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Carla's Blog

the power of your story

7/29/2014

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Today I read this story about a young man in Belize whose life was radically changed by people loving him and encouraging him when his own parents abandoned him at the age of 12.  I was moved by the way I saw God's hand in his life as he described the twists and turns that led him to the place of gratitude and hope where he is now. I can imagine that it took courage for him to write his story down and that there were probably times where he doubted whether he should or not.  Sometimes something means an awful lot to us, but we have doubts about whether or not it would mean much to others.  It is disconcerting to share our stories when others may discount their value or weight.  Earlier this week I read two different accounts written by fathers who lost a child.  One to a stillbirth and the other to a tragic car accident at age five.  Both commented that they were hesitant to share their stories.  They were concerned about somehow cheapening the weight of their experiences with their own clumsy words and even worse, laying them out there for others to criticize or judge - not just their writing, but their very motives for writing in the first place. 

I am thankful that each of these people chose to tell their story.  SO thankful.  I am drawn to stories.  True stories.  Biographies, autobiographies, historical sketches, blogs, I want to read them all.  To me, this is the stuff of life.

In Shauna Niequist's book, "Bittersweet," she writes this, "There are myths that we tend to believe about our stories: the first is that they're about us; they don't matter. But they're not only about us, and they matter more than ever right now. When we, any of us who have been transformed by Christ, tell our own stories, we're telling the story of who God is... My life is not a story about me. And your life is not a story about you. My life is a story about who God is and what he does in a human heart."

Let's be brave and tell His story about our lives - about what He has brought us through and what He is walking with us in today and where He seems to be leading us. And let's not be quick to judge when others share their stories.  There are things to learn about God and what He is doing in the world bound up inside each and every person we meet - my bus driver, the woman I pass in the city each day holding a cardboard sign, your son's swim team coach, the mail carrier, my neighbor, the telemarketer.  Perhaps if we saw each other that way, if we saw ourselves that way, we'd approach each other with a bit more grace and dignity, and we'd dive deeper into the the greatest story ever told.

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The Quest for Safety Goggle Friendship

7/17/2013

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A couple of days ago, if you'd peeked in my window you would have found me sitting on the couch in my living room weeping after reading a story, shared by Shauna Niequist in her book, Bread and Wine.  Shauna had been struggling with infertility and it seemed that everyone around her was pregnant.  She wanted to be happy for her pregnant friends , and most of the time she was, but somewhere inside her the desperation increased and the sorrow deepened with each new pregnancy announcement.  Finally she felt like she couldn’t take it any more and she posted about her feelings on her blog in a moment of complete transparency.  Soon after that she received a call from a friend, a newly pregnant friend, saying she was going to be in town and wanted to get together.  Shauna cringed, hoping that her friend hadn’t read her blog post. 

When they met at the restaurant, Shauna’s friend handed her a gift and told her that she had, indeed, read the blog post.  *cringe*  She said that she understood that this was the point in a friendship where many friends would have to walk away from each other for awhile, because the pain and the awkwardness would be too great.  She explained, however, that she felt that the two of them could do better than that.  Shauna opened the gift and found two pairs of safety goggles.  In her blog post she had admitted telling her husband that if she didn’t get pregnant that very month, she was going to break something glass just to feel it shatter in her hands.  That day in the restaurant, her friend told her, “If you feel like shattering something, I’ll be right there with you.  We’ll put on our safety goggles.  I’ll help you break something and then I’ll help you clean it up.  You’ve been celebrating with me and I’ll be there to grieve with you.  We can do this together.”

Even now, tears sting my eyes as I imagine that moment and as I picture the friends that God has brought into my life in the past who would do the same for me, who feel the same way about me. 

Here’s the rub.  With Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest, it is more common for people to compete with friends, to feel disconnected from another’s pain or joy, or to assume we know what is going on with someone without ever talking with them or looking in their eyes.  Upper-division, safety-goggle-moment friendship is uncommon.  It involves phone calls, coffee dates, walks, snail mail, impromptu texts, it involves sacrifice and awareness.  It requires emotional commitment, not just an emotional attachment.  I long to be that kind of friend, and I long for these kinds of friends in my life.  I long for depth over breadth… to know and be known. 

