Frank

I was walking into my parents’ house, through the kitchen, passed my grandmother’s ancient piano, when I heard a hiss. Now normally, in a house with no pet snakes, this would come as a surprise. But not in a house with Frank the bird. Besides the annoying whistling, Frank has a habit of hissing at people walking past his cage. And it’s not a friendly “hello” hiss, it’s a “I’ll bite your finger off if you get too close” hiss. I’m beginning to agree with my brother-in-law: Frank may quite possibly be Satan’s evil spawn.

Despite my crazy, changing-ever-so-quickly life, there are some things in my world that do not change. Frank seems to be one of them. My high school basketball coach is another.

Earlier this week, I went to my old gym to watch a high school girls’ basketball game. The gym floor has been re-done. A girl other than me is wearing jersey #11. The concession stand isn’t selling caramel apple suckers. A lot has changed. But my high school basketball coach is not one of them. He still uses the same clipboard. He still yells in the timeouts as if the team is hard of hearing. And he still has no hair on his head.

It’s easy to be cynical in this life. It’s easy to shrug and say “that’s the way it’s always been.” It’s easy to expect that cranky neighbor to once again ignore your wave.

But what if there was something new, something different? What if the mold was broken? What if the bird was friendly? What if the coach had hair and a soft tone to his voice? What if the mundane routine was interrupted by an adventure? What if forgiveness flooded the bitter soul? What if the cranky neighbor not only waved, but smiled? What if life was more than expected?

Resurrection is talked about in the Bible a lot. In the gospel of John, Jesus talks about resurrection before He raises Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus’ sister tells Jesus she believes in life after death, the future hope of resurrection. But then Jesus Himself claims to be the Resurrection and the Life.

So this passage and another from 1 Peter have gotten me thinking about resurrection. We always think of dying first and then being resurrected, when Jesus comes again. But is it possible to experience resurrection before death? If Jesus claims to be the Resurrection, what does that mean for me today? Can today be different because of the hope of resurrection? Could resurrection change the way I live tomorrow?

Regeneration. Renewal. Restoration. Resurrection. Could these words be reality? Can I experience new life today? Can I break through the humdrum of today and experience something new? The way we answer these questions directly affects the way we treat others. If we live in expectation of a God who is Resurrection and Life, we can expect something different from people. There is hope and second chances for everyone. 

Because like one of my Dove chocolate wrappers said, “Life does have do-overs.” Relationships can be restored. Weary souls can be renewed. Anger, bitterness, and hurt can be forgiven. Jesus has conquered death and the grave. He has made a way for us. And the stories in the Bible are collectively about God restoring creation back to the way it was intended to be. God can rebuild brokenness. He can rejuvenate the exhausted, redeem the sinner, and resurrect the dead.

I believe in resurrection. I believe in hope. I believe in new life.

So I’m going to sit by Frank’s cage, and teach him a new ditty to whistle. I’m going to give him treats on the rare occasions he doesn’t hiss at me. And someday, when my mom is gone at work, I’m going to open Frank’s cage and let him fly around the house.

jello

I like jello. I like the way it looks: clear yet colored. I like the way it feels: slimy and smooth. I like the way it tastes: sweet and cool. But mostly, I like the way you can take a bite and then push the jello back through your teeth using your tongue.
I always wondered if I was the only person who thoroughly enjoyed every bite of jello. I have discovered a friend who shares my affinity for eating jello, especially blue jello. (here's your shoutout, my overly organized friend who finishes homework before it's assigned!)
It's quite simple to make, jello that is. A little box of white, sugary powder, a couple cups of boiling water, and a few cups of cold water. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

When I eat jello, I think about 3 things.

1. My Best Friend's Wedding. Jello makes Michael feel comfortable. Compared to creme brulee, Michael needs jello. And creme brulee could never be jello.

2. Easter. When I was little, my mom would make jello jigglers in the shapes of eggs for easter. I would always eat way too many and spoil my dinner. But it was worth it.

3. Reaction to change. As I poked at my jello in a bowl, I noticed how it jiggled. Fascinating really...how a little sugary powder and water could make a delectable dish that jiggles. So I googled 'why does jello jiggle?'.
And I learned that jello is a liquid and a solid. And the wiggly jiggle of the jello is from the tangled web of polypeptide chains of the gelatin protein. Because the sugary powder is not a sugar, but a protein called gelatin. And gelatin comes from nasty things like ground bones, hooves, and connective tissues from animals like pigs and cows. Ewww! But, gelatin improves the condition of hair, skin, nails, and bones. So the breaking of the collagen protein bonds by pouring in hot water, and the reconnecting of some by pouring in cold water makes this delicious food dance.

I like to look at jello. I like to watch it jiggle. But the jello doesn't wiggle and jiggle until it is bumped, moved, poked, or prodded.

