Self Checkout Lines

 

I like self-checkout lanes.

I like being able to control my pace and the order in which I scan my items.

I like using my own bags or not using bags at all.

I like not feeling the pressure of someone waiting behind me.

 

But inasmuch as I like self-checkout lines,

There are others who despise them,

Or who simply don’t know how to use them,

And it’s for that reason that I don’t think that self-checkout should be the only option when checking out from a store.

 

Last Sunday night,

As I was going through the self-checkout lane at my local grocery store,

I noticed an older gentleman standing in a regular checkout lane.

Even though there were workers available,

No cashier-checkout lanes were open.

The man waited for a little while, hoping someone would come help him,

But no one did.

And so he attempted self-checkout.

He was so lost.

Realizing what was happening, I asked a friend to go help him.

She did.

And then, finally, one of the employees came to assist him in completing his purchase.

 

When I got home that night,

I asked my dad if he knew how to do self-checkout.

As I expected, he said no.

And so I explained it to him,

Knowing that the information was going in one ear and out the other.

My dad tries with technology.

Really, he does.

But there is still so much he doesn’t know or understand.

And he is just one of many older Americans who are being left behind and looked over by modern American society.

 

…

 

Technological advances are great,

But at what cost are we advancing technology

While leaving people—especially older people—behind?

 

…

May we be a people who do not live in either/or but in both/and:

Both self-checkout AND cashier-checkout--

Options for both younger generations AND older generations—

Options for both rich AND poor.

And may we be a people who look out for one another,

Recognizing when someone is lost—

Especially someone older—

And then, offering help as needed,

No strings attached.

 

Amen.

The Gospel

The law damns us.

The gospel sets us free.

The law controls us.

The gospel releases us.

The law judges us.

The gospel pours out grace.

The law keeps order.

The gospel brings radical upheaval.

 

I’ve spent most of my life living under the law,

Feeling judged, damned, and never enough

Because I can never rid myself of the sin that lives within me.

 

But that’s just the point.

There is NOTHING I can do to overcome my brokenness,

So Jesus did it for me.

 

Jesus lived a life that ushered in abundant life on earth with the promise of eternal life beyond.

Jesus died a death that paid the price for sin.

Jesus was resurrected into a life that defeated evil and death.

Jesus transformed the cross from a symbol of shame to a symbol of hope.

Jesus is gospel.

Jesus is hope.

Jesus is grace.

Jesus is love…

And love sets us free.

 

For the past five years, I’ve been learning about this Jesus anew.

It’s not a Jesus bound by the law,

It’s not a Jesus bound by failed human attempts of righteousness,

Rather it’s a Jesus who healed people from all walks of life to demonstrate that the Kin-dom welcomes all,

It’s a Jesus who chose messed-up, fallible creatures to carry his message of redemption,

And it’s a Jesus who really does love us and has called us to be part of his body,

Which is a really beautiful thing.

 

If you have been damned by the law.

If you have been controlled, judged, and kept in line by the rules and regulations of denominational and religious polity.

Then remember the gospel.

Remember freedom, release, grace, and love.

Remember that Jesus brings radical redemption to ALL who will believe—

Oh God, help our unbelief!

 

Amen.

 

Animal Rescue Videos

 

I can’t decide whether animal rescue videos are good or bad for me.

Sometimes, they make me feel warm and fuzzy.

Other times, they make me sob uncontrollably.

Sometimes, I watch with calm anticipation.

Other times, I watch with agitated worry.

 

In one particular video,

A woman dumps her dog out of the car,

Which, unfortunately, is a common practice.

But instead of leaving the dog,

She goes a short distance away and films what the dog does in response.

He runs back and forth, frantically looking for his owner,

Getting more and more frenzied as he can’t find her.

Here is this dog who knows nothing but being taken care of by his owner,

Left in the middle of nowhere,

With no warning, explanation, or understanding,

Scared, and

Alone.

Thankfully, because the video is meant to be educational,

The dog is reunited with his owner in the end.

But how many animals aren’t?

And how many animals suffer because of the abandonment?

 

So that’s a video that makes me weep.

I actually talked about it in therapy to understand why it was so emotional for me—

Blindsides, cut offs, broken trust, and feeling scared and alone were a few themes that emerged.