My go-to thought whenever I realize something is lacking in my life is to re-prioritize and then adjust my schedule.  I’ve been known to put the most ridiculous things on the calendar just to make sure they happen.  Is that the answer for making room in our lives for deep friendship? Can friendship be scheduled?  Calendared?  Itemized? Is it something that I commit to a certain number of hours per week, then check off the friendship box on my to-do list?  That may be a springboard, but it certainly is not a way of life… at least not my way of life.  Friendship, like a meal at the table needs freedom to take whatever shape is needed in each season to not only be the most nourishing, but to make room for celebration, for fasting when needed.  That sounds a whole lot more like an art to me and not at all like an exact science, which, I must confess, makes me uncomfortable.  Science leans toward the proven and exact.  Art is subjective, open for interpretation.  In other words, friendship involves risk.  Risk of being rejected, risk of giving more than you receive  and feeling vulnerable or foolish, risk of entering too far into the pain of another – making them dependent on you rather than encouraged by you, risk after risk after risk.

The question then becomes, “Is it worth it?”

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - Jesus

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

It is absolutely worth it!  But we'll have to come to grips with the transient, free-flowing nature of relationships without insisting that they conform to our idealistic definitions.  Sometimes friendship may be the main course in our lives, sometimes a side dish or dessert, sometimes we may go through seasons of fasting altogether, but none of these is meant to be the ONLY way to approach friendship for the long haul.  The longer I live, the more I believe in embracing the ebb and flow without constantly feeling the need to label it: success or failure, good or bad.  We were created by a God who gave us a world of infinite variety and who expects us to delight in that variety and give Him glory in it, not get overwhelmed by a complex and multi-faceted world and, by reaction, sequester ourselves in a tiny corner of it, building protective walls of definitions and patterns of behavior that make us feel like we’ve got a handle on things.  Safety-goggle-friendship happens outside those walls, and it is worth it.


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They're On to Me

2/6/2013

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He walked in the door on Monday afternoon, fresh from a ride home on the school bus, dropped his things on the floor and started into his rant before he even had his jacket off... "They're on to me, Mom!"  Well, that sure got my attention.  He proceeded to tell us a story about a missing Agenda (aka: important middle school notebook that is a required tool for keeping track of assignments and info from teachers).  The tale was lengthy and harrowing and passionately delivered and at its conclusion Tim stated emphatically that he was 99% certain it was not missing at all, but rather had been STOLEN.  He then seemed perplexed that his father and I were not in a total state of outrage over this shocking revelation.  

Meanwhile, Jason and I were trying to figure out what in the world he meant by the statement, "They're on to me."  Jason was the first to sort through it.  "Son, I think what you meant to say is that 'They have it out for you,' or 'They're out to get you.'"  "Oh," he said. We went on to talk about how middle school is middle school and no one escapes unscathed, and how it also isn't wise to make accusations or get emotionally caught up in things that you can't control, but the real lesson that came out of that moment was, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY TO MOM AND DAD - THEY WILL USE IT TO MOCK YOU MERCILESSLY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.  Ever since Monday, "They're on to me," has become Jason and I's mantra.  We use it frequently and with great delight on any given occasion, much to Timmy's chagrin.  Give it a try sometime, it's fun! :)

On a serious note: The comparison of the two phrases is a great lesson for all of us.  Are we tempted to assume the world is out to get us when things go wrong?  Are we hiding anything that would cause us to be devastated to find out if someone was, in fact, on to us?  Neither of these is any way to live!  Honesty, integrity and perspective!  May we all have them in abundance and strive to keep them all the days of our lives.

P.S. The agenda was located the next morning.  All is well.  



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Repentance

1/18/2013

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Lance Armstrong: "Cancer taught me that pain has a reason and that sometimes the experience of losing things – whether health or a car or an old sense of self – has its own value in the scheme of life. Pain and loss are great enhancers. We have unrealized capacities that only emerge in crisis ... capacities for enduring, for living, for hoping, for caring, for enjoying. Each time we overcome pain, I believe we grow."  

Now the pain is of his own making and cannot be overcome through perseverance, but only through repentance.  I'm disappointed.  Maybe I have no right to be.  I don't know Lance Armstrong.  I have never met him.  Why should I feel I have any right to feelings of disappointment?  Because I read his book (multiple times), and I ate it up.  Because I followed his story and wanted to believe him.  Because he wasn't just an athlete, he chose to be a public athlete.  He chose to allow people to rally around him and use him as an example, an idol.  He branded himself and his brand was built on hard work, an indomitable spirit, perseverance, and an attitude that refused to embrace the victim mentality or any hint of negativity.  Talk about inspirational!  

The only flaw = himself.  When you make yourself out to be a god, when you tell people that you went through hell and not only survived it, but crushed it under your feet and you did it all on your own merit and effort, well you better be telling the truth.  

