lessons from the wilderness

What is this proverbial desert that we place ourselves for reflection during a time of sacrifice and discipline?

From the pulpit, it was mentioned that most people have never really visited a desert unless it was for a round of golf or some packaged outdoor adventure. What then is 40 days of being challenged by our vulnerabilities and meeting them headstrong?

I've met the desert for a round of golf in Palm Springs. I've met the desert in various local garden estates. And I've spent one memorable evening where I've literally slept in the middle of the desert. It's still a mere blink to the amount of time Jesus spent to contemplate and confront what is weakness and what is strength. 

But I can tell you that the desert is not a gentle place. I thought my friend was absolutely mad to play a round of golf at PGA West on a summer afternoon under a blazing sky with temperatures over 100. And this past weekend walking through the beautiful desert garden at the Huntington estate, I realized the pricklies looked lethal....definitely avoid cacti should you be pursued by zombies.

The proverbial desert was not far once I recalled my fleeting experiences. And with vivid memories of awe mixed with remembering the discomforts of being pushed against boundary, I recalled the fragility of being human and the challenge to stay "chill" as each passing hour either got extremely hot or extremely cold.

So what is Lent to me while I sit in the comfort of my apartment sheltered from the rain outside? Perhaps it is to find a silence where I may reflect on the terrain of my life and see what feeling vulnerable is like.    What will come up should I challenge certain constructs and appetites?

We are creatures of habit; always hunting and gathering.  But we are not meant to hold on to everything too tightly. We are designed to survive lean times... really lean times. We are designed to endure and still embrace serenity. We are designed to be creative during challenging times. And yet how many of us collect or hoard things? How many of us have a scarcity mentality that eat away our faith and hope?

This Lent season, I encourage you to consider your wilderness, your sacrifices that you choose on purpose to create a conversation with discipline and understanding that perhaps there is a border where discomfort happens and you can see your fragile humanity and strengthen your spirit and faith.

Don't forget... as much as the desert wildnerness may be challenging... it is also breathtaking.

jnet

iJNET

I need to love my self as much as I love my computer.

Should my computer have a hiccup or crash of some sort, it gets taken care of immediately.  IMMEDIATELY.  New battery?  New cord?  Some love from a tech geek to wake it up?

I will run the anti-virus, clean the disk, and defrag to counter the teeny-est and tiny-est sniffle… dedicating time I wouldn’t spare so easily elsewhere, determined and hopeful for happy results, searching through clouds and files saved on external hard drives.

I even feel a little annoyed that a case may need a stylish update.

Eh.

The case works really well and keeps my treasured possession safe.

I know I’m not the only one loving their modern communication tools.   Pushing that RESET button when all else fails and  feeling thrilled when it merely wakes up.  Resolving that notifications or not, the light is ON and everything from there is FIXABLE.

With the new year I’m considering my self as iJNET and invite you to meditate on getting all geeky lovey dovey over yourself.  Defrag, clean out corrupted files, and update your apps.

If we are soooo forgiving to these objects that crash on us, lose valuables, and give us all sorts of interesting emotions, then we can also forgive ourselves as we live life with its crashes, losses and  roller coaster rides of emotions.

Something to consider….

iJNET