Five Minute Friday: Imagine

Once again joining in for Five Minute Friday. This week's word is "imagine."


What did you imagine your life would look like at this point? What were the childhood dreams you had?

Does your life today look like what you imagined? How is it different?

When I was a kid, I imagined that my life at this point would look very different than it does. But I choose not to get upset over that. I choose to look for the good. And then I don't stop imagining what things could look like in the future. Whether what I imagine is what happens or not.

If we stop allowing ourselves to imagine, our life begins to shrink. We just start surviving and making it through each day. When we allow ourselves to imagine, life becomes exciting. We see the possibilities of what could be. Life is not about surviving - it's about living.

What about you? What are you imagining your life could look like in the future? Even if those things don't happen, don't let them stop you from imagining.

Work in Progress

In Genesis 12:10-20, Abram pretends Sari is his sister instead of his wife while they are in Egypt. Pharoah takes her as his wife and then pays the price. Eventually, Pharoah returns Sarai to Abram once he discovers the truth.

You would think Abram would have learned his lesson from that . . . right?

Well, you would be wrong.

In Genesis 20, Abram, now called Abraham, does the same thing with King Abimelek. Abraham tell the king Sarai, now called Sarah, is his sister not his wife. This time God spares Abimelek the harsh consequences for taking another man's wife, but tells him the truth. Abimelek confronts Abraham on it.

When I get to reading about the second time Abraham did something he knew he shouldn't, it can be easy to start wondering why Abraham didn't seem to learn the first time. I mean, did he really expect the same lie would work well the second time when didn't the first time?

But this time I was stopped short with a challenging question:

Am I really any different?

Why do I find it so easy to judge Abraham for doing something I do all the time?

The reality is that I keep doing the same things, even when I should know from past experience that's not the choice I should make. So I don't have any reason to look at Abraham in judgement for what he did.

This all makes me wonder why.

Why do we, as human beings, seem to find ourselves still battling against the same thing over and over again?

It's because we're all works in progress. None of us is a complete work yet. God is still at work in us. And He won't be done with us until we're with Him in heaven. Until then, we'll still face battles as we allow Him to work.

Being a work in progress doesn't give us an excuse to intentionally do things we know we shouldn't. But it explains why it takes time for things to change in our lives. Why we may find ourselves making the same choice we know we shouldn't . . . again.

We need to allow ourselves to be God's work in progress. The more we allow God to work in us, the more like what He has for us we become. And the less we'll find ourselves doing things again that we already know we shouldn't do.

I'd rather be a work in progress than an unfinished project the Artist has given up on.

What about you?

Real Living

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships,

so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world,

so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

 

 

This is an old Franciscan blessing that I've heard a few times. And it challenges me every time I hear it.

It speaks to a life that is not what we would consider comfortable. And that kind of a life is being called a blessing.

But it really is a life that is better than one where we seek our own comfort at all costs. It's a life that is full because it's a life where we are real.


Who doesn't want to live from deep within their heart? But do we want what we need to get to that point? Do we really want to experience discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships?

I think deep down inside we get frustrated with easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships. We really would rather have the full truth even if that means the answer is hard to take. And we would rather have real relationships than superficial ones.


Who doesn't want to see a world of peace, justice, and freedom for all? But do we want to have to learn to deal with anger at oppression and injustice?

We have to get to the point where we are willing to do the work to fight oppression and injustice. We have to be willing to channel our anger about it into working to change things.


Who doesn't want to see a world without pain, rejection, starvation, and war? But do we want our hearts to really be broken over people who are experiencing these things?

We like to keep ourselves at a distance from those things. We don't want to experience them if we don't have to. But, we have to allow our hearts to be broken over them to be able to bring comfort to people experiencing pain, rejection, starvation, and war.


Who doesn't want to do what others say cannot be done? To make a difference in the world?

Others may look at us as foolish as we step out to do what we feel we need to do. But, God calls us to make a difference and to do what He calls us to do. To defy what others tell us can be done because we're doing it with God.


This Franciscan blessing doesn't speak of an easy or comfortable life, but when I dig into it, I find it speaks of the kind of life I want to live.

What about you?

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships,

so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world,

so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.