The 'Stuff' of Life that Stuffs Our Lives

What happens when you go away for 10 days and return to what seems dammed up 'life stuff' awaiting your return to work with it all?  First of all, many of us experience this, so it is nothing new.  Second, my life's 'mantra' is "How do you eat a bagel? One bite at a time."  For if you stuff the whole darn thing into your mouth, it will never get eaten.  (This is my version of "How do you eat an elephant? moved from absurd to real).

Now before any think I am belching up complaints, looking at these 'situations' sans thankful heart, or allowing B.P. (blood pressure) rise, I'd like to squelch such matters immediately!  In conversation with my cousin Wayne (he and his recent 2 bout chemo wife visiting my folks from Wisconsin) he stated that it seems like in everybody's life he knows they are dealing with difficult stuff.  And honestly?  I think when we all stop and examine our lives, there is always something difficult in them, what changes is apparent degree of difficulty.

So, as we return from Croatia and Bosnia, we return not only with the added questions and contemplations for ministry there as we look ahead to next year's trip, we also find them mixed with the dammed up stuff of life lying in wait.  Stuff like helping my mom and dad figure out what the next step in his healthcare will be as it seems all of Kaiser healthcare system has been exhausted here dealing with his pancreatic cancer and pancreatectomy, needing to call another hospital as my dad's advocate to see what they might do.  Stuff like dramatic changes in my home church ministry which occurred while we were away, meeting with my head pastor (who is my boss at one of my jobs) for breakfast to discuss the details, me being one of his assistants.  Arriving home to a dead router, crippling our internet connection and cell phone service (yes, even in a town like San Diego, cell coverage has gaps) vital to communication and work.  Needing to attend to work at the preschool as some things there 'fell apart' while I was away (another one of my jobs).  And wishing that my job at Lowe's was behind me, but for some dumb reason, I had to tell them I'd stay until one of the sales associates in plumbing return from his month vacation.  And a host of other things waiting for me to 'take care of'.

So for the past hour (it is now 5 am) I found myself rising to prayer, seeking God's wisdom, timing and priorities to 'eat my bagel' before me...one bite at a time.  It will get done, I just want to attend to it all in the order He deems before me.

So, today attending to immediate needs at the preschool before breakfast at 8am my pastor, and then , calling to start working on stuff for my dad and then maybe working to install new router, and then? All the other stuff, a host of other stuff that will occur, planned or not.

Today's blog is about 'stuff'.  You know, the 'stuff' of life that stuffs our lives.  Real.  Important. Consuming.  People standing on edge of (some jumping off) a cliff.  Decisions made out of confusion, lack of details, trying to, like I figure out how to move each issue over the cliff, checking them off the list of things to do.  We all have them.  We all have to deal with them, and I am glad I do not need tackle them myself, with my wimpy wisdom.  I can lay them out before my heavenly Father, seek His wisdom and leading, for His purpose and His glory, in the midst of all that surrounds me.  Really.

God wanted me go to Croatia and Bosnia.  The  need there is OVERWHELMING!  I am such a small boat in a humongous ocean of need there, but I seek do that which He calls as I sail through.  The same is true when I return home, both overwhelming need and the process to sail through things here.

When I went on an Alaskan cruise, our family with children celebrating my folks 50th anniversary, we went on a smaller ship able to go farther into a finger off the greater body of water we sailed to see more of the beauty and sights of the state.  We could find havens of familial seclusion on the ship as it wasn't an island serving larger percentage of facility space as other cruise ships have, and for us, the cruise was more relaxing because of that feature.  In short, the smaller vessel offered more for us and our needs.

There is purpose in small ships on large seas.  In many ways I think it better to be lean and light rather than large and lethargic.  That is why I like small churches, small groups, small teams.  That is why I believe God is leading me to be involved with the process of discipleship, building disciples of Jesus, real disciples that present His real image, not the corporate one many have come to know.  Jesus simply dealt with the life and lives of those presented Him as He walked the earth.  Meeting their real need not just their perceived need.  But often He and His heavenly Father tackled both.  The real deal of His ministry worked better one on one that with crowds, but He used crowds to demonstrate the power of God to care for all of them, some 'getting it' while others remained 'lookey loos'. Even the 12 closest had issues understanding what was unfolding before them...for years they walked together, everyday, and still they didn't always 'get it'.

Example, the following:

 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
   
(John 6:60-71 ESV)

Life, here and eternally needs explanation.  What we see and do here is only a shadow of what will be when we leave.  The "stuff of life that stuffs our lives" can be dealt solely with human wisdom or wonderful divine wisdom.  All I know is that when I get all this right, as life unfolds, a supernatural peace fills my soul; not a positive thinking kind of peace, real, spiritual, God ordained peace.  The kind of peace that in the midst of overwhelming situation does not overwhelm.  The kind of peace that allows continued excellent thinking and response through what would undo most.  The kind of peace that is not surprised because I know my God was not surprised.  The kind of peace that turns to Him first in prayer rather than last after all my solutions have been exhausted.

In the passage above, what should surprise us is that even God Himself, Jesus could not convince all of the 12 who lived with Him for years.  My previous blog about corruption speaks to that which clouds, or can cloud our perception, deceiving us from seeing truth, and yes, it is difficult to overcome.
 
So, how do you deal with 'the stuff of life that stuffs your life'?  How is it working for you?  Do you have a peace that passes understanding?  I have found such peace, and no, it isn't the kind where you stick your head in the ground hoping it will just 'go away'.  It isn't the kind that removes problems and makes them go away either.  It is the kind that deals with the stuff of life with real answers, trusting in a HUGE God, footprints of faith led through a challenging forest of issues, He, together in me, helping this soul get things done, one at a time as He leads.