 

But then there are those who make me smile…

 

Like the one where a very pregnant stray dog has 15 puppies and they’re each labeled with a different colored collar to keep them straight and they all find forever homes,

Or the one where a dog with disabilities gets a wheelchair,

Or the one where a stray dog goes to the groomer and comes out looking like a different dog all together,

Or the one where a kitten is rescued and grows up to be a champion biscuit maker and cuddler,

Or the one where an eel is relieved of three hooks stuck in its mouth,

Or the one where a black goldfish is rescued from a sickly tank and transforms into a happy orange fish,

Or the one where a wayward sheep is shorn and is released from an 80 pound burden.

I actually really like the wayward sheep videos because the sheep are so trusting of the people who help them.

They’re flipped over and turned around and worked on for a long time because their wool is so matted and full of dirt and sticks,

Yet underneath the outer coat of filth,

They are beautifully soft and white.

 

There’s a lesson in there on that one.

I’ll let you figure it out.

 

So yeh.

I can’t determine whether animal rescue videos are good or bad for me.

I blame Facebook for putting them in my algorithm.

And I blame Annie the Cat for being a real-life rescue story that has caused me to put all kinds of human emotions on animals!

 

God: Thank you for animals. And help us, God, to take care of them. Forgive us when we neglect your creation and abandon your creatures, and help us, as a whole, to be more responsible stewards and to do better. Amen.

The Hand Jive

 

Sometimes, when I stand in front of a class,

And they’re a cacophonous, wandering mess,

I wonder what in the world I’m doing.

It’s like I’m not even there for a few moments,

And they’re in their own world.

 

But sometimes, when I stand in front of a class,

And they’re all looking at me, listening,

I still wonder in the world I’m doing.

It’s like they’re all present for a few moments,

And I’m the center of their world.

 

It’s weird.

Knowing that I’m molding the minds of little people

While involving their bodies and voices in learning.

It’s weird.

Realizing the power I have to make or break a kids’ day,

With a word, a smile, a song.

 

Last week, as I was teaching the hand jive to my 2^nd and 3^rd grade students,

And they were all looking at me with wide eyes and wonder,

Imitating my motions,

Completely focused, totally engaged,

I felt this strange sensation of making a difference--

Not that the hand jive itself makes that much of a difference,

But being part of the educational process does:

Seeing what it looks like when a kid is a kid,

Baggage unclaimed,

Trauma left behind,

Attention seeking behavior quieted,

Mind open,

Heart pounding,

Soul at ease.

 

For those few moments,

I was able to provide my students with a momentary escape into happiness

And maybe even a lifelong memory that they will pull up when they can remember nothing else.

How many songs from childhood do you remember?

Commercial jingles? Nursery rhymes? Hand games? Hymns?

 

Music is a powerful thing.

It lives in the body and it stirs the soul.

 

Yet sometimes when I stand in front of a class,

And they’re a cacophonous, wandering mess,

I wonder what in the world I’m doing.

But then I remember:

I am changing a kids’ world.

One hand jive at a time.

 

Amen.

 

The Journey of Writing

 When I was in the 8^th grade,

My Sunday School Teacher gave me a journal for graduation.

On the inside cover,

It said, “Congradulations.”

I used that journal to record middle and high school songs and poems,

And I’ve added many other journals to the collection since.

I used to write a lot of songs and poems.

I still have many of the rough drafts—

Scribbled on yellow legal paper, or napkins, or envelopes, or anything I could find to write upon.

These days, I write less by hand and more on the computer.

I also write less poetry and more prose.

I’ve never been a diary keeper or a fiction writer,

But I enjoy reflecting upon “life, work, and spirituality.”

I think my love for writing began during my junior year of high school,

When my English teacher, Mrs. Royal, encouraged me to write.

My senior English teacher, Mrs. Smith, continued the encouragement,

But then I got to college where my freshman English professor, Dr. Colby, dealt me a major blow:

My only B in my undergraduate studies.

I could not write a thesis statement to save me!

I spent many hours in Dr. Colby’s office,

Talking, crying, working, trying to become a better writer.

For a year after that class, I remember being hesitant to write.

I was afraid my writing wasn’t good enough.

I was afraid that I was going to fail.

Thankfully, life brought me out of that depression and I wrote more freely again.

When Live Journal was a thing, I posted dramatic posts of my life and work at the time.

When I was in Divinity School, one of my favorite classes was the Ministry of Writing, taught by Dr. Cartledge.

