a couple half naked (but clean!) boys running around in a lightning storm

there are times when we have to let go of our socially prescribed 'acceptible' behavior and take joy in the moment. today i was able to experience a taste of this.

lately, some folks at the house have come to enjoy the game of disc golf. our friend will, who has been living in the house all summer and is leaving for mexico soon, requested we send him off with our third disc golf game in the past week or so. towards the end of our game, the skies decided to drop the burden of thunder and moisture into the sky and to the earth. of course, we wouldn't let something so trivial interrupt our game. so on we played. on the way home, i prayed the heavy rain would continue. why you may ask? well, after crawling through brush, water, and possible poison ivy to find a small circle of plastic, i was feeling a little grubby. add to that the desire to conserve water and energy, as to treat ol' mother earth with some respect. the logical conclusion? rain shower. literally. will and i rushed in to grab some soap and shampoo, a few towels, a washcloth, some silliness and a couple childlike hearts, rushed back out under the part of the drain that was overflowing, and scrubbed away. the result: i feel cleaner and have a joy that comes from acting like a child while using what our Father and Mother were blessing us with from the sky. i know it sounds silly or insignificant, but it's experiments like these - experiments in simplicity and in returning to foolishness and joy - that are part of the process of unlearning the routines and 'norms' that choke our joy and relearning how to be in communion with and relish in the presence of our Lord.

adjustments and the abandonment of idol worship

as i adjust to living in community and practicing living more simply, i am finding that when i remove myself from "normal" life - consumer culture, wealth, pursuit of "happiness"- i am suprised at how much resistance i encounter from within. parts of me that did not wish to participate in these things suddenly cry out for me to partake. with no income coming in, i worry about money, even though i say i have faith God will provide. i start to realize that i can no longer enjoy some of the pleasures i have afforded myself so often (or at least not nearly as often), and within me there is a voice begging for those pleasures. my imagination even joins in on the resistance as i worry about my future and how my decisions now may affect my ability to marry, raise a family, get a job, etc. i worry about these things even thought i know those things are still possible in community, and that following the way of Christ is far more important of a task for me in the present moment.

when breaking free of the trap of a self-centered, self-seeking way of life, there are voices within us that will cry out. these may just be the idols we have to abandon and serve no longer: money, security, comfort, and most of all, ourselves.