Blow My Cover
Entertainment television is saturated with cop and detective series. Many whose plots are based on undercover characters infiltrated in a particular group convincing all those around them of their supposed authenticity. The undercover agent learns the behavior and character so well, that while in the presence of the group he disassociates from his true self and becomes what others are expecting him to be. So long as his cover isn’t blown, he remains part of the group and all is well.
Whether in a detective series or not, being a part of the group and having everything be well is always what we seek. We become professionals at assuming the role we are expected to have and separating from who we truly are. It is all done in response to fear of allowing others to see our scars, blemishes, failures, faults, shortcomings, hurts, and insecurities.
We hurt from Monday through Saturday and then play undercover agents on Sundays. All because shame and guilt convinces us to hide and act like someone we are not; the other “perfect” people at church. Here me when I say I am not pointing out sin, but rather the misconception that we don’t sin. It is faulty thinking such as this that causes us to feel alone in our lapses.
This reminds me of a friend of The Jensing – my husband for those of you who don’t know- . This guy is a very fit 40 something year old man who works out on a fairly consistent basis. Yet, whenever he gains a couple of extra pounds, he tells my husband that he cannot go to the gym fat, as he fears what others might say. As silly as this sounds, us thinking we cannot go to church as what we truly are, sinners, is the same thing. Just like this guy tries to lose weight before he goes to the gym, we try to fix ourselves before we go to the place that can fix us. If you’re anything like me, I bet that statement brought a smirk to your face.
The voice of experience speaks the loudest and I can tell you that I have had my fair share of undercover days. Walking into church, putting my best face on, and hiding any hurt.
The one thing I have learned through the years is there is healing in exposure. Coming in just as we are, with the broken places of our life and all the stuff we are carrying on display for the Lord to deal with. For He can only deal with our mess when we hand it over to Him willingly and come in with a blown cover!
Are you on undercover agent mode in some area of your life? If so, I pray that your eyes would be open to the fact that you are not alone. Come as you are…
My Family Portrait
If zebra pattern counted as a favorite color then I would say that it is mine. I enjoy all things zebra…rugs, purses, shoes, cloths, and the list goes on. The painting you see below was no exception. I stumbled upon it on a Saturday morning about a year and half back. Being new to the Tampa area, the garage sale signs on every corner sparked my curiosity, and as I got off the car to check out what all the garage sale fuss was about, it caught my eye.
The garage sale host was an art dealer and had several pieces out for sale. As beautiful as it was I left empty handed when he filled me in on the $2000 price tag. Needless to say, a painting of this amount was not on my budget that morning, especially not from a garage sale. I did however fall in love with the piece and didn’t leave without first passing along my contact information.
Did you know that although the stripes of a zebra all look the same, they really are not? Just like no two human fingerprints are the same, neither are any zebra’s stripes the same. Each perfectly drawn stripe speaks of the zebra’s individuality. Although at first glance when you see a group of zebras or what is called a Zeal of zebra’s, you may confuse one for another but they aren’t in the least bit confused about their uniqueness.
Many a time have I seen my differences as a burden but in comparing myself to this creature I can appreciate my differences as blessings instead. I guess my fondness of these beautifully painted animals lies in just that. Each one brings something different to the Zeal but together they are one in passion and in pursuit of protection for the whole.
This reminds me of our church today. So many gifts and talents all with an individual purpose and yet each contributing to the body as a whole. Seeking protection, viability, and strength all in devotion to God.
Today, this 5 by 7 foot painting graces my living room wall. About a year after my visit to the garage sale, I was contacted by the owner who was going through a hard financial time. He sold me the same painting for a significant amount less than what he first asked. There’s a Spanish idiom that translates into, “If it’s meant for us, it’ll be ours” – and this certainly was the case for me.
We introduce every guest in our home to this painting as our “family portrait”; Sky, Rain, Me, and The Jensing. No other rendering could have captured us better!
How do your stripes contribute to the Zeal? I would love to hear about it.
The God Particle
For over 50 years scientist researched the Higgs Boson particle or what is more commonly referred to as The God Particle, in their study of physics. It is said that this particle is found in all matter everywhere, is what gives everything its mass, and is what holds the universe and all its other particles together. In July of 2012 after years of investigation and with the help of very advanced equipment the elusive God Particle was found and proven to exist.
It took lots of fancy machinery as well as several billion dollars to help these scientists discover what could be verified in an instance; that God’s Hand holds everything together. Though they don’t exactly refer to it in those terms, one thing’s for sure, the God Particle is necessary for all existence.
Just like the countless particles that make up the universe, there are also particles that make up our life. We have relationship particles, work particles, emotional particles, financial particles, character particles, and life purpose particles just to name a few. Each of these contributes into the bigger picture of making us the unique individuals that we are.