Life has its own bumps along the way, with some painful prodding along with celebratory movement. How we react to these shares a glimpse into the deeper parts of ourselves. I once heard this quote: "The instinctive response to an unexpected situation reveals the condition of your heart." There are a lot of unexpected situations in life. Some good and some bad. And these unexpected situations are inevitable. And so we react and respond. Sometimes in a selfish and negative manner, other times grateful and hopeful.

Change cannot be avoided. And I feel like my life is about to be overturned with upcoming changes. Graduation, new car, new city, new apartment, new church, new friends, new job. And it's scary. So often, my instinctive response is to curl up in my snuggie and retreat to my room, my safehaven. I want to prevent everything from changing too quickly. And my whole afternoon goes haywire when unexpected things come up, like a broken car needing towing.

Jello has made me think about the condition of my heart. Change makes me think about my God. Because of all the unexpected situations, the upcoming changes, I can be sure of one thing: my God doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. His love, promises, and grace do not falter or fade. And in the midst of uncertainties, I can wiggle and jiggle. I can dance with joy because my God doesn't change. I can rely on Him tomorrow, even if I can't rely on my car. I can expect God to be with me. I can rest in the Prince of Peace.

So I'm gonna put on my tap shoes, even if they annoy my roommates. I'm gonna eat some jello, even if I already had a serving today. And I'm gonna be real with those around me. Change isn't easy. It is sure to occur, though. So I can trust in my God who doesn't change. Even though I don't understand Him, or His plans for me, tonight it's okay.

I really like jello.

listening...

Have you ever thought about your ears? How are they shaped and what makes them actually work? If you google "ear", you get about 107,000,000 results.

The ear is primarily thought to be an organ used to detect sound. And that's true, but it's also vital in the role of balance and body position. It's so much more than the weird, fleshy part made of cartilage that is almost impossible to draw on a piece of paper. The ear is a auditory system within your head. There's these three bones : a hammer, a stirrup, and an anvil, and then there are little hairs, tubes, canals, membranes, drums...it's quite complex.

If you've ever had ear problems, you know how nice it is to have your ears work. Because when they don't work, you lose your balance or you annoy your roommate by saying "huh?" and "pardon?" every 5 minutes. When they don't work, either there's an annoying ringing, an intense pain, or a dull, quietness to others' voices. 

I'm glad I have ears. And I'm glad they work. There's quite possibly nothing better than being able to hear. This last week, I've heard some pretty stellar sounds. My little niece telling me she loves me. Over a hundred college kids singing praises to God. The skid loader finally clearing out the snow in the parking lot. The song, 'Where I Land' by JJ Heller. I'm so thankful I can hear.

I was always told that God gave me only 1 mouth and 2 ears for a reason--it's more important to listen. And all my friends that have gone through premarital counseling say effective communication revolves around listening to the other person. 

But listening is different than hearing. When I was in 7th grade my English teacher, Mrs. Havranek, taught me about the difference. We were taking a quiz late in the spring, when a huge truck quickly drove by the school on the highway. The entire class turned in their desks to look through the opened window. I, however, ignored the noise and continued working on my quiz. Mrs. Havranek proceeded to lecture (in the middle of the quiz) the difference between hearing and listening. She said you hear many different things throughout the day, but you need to choose what you listen to. Listening is a conscious decision.

This life is noisy. We hear sounds all throughout the day, some encouraging, some annoying, some loud, some quiet. But do we actually listen? We hear our phone ring, we hear our friend talking on the other end, but do we listen? If you're thinking about the next thing to say, you're not really listening. 

It's similar to our quiet time with God. I'm the kind of person that loves noise. Whether it's a fan, Pandora radio, or Dan in Real Life playing in the background, I like noise. Silence bothers me. Silence makes me uncomfortable. So naturally, during my quiet time, I like to fill the silence with noise. Songs, prayers, thoughts...I rarely sit still and shut my mouth. I don't think I'm alone. 

Awhile ago, my brother-in-law suggested I read a book called, "When God is Silent" by Barbara Brown Taylor. And so I read it. This book has impacted the way I think about listening, silence, and God. 

"Even now, some Christians have trouble listening to God. Many of us prefer to speak. Our corporate prayers are punctuated with phrases such as "Hear us, Lord" or "Lord, hear our prayer," as if the burden to listen were on God and not us. We name our concerns, giving God suggestions on what to do about them. What reversal of power might occur if we turned the process around, naming our concerns and asking God to tell us what to do about them? Sometimes I think we do all the talking because we are afraid God won't. Or, conversely, that God will. Either way, staying preoccupied with our own words seems a safer bet than opening ourselves up either to God's silence or God's speech, both of which have the power to undo us." (pg 50-51)

What if we turned off the TV, logged out of Pandora radio, turned our phone on silent and just listened? What if we made a conscious decision to actually listen to our friends, instead of just hear them? What if our quiet time began encompassing time for silence and meditation? What if what we heard changed us? What if?