The Other Side Of The Camera

"There is nothing quite like the connection you share with siblings. Good times with these three over the weekend... remembering, laughing, making memories. I like us."

I spent the weekend with three of my siblings and shared those pictures and words on social media this morning. I wasn't going to but then I did anyway. 

They were true. 

We had a wonderful weekend. We talked and relaxed and laughed until we nearly cried. We did nothing and we did some sightseeing and we just enjoyed spending time with people who share our DNA and sense of humor. We ate and lounged and stayed up late and relished shedding all responsibilities. 

It is incredibly true that there is something about siblings that you will never quite find with somebody else. I am so very blessed to have a family who loves and cares about each other. 

But. 

It's also true that siblings and family are not all roses and sunshine. I've seen plenty of posts on social media just like the one I posted this morning that have left me feeling like my family must be lacking because, let's face it, there are hard things about family too. 

Sometimes the connection with siblings is painful. Sometimes there are things we don't agree with; things we wish we could change or fix. Sometimes we hurt each other or feel misunderstood. My family has a hard time getting things planned and sometimes the hassle feels like more drama than it's worth. 

My siblings and I are scattered farther apart geographically than we used to be. Since mom is gone, sometimes it's felt like we've drifted apart in other ways too. There have been times when it felt like the glue that held our family together was removed with her death and we struggled to hold together what we used to have. 

I love my family dearly. We share a connection and a heritage that I would never want to trade with anyone. Weekends like this past one make me deeply grateful for the way I was raised and the siblings God chose for me to share life with. 

But. 

I don't like to portray something that isn't the whole truth. It's too easy to show only the pretty side of the room and not turn the camera around and share the messy side as well. We hurt other people when we do that, leaving them feeling lacking and less than and not quite good enough. In the long run though, we hurt ourselves more than anyone.

And so, I wasn't going to post anything at all this morning, for that very reason. And then I did because, you know, that's just what you do. But then I felt compelled to turn the camera around and show the other side.....

Bunny Trails And Bushes

I've been meaning to sit down and write this for days but it still feels like a lot of little bunny trails that may not connect very well. I'll try not to lose you in the bushes. 

Several weeks ago, Chris and I took a little weekend excursion. Thought I'd throw in a couple pictures of the beauty we took in....

This year our whole church has been reading through the chronological Bible. Every Sunday, the sermon and our Sunday school discussion comes from something in the past week's reading. It has been a really good experience; I'd recommend it to anyone! There's nothing quite like the whole lot of you reading exactly the same thing at the same time and having it crop up in day to day conversations. 

Last week we finally made it to the New Testament. What a flip of a light switch! It hit me like never before that the people Jesus came to in the gospels were those same people we had just laboriously read about in the prophets -- well, not literally the same people. But people with that same mindset; that same world view. No wonder it was so hard for them to get it!

Reading the New Testament after nine months in the Old is like chugging down clear, cold water on a blistering hot day. There's so much goodness there you can hardly taste it all properly but you keep gulping greedily and every so often some little nugget reaches out and snatches your attention, like this one in Luke 3 --

When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” The crowds asked, “What should we do?” John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

Luke 3:7‭-‬11 NLT

For some reason John's response captivated me. I wonder if the crowds were caught off guard by it? I wonder if they expected something bigger, more eloquent -- share our food and clothes -- really, John?

Sometimes I make the Gospel so much more complicated than it is. 

All of this reminded me of a couple years ago when I spent a January writing about Treasure In Heaven. I took the time to go back and read those posts again, and my goodness. It's quite a feeling to be so convicted by your own words!

And then Matthew 7 came along...

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Matthew 7:1-5 NLT 

Jesus fleshed it out a good bit more than John did, but it seems to me the bottom line is really -- Go get busy caring about other people. Stop nitpicking and judging and trying to prove how good you are. Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. And how do I do that? Start laying up some treasure in heaven!

This past week I determined to intentionally do just that. I chose to do at least one thing especially for my household, at least one thing especially to the household of faith, and at least one thing for someone or something outside of my little circle. It was so good for me. I want to take up the challenge to refocus once again and do it some more... and keep doing it... until it becomes a permanent part of my life. 

Those are my bunny trails. I hope if you got lost, you find an exit soon. 

A Snarky Crucifixion Of The Enneagram

Disclaimer: I apologize to all of you who have not jumped on the Enneagram bandwagon; I'm sorry if none of this makes any sense. Feel free to just click on by to something more interesting.

To those of you who are into the Enneagram, I hope I gave you a little something to smile about.

Carry on.

      ******************************

Dear Enneagram,

I don't know who the know it all was that had so much time on their hands they felt the need to sit down and dissect the human race on paper. Probably someone with so many degrees behind their name that their friends called them Fahrenheit. I don't know who you thought you were but I'd just like to thank you for several things.

First of all, congratulations on your ability to write detailed descriptions of all the worst characteristics of humanity. Seriously, you nailed it over and over -- "That's her!" and "Oh that's totally him!" Personal kudos for pin-pointing every single one of my weaknesses, even though I denied them all the first time around. You've got talent, I have to admit. You must have been an eight is all I can say. I mean obviously, the rest of us have opinions but you? You have facts.

I like how you deliberately take every one of us apart and then, when we're completely shredded and helpless, you try to tell us how good these things can be. I will say this -- you treat every number equally, so maybe there is hope in that. I have yet to hear someone discover their number and promptly declare how much they love it, so again, I have to give you the fact that you've been fair.

I do, however, have a bone to pick with you when it comes to number nine. I just have to say, if you were trying to be helpful you failed miserably on this one. And I quote:

"Nines can have the strength of Eights, the sense of fun and adventure of Sevens, the dutifulness of Sixes, the intellectualism of Fives, the creativity of Fours, the attractiveness of Threes, the generosity of Twos, and the idealism of Ones. However, what they generally do not have is a sense of really inhabiting themselves—a strong sense of their own identity.

Ironically, therefore, the only type the Nine is not like is the Nine itself."

I just have a question -- how is that helpful? 

You've just described what a nine is like and then you turn around and tell them the only person they're not like is a nine itself. Say what? If a nine takes on the characteristics of all the other numbers, would it not follow from simple logic that that persona is, in fact, a nine? What, may I ask, is 'the nine itself' if it is not that? For someone who is so good at slicing up humans into tidy little categories, you sure are confusing me on this one. 

Thank you for upsetting my world and making me think; it's my least favorite thing to do. You have forced me to spend days on end ruminating a question I have never in all my years found an answer for: Who Am I? I understand now why I've never known.

Congratulations.

Sincerely,
A Nine

PS. You have to know that tomorrow I will feel terribly about being so insulting; please forgive me. I really do like you a lot. In fact, I've been recommending your amazing work to numerous people, so there's that to soothe your feelings.

PPS. I forgot that you are, undoubtedly, an eight and therefore my snarkiness only served to amuse you. I take none of it back.