United Church of Warsaw

The Move – Part II

When I last wrote to you, I was singing the praises of the moving team who packed up all our worldly goods and started them on their journey to the “new world.” With every possible contingency planned for, every last “I” dotted and “t” crossed, we felt that nothing had been left to chance, and everything was under control. Smooth sailing was assured…until the shipment actually missed its first connection, and there was no sailing at all! And, as is so often the case, one misfortune leads to another, and the second half of the move quickly descended into a “character-building experience.” The motto of the move quickly became – “if it can go wrong, it will, and with the greatest fanfare possible.”

Now if we are completely honest, we all pretty much dread “character-building experiences,” and run from them, if given half a chance. But the thing about “character-building experiences” is that they can be true to their name – they have the potential to build and reinforce important aspect of the Christian character. Each challenge invites a response, and the response is a choice. I can choose to respond in a way that embodies and develops that aspect of my character that is my highest and best self – Christ in me – or I can instead reinforce aspects of my character that do not reflect the light of Christ. My choice. My response is my choice each and every step of the way, and what I choose determines what I will be able to experience in the environment around me, as a consequence of my choices. God is infinitely patient – working with the consequences of whichever choice I make. It would be bliss if a week of snoozing at the cottage by the lake, with not a care in the world, promoted this kind of inner growth, but it seems that human beings need that little (or sometimes a lot of) grist in order to fully develop key aspects of our character.

At one moment of exasperation I sat – overwhelmed – in an almost empty manse, knowing that the movers wouldn’t arrive until after my husband left (not as we had planned)! Feeling sorry for myself, I said to myself, and to God, “this is a disaster!” And the response came back – “no this is an inconvenience. Darfur is a disaster. Iraq is a disaster. This is a moving truck that is a week late.” I then remembered that famous quote by Robert Fulgum that calls us to remember that there is a difference between a lump in your oatmeal, a lump in the throat, and a lump in the breast – one might be an inconvenience, and the other might be a real problem, and it is best not to confuse the two. Perspective restored, I had a bit of a laugh at how silly I had been, and resumed my tasks with a much calmer framer of mind, grateful for God’s gentle reminder. I had to actively return to that place of “calm” many times during the moving experience, but when all was said and done, the problems, in the grand scheme of things, were nothing more than an inconvenience. An epic inconvenience, mind you, but that was all it was.

God didn’t make the moving truck late, but God was able to use the experience to help me to grow a bit deeper and reinforce a healthier, holier ways of living. And because I didn’t get lost in a rant and rave about everything that went wrong with the move, I was able to experience the grace and blessing of those who were present in the midst of the experience to reach out to me in love and compassion – something I would have missed had I been all bound-up in anger and resentment. It would have been a terrible loss to miss the grace and blessings that came to me in the midst of the difficulties because I was blinded by anger and frustration. Many of those blessings came to me from you, members of the United Church family.

The good news is that each day is filled with just such opportunities – choices – for all of us to grow and deepen in our Christian faith. And God gently journeys with us, ready to quietly whisper that word of insight just when it is needed, or give that nudge to help us move in that direction which will help to bring about our highest and greatest good. Or bring someone into our lives at just the right moment, to minister to us just as needed. The Christian journey is a dynamic, living, growing, on-going partnership with God, who stands ready to accompany us moment-by-moment, day-by-day. It doesn’t get much better than that!

During these quieter days of summer, may we consciously choose to be open and aware of the many ways in which God is helping us to grow into that which we were created to be – our best and truest selves, who reflect as clearly as possible the light of Christ.

With love and prayer,

Kim