Hey. Thanks for stopping by. As you've probably noticed from the sparity of posts, this blog project is shelved for the time being. Kind of taking a break from writing about my spiritual life.
I will say this: I've always believed that God can heal us, even as I've believed we should be honest about how screwed up we are. Sometimes I've gotten frustrated with Christianity, and even more frustrated with myself, and wondered where my efforts are even going, what's the point of anything. But more than ever, I believe that the central message of this Jesus guy--the central message of the incarnation and the Old Testament and the New and everything else--is that God is making things right. And now, more than ever, I believe we can experience that restoration.
There's a trick my priest taught me. Breathe in for four counts, hold your breath for four counts, and exhale with a brief prayer. The breathing helps you connect your mental prayers and musings with your real physical life, with your heart. Lately my single-sentence prayers have been Lord, have mercy on us, and Lord, give me life.
I'm hopeful. And I'm enjoying the hopefulness.
I did start up a new blog venture, this one much more frivolous: mediaobsessio.blogspot.com. Books, movies, music. I hope we can hang out there. And I hope you're experiencing grace in your own world.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hot Soup
This is how you heat up soup in the microwave:
First, you remove the plastic outer lid and peel off the inner metal seal, because if you put that much metal in the microwave, it will catch on fire. Then you put the container in the microwave, set it to cook for a minute and thirty seconds, and press “start.” You walk away, because who likes to watch a microwave? and wait a minute after you hear the buzzer so that the soup can cool off.
You remove the soup from the microwave, careful to hold it by the sides as per the directions on the label. Then you try to remove the plastic lid, but it’s too hot to touch. So you occupy yourself by goofing off on the Internet for a few minutes. When you return to the soup, the lid is still too hot, and the microwaves have rendered it pliable and hard to remove. But you keep trying, and when it flies off, the hot soup sloshes over the side of the container, all over the counter, burning your hands.
“Frick!” you interject between your teeth. Because it’s not just the soup. It’s also that you just went to Home Depot with your roommate to help her pick out switch plates, and the fixtures guy flirted with her, but not with you, and you hate your skin and you’re worried about the noise your car is making.
And you’re basically the last single person left in your group of friends. This wouldn’t be so bad if all your couple friends were married, because hanging out with married people is infinitely easier than hanging out with dating people. Married people see each other all the time, so when they hang out with you, they want to talk to you. A group setting with a bunch of dating couples, on the other hand, is kind of brutal; it’s like a giant group date, and you’re the proverbial fifth wheel.
Married or dating, though, everyone has their own thing going on, and you’re left without anyone with whom to spend significant amounts of time. And this makes you feel this very rudimentary kind of sad, and you worry that feeling that way makes you completely petty and immature. And that doesn’t help either.
But you know it’s not going to be this way forever. And you know that sometimes the most uncomfortable periods of time are the best, because they force us to confront or acknowledge certain things or develop courage in some way.
So you eat the hot soup and go about your afternoon.
First, you remove the plastic outer lid and peel off the inner metal seal, because if you put that much metal in the microwave, it will catch on fire. Then you put the container in the microwave, set it to cook for a minute and thirty seconds, and press “start.” You walk away, because who likes to watch a microwave? and wait a minute after you hear the buzzer so that the soup can cool off.
You remove the soup from the microwave, careful to hold it by the sides as per the directions on the label. Then you try to remove the plastic lid, but it’s too hot to touch. So you occupy yourself by goofing off on the Internet for a few minutes. When you return to the soup, the lid is still too hot, and the microwaves have rendered it pliable and hard to remove. But you keep trying, and when it flies off, the hot soup sloshes over the side of the container, all over the counter, burning your hands.
“Frick!” you interject between your teeth. Because it’s not just the soup. It’s also that you just went to Home Depot with your roommate to help her pick out switch plates, and the fixtures guy flirted with her, but not with you, and you hate your skin and you’re worried about the noise your car is making.
And you’re basically the last single person left in your group of friends. This wouldn’t be so bad if all your couple friends were married, because hanging out with married people is infinitely easier than hanging out with dating people. Married people see each other all the time, so when they hang out with you, they want to talk to you. A group setting with a bunch of dating couples, on the other hand, is kind of brutal; it’s like a giant group date, and you’re the proverbial fifth wheel.
Married or dating, though, everyone has their own thing going on, and you’re left without anyone with whom to spend significant amounts of time. And this makes you feel this very rudimentary kind of sad, and you worry that feeling that way makes you completely petty and immature. And that doesn’t help either.
But you know it’s not going to be this way forever. And you know that sometimes the most uncomfortable periods of time are the best, because they force us to confront or acknowledge certain things or develop courage in some way.
So you eat the hot soup and go about your afternoon.
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