Sunday, April 22, 2012

A few not so final words....

So after reading Lefty and Mallory's blogs I couldn't resist throwing in my two cents. I feel like we're giving a toast at a wedding or something but who knows.... they say the third time is the charm and this is the third post about you leaving so......
I'd like to start off by saying I am so glad you two are leaving.

Take a second to read that last sentence again, yeah, you read it right. I am so glad you two are leaving because wherever you are headed there is another person like me who needs two amazing people like you. I could be selfish and bitter but why would I want to constrain the possibilites of two of the most faithful and inspiring people I have ever met.
That other person somewhere that is self righteous in what he does, he needs you to clarify what life is really about. That guy who comes to church because it's the right thing to do, he needs you to fuel his spark into a flaming passion. That boy who is fighting with his bestfriend and feels like he's just lost the world, he needs you Kim and the comforting conversation you so willingly give. That youth who is looking for a place to fit in needs you Tom to show him that he needs to create his own niche and discard conformity.
I can honestly say that if I hadn't become a part of MCUMC youth I wouldnt be the guy I am today. If I hadn't met you two and realized how radical your faith is, I would have then never have wanted the same. I wouldn't be going to Clemson, I wouldn't think about backpacking 24/7, I wouldn't have a strong desire to continually serve, I wouldnt know what it means to have blind love. There is a part of me that has been shaped by you two, and it's one of the things I am most proud of.

I pray that wherever you go you will be blessed in the most amazing ways. I realize you are standing on the map and in every direction things look fuzzy, and that can be scary. Think about it this way, the most amazing feats in history occured from chaos. To build something great and new you have to start from scratch. The Creation, the flood, the twelve tribes of Isreal, the resurrection, they are all some of the most chaotic moments but look what God made out of them. Take the leap, and laugh as you jump, becasuse life is gloriously unexpected.

I hope this chapter in your life has been memorable and I can't wait to see where the story continues.
                               May the odds be ever in your favor.
        
                                              -C. Swizzy

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The only moment we have

Ninety percent of our media focuses on the atrocities of the past or projected events that have yet to come. How high was the gas four years ago, how high will it be in 6 months? What we did wrong in the Vietnam war, the possibility of a cold war with Korea. What more is the past than a written history, unalterable and gone? What more is the future than unwritten possibilities, flighty and unconstrained? How can we affect the future or the past, how can we possibly remove ourselves form the one moment, at which we are currently living, and alter something that is not ephemeral? The past and present are concepts, nothing more. Time is only present in the present, all else is speculative.
     I say we abandon our concern for everything but the present. I realize that this would be an extremely difficult task but wouldn't the reward be amazing? This abandonment, I believe, is the way that we can adopt a Christ-like life. If we had no prejudices from the past, no bitterness towards history, how kind would we be? Hate and anger are deep rooted emotions, If we remove ourselves from the past couldn't we remove these emotions? If we had no fear of financial decline, if CNN didn't predict the housing market to drop, if the thought of college loans didn't loom over our heads how many more dollars would we give to the homeless? How many more minutes would we spend with our family rather than on our fiscal responsibilites? How much more of our life would we spend outwardly living rather than inwardly dying? Satan wants us to be concerned with our own well being, he wants us to remeber past wrongs. He wants us to be wrapped up so much in our past failures and future pitfalls that we miss the moment we are in. Each moment we miss accumulates into hours, days and years. Before we know it we have missed our lives becuase we have been too busy looking behind and ahead.
    It will be a tough transition but one that will be worth it. I am living in the moment, I want to experience life and the world around me. I don't want the extra luggage of worrying about what isnt even here. I don't want to miss out on the plan that God has for me. I'm living in the only moment I am guaranteed, now.