Tacky Taffeta Goodbyes

As an eternal optimist, I have always known where my passport is and when it will expire. Since age fourteen, it is a document that I have been blessed to have stamped and weathered from various countries. Thirteen years later, it is time to renew it, and await a whole new booklet with blank pages. I can imagine filling it with all kinds of haphazard stamps and a few coffee rings after a long plane ride. I am going to miss my old booklet, but who cares about the past while I await the renewed permission to go anywhere in the world! Likewise, as Christians, our focus is forever fixed upon the promise of Christ's return.
In Matthew 25:1-13, the scenario is something like a chaotic scene at an airport. The ten virgins are ready with lamps in hand to greet and escort the bridegroom to his wedding. I can imagine it looks almost like a scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as the bridesmaids sit and gossip about their cousin's new main-squeeze. With big hair, lots of eye shadow, and some unnatural shades of fuchsia dresses, these ladies are ready to party and meet some chaps of their own. However, a handful decided to just mooch off of a few other bridesmaids for all their cosmetic and transportation needs. They perceive themselves to be the bridesmaid gurus of the dark taffeta underworld. They are ready to show this wedding party who are the real divas. Except for one major detail, this is one of those foreign destination weddings. And, you guessed it, they do not have their passports. A few tried to bribe the prepared bridesmaids for their passport, but nobody wants to give up their identification for this wedding extravaganza. In the blink of an eye, the groom comes running down the hall to meet the bridesmaids at their gate, but the stewardess cannot let the diva-bridesmaids board without proper identification. Then, a few others quickly tried to peel off the ten pounds of makeup on their face to identify their real identity to the groom, but that tacky taffeta kept their identity incognito. She cannot be sure that they are who they say they are without formal documentation. The gate door slams shut, the plane takes off, and somewhere in that terminal are five of the tackiest and angriest bridesmaids this world has ever seen. They trusted the past without sight of any different future possibilities.
As I leave St. Paul Lutheran, I await to hear many goodbyes as I pack up my car and head down the road, but I caution you from solely keep your focus in the past. Like the five wise virgins, keep your eyes fixed upon the promise that God will return. We do not know exactly when, but we can make sure to keep our names in his book as we keep ourselves in touch with all the eternal travel arrangements he is making from this world to the next. His Word is stamped with everything that we need to know to keep our lamps burning and ready to welcome him in the light of grace when he returns at his time. May God's Peace be with you as we await the return of our Lord. See you later!

What in the World!

Over the course of this past month, I did two things. Okay, I did many things, but two events connected with one another. I saw the movie Knowing, and I read the book of Ezekiel. It was the movie that became the reason for my studying Ezekiel. Honestly, I had not planned to do either. I am known for believing that most movies are not worth $8.00 and the book of Ezekiel has always left me too confused. However, in a month's time, I found myself doing two things that were out of character for me, but I did them.
Today, I find myself out of character once more as my home, work, and homework lists keep getting more cluttered with endless tasks and plans. I find myself paying for things that I had not planned like doctor's bills and extreme avocado hair moisturizer. I find myself spinning like those orbital wheels mentioned in Ezekiel. My whole world as a full-fledged adult has become something out of this world. The routines and places of my past few years is once more becoming an unknown. And, all I can literally and metaphorically say as I spin over the next few months is, "What in the world?!"
Like Ezekiel, I keep seeing the Lord appear in my life and through others in such a profound gentle but bizarrely powerful spirit. Hone in on verse 1:9, and notice what they did not do as they moved. Did you catch it? Ezekiel describes this mysterious creature and its four parts on something that "did not turn as they moved". Honestly, I do not understand this. I dare you to step out of your norm and read the first chapter of Ezekiel. It has a great chance to not 'make sense' but leave you intrigued. This image of God is something out of this world; something unlike anything we have seen or read about in our past. However, I find myself wanting to learn more even if I am found more confused than I was before. Even if it costs me eight bucks and a few brain freezes.
Venturing into each new day, we know that nothing can remain the same. Scientists call this entropy, others might just label it as a fact of life. However, I would venture to suggest that in God, all things remain 'the same'. Somehow, despite appearances, our salvation is won and done. I can look ahead in multiple directions to see the pain, grief, joy, and happiness of each varied day. Yet, my focus can be unturned and unmoved on the everlasting hope in Christ Jesus. While I prepare to go down the new adult road to semi-unknown territories, I rejoice to know that God can appear in impossible ways, but somehow be true and awe-inspiring. Oh thank you, Ancient of Days!