Be filled with the Holy Spirit

A friend once told me that when Paul told the Ephesians to be filled with the Holy Spirit, he wasn't giving the image of a cup or a pot. Rather, he was using the image of sail.

A person who is trying to advance by their own methods is like a sail that is facing into the wind.  It might seem that straight ahead is the most logical route, but in a sailboat that will never work because a sailboat is dependent on the wind. A sail facing into the wind whips back and forth violently as if trying to rip free from it's ropes and toss itself into the waves. It cracks like a whip, then swings the other way and cracks again. It does no good to anyone and, frankly, it is a bit frightening.

On the other hand, a sail that is turned entirely with the wind puffs up like a soft pillow and steadily pulls the boat along. The ride is very quiet, and can be very peaceful, but it is also a bit dangerous. The boat slogs up and down as the waves pass under it. If a large wave bears down the boat will have a very limited ability to maneuver and will likely take on a bit of water. I liken this to someone who is "filled with the Holy Spirit" in that he or she is getting plenty of Spiritual nourishment but then he or she is hoarding it. Yes, they are moving along, but they are still at the mercy of the waves because the waves are passing them up.

However, a well-trimmed sail on a tack is an amazing experience. As you pull in the sheets (ropes) the sail initially whips around a bit but the oscillations become faster and faster until the fabric is humming. The entire boat shivers slightly along with it. The hull rolls over onto it's side as the sail picks up the full power of the wind. The hull surges forward through the waves at a terrific speed, throwing spray into the air and leaving a wake far behind.

All of this speed and power come from the fact that the sail USES the wind rather than just trapping it. The faster air moves, the stronger it is. The pressure differences between slow and fast air are so great that they can hold a massive 747 in mid-air.  A well-trimmed set of sails create a similar effect.

This is being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the constant adjustment of the lines so that you are always taking in the full power of God's Spirit in your life- and then allowing it to flow through you for His glory. Worshiping, sharing, serving, teaching, praying- God did not give us His Spirit so that we could slog through life, rocked up and down by the swells. He gave us His Spirit so that we could turn into the waves and rescue the lost and drowning.

image by Jonathan Pompe- I lightened it slightly

Disaster!

It was like Hoover Dam, except much smaller. My water filter has two buckets. You pour water into the top one and then the water runs through a filter and into the bottom one. The problem is, you can't see how much water is already in the bottom bucket. To make it even more complicated, the top bucket is quite a bit smaller than the bottom one. So one day I filled the top bucket twice, thinking that it looked about half the volume of the bottom one.

Apparently it's a bit larger than half the volume.

The next morning all of my canned goods (that's "tinned" for you Brits) were rusting away in a pond on the counter top. Unfortunately I also had one non-canned item- a box of Maizena corn flour. The water had soaked through the cardboard box and the paper liner and turned the corn flour into a semi-solid brick. I couldn't even get it to come out of the box in clumps, so I ripped the box apart and then pealed the wrapper off the soggy block.

I couldn't let all this good corn flour go to waste, so I decided to make impromptu cornbread. I dropped the brick of flour into a bowl of water and started stirring. After a minute or two I realized that this wasn't working too hot. That stuff was WEIRD! If you got the water swirling and just kept it going, it was as fluid as water. But if you suddenly tried stirring in the opposite direction, it was almost like stirring molasses. I really should have just left the flour mix like that for the shear amusement factor.

Anyway, I had serious doubts that this would turn out so I also left the egg out of the cornbread recipee. If it was going to flop I didn't want to waste an egg on it. Then I popped it in the oven and waited. Half an hour later, I had created this marvellous representation of a scorched sand-flat in Arizona!

In case there are any doubts, it was almost inedible. Kind of like paper or grass- you can eat it if you are really, really hungry.

My good deed for the day

One night I saw a little baby bird flopping helplessly on the ground. We've had some high winds, so I imagine he got blown of his nest. As I watched he managed to lift off the ground, fly about 3 feet in the air, and then come crashing back down. He didn't move too much after that. He was still breathing but he was either too stunned or too scared to try flying any more. I couldn't think of any way to help him. I figured the best bet was to leave him where he was so at least his parents could find him.

Then, as I was walking to back to my apartment, I saw two cats in the parking lot. I interrupted their domestic quarrel in a most unceremonious fashion and chased them around the parking lot, yelling and howling. Eventually I chased one out the gate and the other over the wall. I'm sure the guards now think that I am absolutely nuts, but I feel happy to have purchased my little birdy friend another hour or two of life. I hope he got ahead of the learning curve pretty soon on the flying deal.

7 years

Jeremiah Small was a single American guy who taught gym classes at a school in Iraq. He was shot to death by one of his students earlier this month. After I read about his death I went on Facebook to see if I could find out a bit more about him. Sure enough, his page is still there as if nothing had happened. Pictures of him having fun with his students, some very profound thoughts, a link to a silly comment about squirrels... I think this guy and I could have been great friends.

What shook me up the most is the fact that he started his cross-cultural adventure at the same age that I did. When he started, he had no way of knowing that he would only get 7 years. 7 short years. As I looked at his pictures and read comments from his students I could tell that he made the most of his 7 years.  He loved the country, he loved his students, and he loved his life there. He touched hundreds of lives.

When I think back on my first year I see a lot of progress but also a lot of stumblings and hesitations and false starts. I am still protecting myself, not reaching out enough, and as a result not making  a difference on a personal level as often I think I should.

So, here is a resolution to be more open to others, especially the ones who come from a different culture than me, knowing full well that I could be setting myself up for some awkward situations. Why? Because it's worth it. That's how we make a difference. That's how Jesus did it.

"...we are called not to narrative construction [...] we are called to become part of a narrative greater than ourselves in the context of a relationship that gives meaning to our lives. It is a beautiful thing to find oneself spoken into meaning."

-one of the last things Jeremiah Small wrote on Facebook

No Showers Bring March Flowers

These flowers are actually fed by a different type of shower- it's the watershed for our dormitory and office block. It is wonderful having blossoms in the middle of dry season, and since it has been nice and warm in the Northland I don't feel bad about showing you the pictures I took yesterday.

These are a few of my favorite things...

In no particular order:

-Hamburgers
-Fig Jam
-Care packages
-Mountain Bikes
-Root Beer
-Games that involve fighting with sticks
-Lemonade
-Calvin and Hobbes
-The full moon

I have enjoyed all of these in the last 24 hours! Tonight is a ceilidh and tomorrow is volleyball. What a great weekend!