Yes, I'm disappointed in Lance Armstrong.  His life and story, however, has become infinitely more valuable to me now.  You see, as a mother, I would never have pointed my son to Mr. Armstrong as a mentor or hero.  As someone who puts my faith and trust in Christ alone, I never have and never will encourage my child to place others on a pedestal.  I will however, use his journey as a powerful cautionary tale.  Right now, my son has no idea who Lance Armstrong is, but in the days ahead I will make certain that he does.  I will show him video clips of Lance insisting that he never doped and have him read articles about the financial and personal pain that others were forced to endure as Mr. Armstrong kept up his charade in order to protect his own brand and image.  We will sit down together and we will have conversations about why someone would lie and keep on lying, and whether or not we are capable of the same sort of deception (sadly, we are).  We will discuss the danger of elevating ourselves and our accomplishments for others to take note of.  And we will pray for Mr. Armstrong and we will pray for ourselves.


Revelation 2:5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." (ESV)


2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (ESV)


1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (ESV) 

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How Fast Can You Go and Still Notice?

7/20/2012

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A few days ago, my son and I went on an early morning walk to the local coffee shop.  Well, I walked anyway.  Timmy rode his scooter.  To his credit he stayed with me most of the way, and when we reached a long stretch of smooth sidewalk, I gave him clearance to leave me behind and enjoy the ride.  As I walked along by myself, I noticed that I kept passing these tiny little black insects on the sidewalk.  They looked like miniature caterpillars.  Every few steps I would pass one, slowly making its way across the path.  I had to be careful not to step on them.  In the half mile I walked, I probably passed 50 of them!

Eventually I caught up to Tim who was waiting for me at the street the coffee shop was on.  We went inside and enjoyed some time together, sipping our drinks and chatting about the day ahead, and then we started the trek back home, hoping to make it back before it started to rain on us.  As I walked and Tim rode his scooter, I asked him how many of those black caterpillar-y bugs he thought he had passed on the ride to the coffee shop.  He had no idea what I was talking about.  One by one, as we walked, I started pointing them out to him as we passed by them.  "Look!  There's one.  And another!  And Another!"  He was shocked that he could have missed them.  I explained to him that he was going so fast, that their movement was undetectable to him, so he probably just saw them as tiny black lines on the sidewalk, if he saw them at all.  I was going slow enough that I could take notice of them, perceive their comings and goings and realize what they truly were.  

Before I knew it, Timmy was off again scootering toward home.  I was left thinking about how much of life I race by every single day, and what I am missing in the process.



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He gave us something to talk about

5/17/2012

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"Let's give 'em something to talk about.  A little mystery to figure out..."  Do you remember this Bonnie Raitt song?  Did you start humming it as soon as you read these words?  It is one of those songs that I can't help but sing along with when it comes on the radio or I hear it as I walk down the aisles of the grocery store. The lyrics refer to the fact that people are going to talk no matter what, so we might as well give them something to talk about!  This is so true in so many ways.  

It is true in the business world, where the water cooler chatter is GOING to happen no matter what the company policy is on gossip.  The wise CEO or Manager will keep the work environment engaging and purposeful enough that he or she will be able to guide at least some of that conversation in a positive direction.

It is true in education as well.  Schools (be they elementary, middle, high schools, or colleges/universities) are little micro-communities.  The "buzz" is unstoppable when it starts.  When I met my husband, we were both working for the same elementary school.  Our budding romantic relationship became the talk of not only the staff, but also the students that year!

It is also true within the church.  Both the "little c" local church and in the "Big C" global Church.  We are social creatures and we are designed for communication with others.  Each believer gives the church and the world something to talk about, whether they intend to or not.  As I read the Bible, I find that there are many people who gave the Church wonderful things to talk about:
Philemon verse 7: "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." NIV
Philippians 1:4-5: "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now" NIV
Colossians 1:3-4: "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints" NIV

God has given us plenty of wonderful things to talk about, yet often we keep those things to ourselves and choose instead to vent or complain, or discuss things that will certainly keep others talking, but not in a way that brings about joy or encouragement. 

Today, let's take responsibility for the words that we speak.  Not just avoiding saying things that are negative or unhealthy, but purposefully sharing something that God has given us to talk about!  Don't just give in to the pointless conversations that abound around you, give the world and the Church something to talk about that will bring encouragement and joy.  God doesn't teach us things or let us experience things so that we can simply ponder them in the quietness of our hearts (though there is a time for that).  Eventually, we are to share those lessons learned and experiences with those we come in contact with.  Every good and perfect gift God gives us on earth is not only meant for our own encouragement, but also for the encouragement of others.  He has given us something to talk about and a mystery to figure out.  Let's get to it!
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    Carla Ritz.  Proof positive that God uses cracked pots!

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