glad to see her as she had not been seen for many months.
It just so happened when she met with her pastor that they met in a room with a roaring fireplace. As she began to share what was going on in her life, the pastor took some fireplace tongs and removed a red hot glowing ember from the fire and set it on the hearth. Over the minutes that followed as she continued talking, she noticed that the ember turned black as it cooled. Sometime later when she had finished telling her story, the pastor took the cool black ember and returned it to the fire. When he did so, the ember immediately heated up, turned red, and flamed back to life.
At that moment, the woman realized that she had been like the ember. She had taken herself away from the warmth, love, heat, and fire of Christian community and as a result her faith and trust in God had cooled. She now understood that to have a strong resilient faith that she had to get back into and be a part of her community.
As I think about this story, I think about the community that Snowmass Chapel is, a place for people from all lots of life. From the visitor, to the second homeowner, to the local who has been here 30 years, this is an amazing community and one in which people are being reignited with faith, trust in God, and a great care and love for each other. If you or someone you care about is in a place of being like a cool black ember, remember the fire of the Chapel. A fire that is here 24/7 waiting to warm and sustain you, whatever has been happening in life. And through it all, remember that the source of the fire is the unbounded love of God in Christ Jesus, a love we are all called to share with those who need it the most.
Have you ever heard a voice in your head that is hard to ignore and lets you know that something is up. The voice that says something is missing in your life or that things could be better? Well if you have, it means not only that you are part of the human race, but serves as a reminder that something is up and going on within.
Such a voice can mean a variety of things. It can mean that God is trying to get our attention. That we are not using our gifts to their potential or that our lives are out of balance in some way. That we need to get healthy through what we eat and how we exercise. That we need to work on communicating with other people more effectively or constructively. That we need to spend more time with our children or aging parents. That we have some unresolved stuff going on inside. It might even mean we would benefit from some therapy to work through some painful issue or struggle.
But when we hear that voice in our head that tells us that something is missing, we had better pay careful attention and be very cautious before taking action, because acting on such a feeling without checking it out can get us into a heap of trouble. You see, sometimes when we feel that something is missing, there really is nothing missing at all. Sometimes we feel this way because we have caught a very nasty bug. And this bug will lead us astray and mess us up if we are not attentive. This bug has a name. Perfectionism.
A quick caveat before continuing. Having goals, seeking higher standards, going after success, striving for financial security, desiring to be more healthy, wanting more of something in some area of life are obviously not necessarily bad things and may not reflect perfectionism. Such things may simply reflect we are motivated and reflect our knowledge we need to work on something to bring about a positive change. And I hope we each are motivated in various areas of our daily lives. But motivation and positive change is not what I am talking about.
With this caveat in mind, however, I do believe that some of the times when we think that something is missing in life it is because we are consumed by perfectionism in some area of our life. We think we are not making enough money. We feel like our current partner is not the right one. We live in a bad climate and are certain that life in a warmer one would be naturally better. We begin to blame others or ourselves and then we act.
We switch jobs to make more money, change partners to obtain greater bliss, or move to the warmer place expecting that 15 degrees will make all the difference. But often when we are in the new job, infatuated with the new partner, or basking in the sun, we discover that the nagging feeling that something is missing is still with us. And the perfection seeking cycle repeats itself again and again.
As a result, take classes, read books, and chat with friends in the exercise class looking for ways to fix what seems out of whack, and our search continues. And I believe that when we think something is missing, it may very well be the call to not change a thing, but rather to give others and ourselves a break and simply accept who and what we are. Sometimes when we believe we are falling short in some way, it really means we need to lighten up. Brennan Manning in his book the “Ragamuffin Gospel,” says, “The trouble with our ideals is that if we live up to all of them, we become impossible to live with.”
Then there is another person who wrote, “We are not perfect, but neither is there anyone out there more perfect than we are. What a pleasure this realization is. We are not more and no less than wonderfully ordinary, imperfect mortals. So why not give [others] and ourselves a break? Why not celebrate our blemishes, our imperfections, as the very qualities that make us human?…We all have a fault line, and usually one with many branches…Instead of apologizing, we can choose to enjoy ourselves just as we are, no upgrades necessary.”
But there is another problem with perfectionism with other troubling consequences. When we seek perfection, we not only diminish others, and ourselves, but we end up closing the door in God’s face. When we go for perfection, we stop looking for God, because who needs God when we believe that ultimate power and perfection is to be found within.
When we seek our own perfection, we become blinded to what God can do in our lives, and cease entertaining the idea that God at times does amazingly new and creative things in unpredictable new ways.
I love what Brennan Manning writes. He said, ““When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer. To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means. As Thomas Merton put it, ‘A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God.’”
He goes onto write, “While there is much we may have earned–our degree and our salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite and a good night’s sleep–all this is possible only because we have been given so much: life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe where others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is sheer gift.”
One person who came to understand all of this was St. Paul. Paul was born into a Jewish family. He was sent to a famous rabbinical school in Jerusalem. He was immersed in the deep study of scripture. By the year 35, Paul was a self-righteous Pharisee and he was rabidly anti-Christian. Paul’s mission in life was to eliminate and punish his fellow Jews who were followers of Jesus. But one day Paul met the Risen Jesus and everything changed.
Paul then knew first hand that life is not about our perfection, but about God’s. He was clear that faith has less to do with getting it right and everything to do with God’s grace. Paul also understood that when people strive for perfection, it inhibits them from accepting their own weaknesses and their need for a power greater than themselves. Self-prescribed perfect people don’t understand the need for a savior.
And what often upset people about Paul, was when he told the people that if they would stop taking themselves so seriously, they might just start taking God more seriously.
Growing up in the desert Southwest, I was exposed to lots of Native American literature, art, and rugs. The Navajos are fascinating people and one of the most interesting characteristics of Navajos is that they frequently did not complete things, whether it was a basket, a blanket, a song, or a story. It is not because they were lazy, it was because they never wanted anything to be too perfect.
If something was too close ended or perfect, they believed it cramped the spirit of the creator and sapped the energy of life away. When Navajos created anything, they often would leave little gaps or imperfections in their work. To them, perfection was suffocation.
It is amazing what Navajos did when they made beautiful blankets. When creating them, they frequently left a slight imperfection in the weaving. Often this took the form of a single thread that originated from the center of the blanket and extended all the way to the edge. The Navajos called this imperfection in their blankets a spirit thread or spirit outlet. They believed such a thread gives the creator room to breathe and to create and serves as a reminder that only God is perfect.
Perhaps that is how God designed us. Beautiful, yet imperfect. And maybe God made us this way so that we would have room for Him. Room for Him to act in our lives. Room to create, to transform, to guide, to lead, and to heal. Room not so much for predictability, but surprise.
Maybe He created us as beautiful, yet imperfect beings so that we would hopefully come to the place that we realize that we need a savior. And maybe He created us as beautiful, yet imperfect so that we would learn to give other people a break and to lighten up with our expectations.
As I wrap up today, I’d like to invite us each to do something. And that is anytime we hear a voice in our head telling us that something is missing, perhaps we can pause for a moment and think about the fact that you and I both are like a Navajo blanket. Beautiful, yet imperfect, just as God made us.
Like those blankets, we too have a spirit thread coming from the center of who we are. A thread that reminds us not only of who we are, but who it is that put us together. I pray that that that thread, our imperfections, help us remember that Jesus Christ is not finished with us yet, nor anyone else who annoys us with their imperfections.
And let us all remember as Brennan Manning wrote, “Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.”