It occurred to me that perhaps my show of emotion, or better said, affection is sometimes reserved. My intentions seem unclear and my actions become confusing. In an effort to ameliorate these conditions, I've composed a somewhat brief synopsis of how I feel about what most people understand to be my church. We, for the sake of precision, shall call them my church family and community. Please understand my presentation will be somewhat sloppy as I tried to be strictly stream of consciousness when writing in order to facilitate the expression of honest feelings, thoughts, and emotions. I sit, now, lump in my throat, bleary-eyed, thankful for this congregation.
As I am nearly overcome by emotion, raw, and joy, inexpressible, I think how wonderful.
How wonderful is the Lord. How wonderful is his spirit. How wonderful is his grace and his plan and his love and his
everything. How wonderful is his forgiveness and patience. How wonderful is his rod and discipline. How wonderful is the
way that he moves in our lives. Oh that we could recognize the ways he moves. Through people and scenery, through pain and
elation, through sorrow and triumph, in rain in snow in sun in breeze. In language, in touch, in our hearts and our spirits
and our souls. In our understanding, our almost understanding, and our no idea what this is, how to explain it or where it
came from kind of understanding.
Bless his name for giving us others. He has given each one of us to one another, his children for his children.
I think back on the past year and wonder what it is that has kept me around the idea of my community. Why has it not floated
like bread on the waters, to sink and not return? I believe it is because of the people and the people are because of the
L-rd.
The congregation at KL is one mass of beauty. If you neglect beauty you go crazy. As Chesterton pointed out, it's not the
people given to myth that lose their minds; it's the people obsessed with rationality. If you need beauty, I invite you to
go be a part of the lives of the Blakes, and Simons, and Weltons, and Bernard, and Jeremy, and Jess, and Kait, and a dozen more. A beautiful and strong people, given much cause for capitulation and committed to
never surrendering. Strong, loving, caring, kind, hopeful, committed, intelligent, passionate, useful, helpful, insightful with the internal fortitude to live beyond momentary inspiration.
I sit here and I wonder what I would do without them. What my life would look like without them, what it would feel like. It
would be bleak, but not for lack of pleasure. It would be sad, but not for lack of happiness and distraction. It would be
empty but not for lack of things. Eric once told me a story from when he was in Israel. He saw men at the wailing wall, dancing
singing, celebrating. He thought it was interesting but confusing. Rabbi apparently dispelled the confusion. He said (paraphrasing)
: They don't celebrate on finite terms, their perspective is not earth bound. They have an eternal perspective. Joy is an
eternal perspective.
If there is one thing I can say about Kingdom Living people, it's that they possess an eternal perspective. Never, in my few
short days, have I known people to possess such a perspective. It dictates the goodness in their lives. I don't think you
understand. It dictates the GOODNESS in their lives. Goodness, not an apple pie nice summer evening calm. Goodness not a
gracious gesture. Goodness - lives worthy of envy. For all that we do and disagree, we still believe that some things are
good. We see someone get a job that needs to provide. Regardless of the job, we say that this is good because it is. It
requires no rationale, no motivation. It requires no socially positive consequence, it requires no move up any ladder. It
need not be justified, it need not be explained. Much like I know that I know that I know that He lives, I also understand
that some things are good because they are good because they are good.
Goodness is the embodiment of that sentiment in words, actions, deeds, etc... Goodness is all heart, all love, all humility,
all grace, all thins THAT ARE GOOD. It is a trite explanation, it is redundant, but "It should be reflected on with all energy
and focus," I scream in my mind.
God bless this community, this family that so exudes goodness, that so loves, that so supports, that so lives.
God bless them. Let their fire burn brightly and spread. A fire that does not spark brilliantly and go out like a firework,
not a fire that smoulders and lets off smoke that keeps the people that need the warmth away, and not a fire that is always
on the precipice of flame but can't quite ignite. Rather, the fire that burns hot, that is supported by searing coals of
belief, that exhibits huge sustained flames of goodness, love, and compassion, and is all supported by strong ever burning logs
constituting bonds that do not break.