However, if the different areas of our lives are not in order, just like the actual particles in the universe, they can collide with each other and cause great dysfunction. One area will affect the other.
So what keeps it all together? The God particle.
His Hand keeps everything in unison and provides a perfect balance to all the components of our lives.
We don’t need special equipment to figure this out nor do we need years of research. All we need is a relationship.
I wonder if you have one today?
Image by: flickr.com/photos/alan_bloom (Celestial Fantasies)
Finding Your Current
Have you ever felt like the slowest man in the race? You know, the one who things never seem to work out for, or the one who never makes it as far as everyone else does in life. If you have, you are in good company as I have felt like this plenty of times before, but have come to discover that speed depends on location.
When I look back and examine those moments where my momentum was basically non-existent, I notice they all have one thing in common; those moments are all linked to a place, event, or situation where I wasn’t supposed to be in, in the first place.
I only gained traction when I was riding the current I was created to be on.
Take for example the sea turtle. Sea turtles are found in almost every ocean basin in the world. They begin life in the sandy beaches as hatchlings and make their way to the ocean where they virtually spend their whole lives. It is said they can migrate for distances even as far as 1400 miles which means many times they are crossing entire oceans.
I’m sure you remember the most famous sea turtle of all, Crush. That’s the Eastern Pacific Green Sea Turtle in the movie, Finding Nemo. This 150 year old sea turtle brought Marlin and Dory one step closer to finding Nemo by giving them a ride on his shell down the Eastern Australian current to Sydney Harbor.
But wait, aren’t turtles supposed to be slow? Well, yes and no. A sea turtle is quite slow on land but in the water they are very fast and can reach speeds of up to 20 miles an hour.
So what is the difference you ask? The location.
The sea turtle was created to be a swimmer and journey most of his or her life. Taken out of this environment and placed where he isn’t meant to be, slows him down.
The slowest man in the race is just like the sea turtle. He is slow not because he is less capable than everyone else, but because he is out of place.
Today, I pray you will find your place and your current!
Image by: Matthias Hiltner (www.traveling-shapy.de/)
Ship Time
“Run Forest, Run”, is all I could hear in the back of my mind as we ran down the seemingly endless dock! 4:30pm ship time was the time we were supposed to have boarded the ship to leave Cozumel by 5:00pm; and it was now 5:30pm. One hour late! Not a soul was on the dock but from a distance we could hear the chants of everyone on board shouting things like “You can make it”, “Run faster”, “Hurry up”. These were just some of the shouts and roars that we could make out as they were being carried over in the wind.
Ship time was different than local time. That is where the confusion began. As we disembarked that morning for a full day of fun we neglected to synchronize our watches with the ship’s time. Instead, we walked around and quickly became enveloped with the water sports, food, shopping, and everything else local that we came across. It was easy to forget that we were subject to a different standard of time.
When we noticed that the streets that were flooded with people early that morning had now become quiet, we began to get a little nervous. We hastily began our drive back as we were about 5 miles away from the port and in a bright lemon green rented jeep that needed to be returned. The closer we got, the more evident it became that we were about to be left behind.
And then suddenly we heard it, the blasting sound of the ship’s horn indicating they were ready to leave.
We jumped out of the jeep and dashed towards the now closed gates. The security guard standing at the gate observing as we ran across the street and in between cars began to wave us down and contacted the ship’s crew to notify them that the missing family had arrived!
And that’s where the 5K began. “Run Forest, Run”, is all I could hear in the back of my mind as we ran down the seemingly endless dock! Sky and Rain made it to the ship’s entrance first followed by Frankie and myself. The ship’s crew were not as kind and supportive as the passengers yelling overhead. They greeted us with a “Where have you been? Ship time was 4:30″ and had already managed to confiscate our passports from our room in order to leave them behind with the agents so we could find our own way back home.
Geez! What a scare!
We were lucky to have made it that day. It could have all been avoided had we stuck to ship time.
God’s time is the same. Many times we get distracted with everything we’re not supposed to; unhealthy relationships, unfulfilling careers, and faulty belief systems amongst other things. We ignore the subtle voice tugging at our hearts reminding us to evaluate our current place in life and calling us back to His timing.
You see, God’s timing is there to help us avoid unnecessary heartache. Fortunately, it is never too late to get back in alignment. We were more than grateful that day that we made it before the ship’s departure as we were one taco away from swimming back home! Lucky for us, everything worked out.
Can you think of an instance when you were not in God’s time? I’d love to hear your story.
Oh by the way, if you’re wondering what happened to the rented jeep…Frankie left it in the middle of the street. Yes, I am absolutely serious! This is Mexico people!