Myanmar vs Old Enfield

Kay had an appointment with her pain specialist the other day, so I was taking Mack to daycare. I left the house a little late and decided to go down Lamar instead of Mopac. Anything after 7:20 and you should just always avoid Slow-Pac.

When I got down around 29th Street or so I decided to turn into the Old Enfield neighborhood. I learned some short cuts when we lived in a garage apartment in that neighborhood right after we were married. I was listening to NPR as I came up the big hill from Pease Park. They were talking about the protests that were happening in Myanmar.

The Old Enfield neighborhood is a really nice area. Gigantic old houses with sprawling green landscaping. At the corner where I was there is even one with a waterfall built into the house.

The NPR correspondent was discussing quite calmly the possibility that the government of Myanamar might start shooting people soon. He was so nonchalant about it. I looked around and I was surrounded by the decadent houses of the Old Enfield Neighborhood. The contrast between our prosperity and some parts of the world hit me more starkly and fully than it ever had before. I was shocked.

Now I have nothing against prosperity or people that make a lot of money. I used to want that. Now I just want to get out of debt! What do I do with this revelation though? Do I try to save the world? I do believe one person can make a big difference, but I don’t feel that is my calling. I feel my calling is to nurture my little family, and try to strengthen my relationship with Christ. As a Christian what do I do with these feelings?

Little Gods Surround Me

Another little revelation I had that night in upstate New York was that everyone is in this relationship with the Lord. Not just me. I’m not some kind of special person. Every single person that has ever existed or will ever exist has a relationship with Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Good or bad, growing or declining, faint or powerful.

It was a cool evening, as it often is, in upstate New York where I was born (Canton/Potsdam Hospital). I was home for my Grandmother’s memorial. She passed away at the ripe old age of 82 by the way. I truly admire the way Grandma Page grew old. She never gave up. She told me once that when you gave up on little things big things would follow. That is why I think she slept upstairs at her house until just a few months before she died. Feisty. I love her.

Anyway, I was sitting on a picnic table in front of my parents RV across the street from my Dad’s sister’s house. Just after I discovered the meaning of life I looked up and someone was walking across the little dirt road that runs from the back of the RV park by the river to the front where I was sitting. I saw this person walking in the clear night air and I thought, “Little gods surround me.” We are all eternal beings. We are going to live forever. So, in some kind of limited way we are all gods.

I try to keep this in mind when dealing with people in my everyday life. A quote from CS Lewis that is in Willard’s book I read just the other night puts it best. Willard says Lewis challenges us

"…to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship… There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit…"

The Meaning of Life

Sitting outside my parents RV in upstate New York reading “Renovation of the Heart” by Dallas Willard I stumbled onto the resolution of the one question I have been trying to answer since I was a teenager.

What is the meaning of life? My answer is spiritual formation.

From Willard’s book -

“Spiritual formation, without regard to any specifically religious context or tradition, is the process by which the human spirit or will is given a definite “form” or character. It is a process that happens to everyone. The most despicable as well as the most admirable of persons have had a spiritual formation. Terrorists as well as saints are the outcome of spiritual formation. Their hearts have been formed. Period.”

We are all formed in one-way or another. We can become more like Christ or less depending on our circumstances and most importantly our choices. It is through this process that God is creating something. What that something is, or why God wants it created, I do not know. I do know that it is the whole point of life though.

My thought is that God is creating creatures with free will that are capable of having a personal relationship with Him. The question is could God make this creature in any other way?

Take making a cake. Or a pie since I like pie more. I can make a pie, but I cannot make a pie appear out of thin air. There is a process you have to go through. You have to gather the ingredients, put them together in the right combination, and cook them for the correct time at the right temperature.

Could God make a pie just appear out of thin air? Perhaps, He is all-powerful after all. Could God make a fully sentient being with free will that loved Him and wanted to have a personal relationship with him appear out of thin air? Maybe. Maybe not.

Intro

A blog? Like I don’t have enough to do. If I’ve learned anything over the past few years though it’s that you need to take at least a little time for yourself.

My life has become work, wife, and baby. All wonderful things, and I am exactly where I want to be in life. However, I need a creative outlet. Somehow I need to explore the ideas that float into my consciousness. I don’t seem to have the time to write anymore, so I thought a shorter format would be better for me right now. Plus I want to do something for God. This may be strange for some of you to hear coming from me, but I became a Christian on March 30, 2005. I will tell that story in my blog someday, but I don’t want to get distracted by the details of my conversion. After all it is just the beginning.

Anyway, my plan is to post to my blog each Sunday. The subject will be mostly related to my (hopefully) deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. I’ve been known to take a tangent or two though.

So, if the subject interests you please read along. If not, I bow to your Buddha nature. Confused? Good. I want to keep everyone thinking.

You are all welcome to post to my blog or email me directly at sabbaticalbill@yahoo.com for further discussion of anything I bring up.

Thanks for reading! billy p!