Butterflies and Caterpillars

I came across this quote today and it struck me as a beautiful description of how God works in our lives. He brings about radical change in us so that we can become people who reflect God’s glory in all our being. These soul deep changes do not come about easily; in most cases it is through suffering and grappling with life’s challenges that God draws us closer to Himself and in the process strips away our outward cocoon that keeps the real God filled soul hidden. Personally, I would rather endure the purification process and become a “butterfly” than remain a “dull and grovelling caterpillar.”

Here is the quote:

“The Greek name for a butterfly is Psyche, and the same word means the soul. There is no illustration of the immortality of the soul so striking and beautiful as the butterfly, bursting on brilliant wings from the tomb in
which it has lain, after a dull, grovelling, caterpillar existence, to flutter in the blaze of day and feed on the most fragrant and delicate productions of the spring. Psyche, then, is the human soul, which is purified by sufferings and misfortunes, and is thus prepared for the enjoyment of true and pure happiness.”
“The Age of Fable” by Thomas Bulfinch (1796-1867)

Irish Food

Irish food is not typically known for its vast array of flavors. In fact, many of the traditional Irish meals, not surprisingly, have potatoes as their main ingredient – which quite frankly can be very bland when cooked in typical Irish fashion (i.e. boiled and mashed). Added to that the most common flavor is salt. So, knowing that, you can understand my reluctance to visit restaurants that specialize in Irish food! However, I was greatly surprised with the taste and quality of the food at a new Irish pub and restaurant I discovered in Columbia. The restaurant is called Ktee’s Irish Pub and Restaurant and is located on Two Notch Rd behind Dunkin Donuts. I spent a wonderfully enjoyable few hours there yesterday, savoring the very flavorful Shepherds Pie, and soaking up the relaxed atmosphere. The interior design is very tasteful and thankfully without a leprechaun in sight! The food was a little on the expensive side but the cost was represented well by the quality. Finally, once more to my surprise, they had really great coffee!

If you are in Columbia and want to try a new restaurant and experience Irish food with a little added flavor, and a slant towards the American taste, I would highly recommend that you check it out!

(If you want to take the cultural aspect a step further, make sure to great the staff with the following Irish greeting – “Dia Dhuit” (pronounced: dea gwit). It is basically the same as saying hello. The literal translation is “God be with you.”)

New Year’s Resolutions

I wonder how many people actually stick to the New Year’s resolutions they make. Most people, including myself, can probably run on the motivation of starting a new regime, schedule or way of doing things, for about 2 to 3 weeks. After that, it is just hard to keep it up, particularly if it is not something in which you naturally find enjoyment, for example, working out at the gym (this is why you need to make it a resolution!). So, what does one do? Is accountability the answer?
I have heard much talk about the benefits of having someone keep you accountable for sustaining changes you have initiated. But, does accountability work? Not in my experience! For the past year or so I have been convinced that “accountability” is not for those of us who get discouraged by someone pointing out to us that we have not done or accomplished what we set out to do or accomplish. What is the point of this? After all, we are already aware of our “failure.” Having someone merely point it out is a form of shaming, and in my book, shaming never works as a good motivator. It is also not a good way to maintain a friendship!

However, my view of accountability received an overhaul last September. I watched a segment on the DVD from the Willow Creek Leadership Summit 2005, in which Dr Henry Cloud redefined this concept for me and framed it in a way that I believe actually has the potential to work. He stated that part of holding someone accountable entails offering them grace. Grace, he says, not only does away with shaming, but involves providing practical help to the person who has asked for the accountability. What a wonderful concept!

So, next time you need someone to keep you accountable, chose a person who you know understands the concept of grace and who is willing to provide a helping hand when needed. Be specific with the person and let him or her know your expectations, and of course, make your expectations reasonable.

On the flip side, if someone asks you to be his or her accountability partner, be ready to extent grace and thereby lovingly help the person move towards his or her goals. Remember, shaming only causes self condemnation, where as grace offers love and hope.

“..for the Benefit of Others”

I was reminded today of a book I read last year called “Invitation to a Journey” by M. Robert Mulholland Jr. The premise of the book is that God invites us on a journey of growth towards Christlikeness. We are transformed, at the point of our salvation, from sinful beings living under condemnation to righteous children of God. That, however, is not the end of the process. God desires to work in our lives bringing about healing and restoration in our inmost being. So, having saved us, He then issues us an invitation to join Him as He molds and shapes us and restores us to the glorious image He desires for us.

The point that has been floating around in my head for the past few hours, however, was brought to my mind by the pastor at the church that I attend. During his sermon he spoke of the purpose for which we are transformed; that purpose being so that we can assist others to receive what we have received, i.e. a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Mulholland, in his book, also took this position, although he did not come at it from as strictly an evangelistic viewpoint as the pastor. He (Mulholland) purports that all sanctification/transformation, call it what you will, is a demonstration of God’s love for us but that our healing, or transformation, is also intended for the benefit of others. Basically, God provides for our salvation and then follows it up with a process that brings about healing and growth in our lives. But, if we treat the process as if it stops with us we are not seeing the full picture. God desires that we move beyond ourselves and use our renewed, redeemed selves to administer His grace, love, and healing/restoration to others.

I was glad of this reminder today as the process of self examination and gaining of self knowledge that is part of the counseling process can distract us from moving forward. We can mistake a “yield” sign for a “stop” sign and grind to a premature halt, thus coming up short and not experiencing all of that to which God has called us. In the field of counseling, (secular and Christian) it is widely recognized that one of the indicators and outcomes of growth towards healing is when the client can take something bad and turn it into good by using his or her experience to help others. There is something tremendously empowering in this. Sounds redemptive to me. What a wise and loving Father we have! 

Born Free

Who are Your Heroes?

Recently, for a class at CIU, I was asked to identify and reflect on my heroes, past and present. This was a difficult task as no past hero came to mind at first. However, as I brought to mind the television and fantasy characters that I enjoyed as a child, one in particular stood out. I remember at the age of 6 or 7 being totally enthralled by the TV series “Born Free.” For those of you not familiar with this story it is based in Kenya, Africa on the life of Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson. They rescued and raised a lion cub, Elsa, whose mother had been killed. When Elsa approached maturity, Joy determined she must re-educate Elsa to living in the wild so that the she could return to a free life, the life for which she was born.

I was drawn to Joy’s unwavering and sacrificial dedication to the welfare and freedom of the lion in her care. Week after week, I watched as she withstood adversity and danger to protect the lion cub, so that some day she could be free. Through many gripping moments Joy and her husband voluntarily put their lives on the line out of love for Elsa and out of a deeply held conviction to do what they believed was right. They could not be swayed.

Beginning

Ever have trouble getting something started? Well, that is how I feel about this blog…I registered about 5 days ago with the intentions of getting something on to it straight away….However, as is typical for most everything I do, I encountered a sense of reluctance to begin the process. This reluctance forms a theme for many aspects of my life. I was reluctant to commit my life to Christ, reluctant to go to college, reluctant to evaluate my life and deal with those issues that were holding me back. You would think that I would have learned by now that the good stuff only comes after I have put aside my reluctance and stepped out in faith!
Considering my life before and after coming into relationship with Christ (at 31 years of age…I was quite stubborn in my reluctance) there really is no comparison – it was the difference between feeling dead and feeling alive. God breathed life into the depths of my being where there had been hibernation, stagnation and lifelessness.