When Facebook became a thing, and I finally joined,

I wrote to give glimpses into the life of a full-time vocational minister (although I wasn’t called a minister at the time).

That was almost fourteen years ago.

I have written two notes per week almost every year since,

And I have watched my writing style change over time.

At Johnsonville, I held a weekly writing competition to get students writing.

I didn’t care about the quality of their writing as much as I cared they were writing!

At GW, I have taken it upon myself to become the point person for the Young Authors Writing Competition.

I have a vague memory of writing for the competition when I was with Mrs. Royal,

So when I became connected with it again,

I knew that I wanted to encourage my students write.

This year, GW had 16 State Writing Competition Winners!

Thanks to a handful of classroom teachers,

We had writers from every grade level, and almost every grade level was represented on the state level.

This is huge!

And I am so proud.

And I am so thankful that that middle school girl who dramatically wrote in her “Congradulations” journal didn’t stop writing…

And I hope that she never will.

 

Amen.  

Unnecessary Requirements

 

I recently filled out an online application that required my signature.

I filled it out at least ten different times—

On my computer, on my phone, with Edge, with Chrome, at home, at school, during the day, at night—

But when it came to the signature block,

The application wouldn’t work.

I tried signing with the mouse.

I tried signing with the touch screen.

I tried refreshing the page.

I did everything I knew to do.

But nothing worked.

All I got was an error message. 

So I contacted my contact at the organization,

And she contacted the IT person,

Who lifted the signature requirement,

And sent me a different link to the application than I’d been trying,

Then, and only then, was I finally able to complete the application!

This process lasted for four days.

It was frustrating.

But it was resolved…

After I had the right link…

And an unnecessary requirement was lifted.

 

I think sometimes in churches we place requirements on people

That are unnecessary.

And I think sometimes in churches we give people misinformation that

Leads to impossible frustration.

Do we do it on purpose?

Usually not.

But if we aren’t careful,

Then I think we can over-require and mislead people

Right out of the doors of the church.

 

I’m thankful that I had someone kind, capable, and willing to work with me when this piece of technology failed.

 

Likewise,

May we be a kind, capable, and willing people who intentionally work with those whom the church has failed.

 

God: Thank you for perseverance. Thank you for creativity. And thank you for lifting unnecessary requirements that keep people out of your Love. Amen.  

God Already Is

 

Two thoughts are on my mind as I sit down to write today.

Neither is original, but both are profound.

 

First, as my friend Rebecca shared via a text conversation Saturday night,

In the midst of the chaos, anxiety, and hatefulness of this world,

We often wait for help and hope to come save us.

But we don’t have to wait for help and hope to come save us,

Because they are already here.

They have been here since Jesus came to earth to embody both,

And they never leave…

Because the Holy Spirit empowers us,

The Body of Christ,

To be help and hope to one another.

WE are the ones who must work for justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

WE are Living Hope.

 

Second, as Pastor Ann shared in her sermon yesterday,

Jesus came to earth to proclaim good news to all.

He brought in the Kingdom of God with his miraculous healings

And he did so to show what God’s Kingdom was like.

Jesus healed in big cities, small towns, villages, synagogues, and homes.

He healed the rich, poor, young, and old.

He healed the physically ill, the mentally ill, the loved, and the outcast.

Jesus healed persons from all walks of life to show that

The Kingdom of God belongs to ALL who believe.

 

Many of us would love to be healed of our physical and mental illnesses.

Many of us would love to feel a wave of hope wash over us in this very broken world.

Many of us would love to see a miracle.

Yet while miracles still can occur,

God already is.

God is in the science and medicine that treat illness.

God is in the cup of water, the loaf of bread, the looked-into-eyes, the listening-ear, and the hug.

God is in the money given to an organization that does what we cannot, and

God is in the brief encounter with a stranger that forever changes our lives.

 

Friends: We don’t have to wait for help and hope to come.

And we don’t have to wait for miracles to occur.

They are already here. 

God already is.

And somehow,

Maybe even through a miracle,

We ALL get to be part.

 

Dear God: Thank you for ushering in your Kingdom on earth—for opening it to all people—and for granting us glimpses of what the future will be. Help us to be help and hope to those who know that they need it, as well as to those who don’t know that they are missing out on the  miracle of You. You have called us to work for justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. May it be so, God, May it be so. Amen.