Sunday, August 19, 2012

Nature & Nurture & the Trajectory of Life

I spent Saturday afternoon reading at a bakery in uptown
A young man arrived for work, his dad and little siblings trailing behind him
"Tomorrow is his birthday" they told his boss "18 years old"

18 years old, holding down a job at an upscale bakery, holding polite and intelligent conversation with the customers, brought to work by his dad, loved by his siblings. So different from the 18 year olds I see - abused, forgotten, struggling. They might work just as hard, be just as smart, but they were born into the wrong circumstances.

There but for the grace of God go I.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Building a Mystery

I've been pondering the mystery and complexity of humanity.
Our soul is inherently a contradiction... both heartbreakingly fragile and fiercely strong.
Each of our actions and words has a meaning that is true only to us based on our individual life experiences - the people we've met, the places we've been, the things we've witnessed.  As I attempt to bear witness to people's lives always asking "what does this tell me?" in the face of what they reveal I realize that the answer to that question is a complex puzzle.  I stand in awe of how experiences that happen outside of us create chemical reactions and electric impulses that fire around around our body resulting in a beautiful mess of thoughts and emotions.
We are a mystery.
God made us in His image.
Nothing is more mysterious than God.