More comfortable with disappointment?…

February 2, 2009 at 6:17 pm (Uncategorized)

I went to the movies recently with my husband. I wanted to see “Last Chance Harvey”, starring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman. Ever since her role in Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”, I have been a big Emma Thompson fan. My husband didn’t seem very excited about seeing the movie, but like the wonderful man that he is, he relented to make me happy. Now, you need to know I have an unfortunate reputation for selecting really bad movies, so I was a bit anxious as we sat down. But there was no need to worry; it was not only enjoyable, but quite insightful. One line in particular spoke to me. Emma Thompson’s character, Kate Walker says the following towards the end of the movie:

I guess I am more comfortable with being disappointed and I am angry with you for trying to mess that up.

Oftentimes because of some past hurt or wounding, we lose heart and don’t want to hope anymore. We don’t want to risk the possibility of disappointment again, so we cease to hope or have expectations. We can’t seem to face that. We would rather kill desire that hope and be hurt. We so easily opt for safety and what is familiar instead of being willing to step out and risk. Desire makes us feel vulnerable and weak – it reveals our need. So we live in isolated, self-imposed bubbles instead of risking what it means to love and be loved. Are you allowing past pain to continue hurting you in your present? Are you quick to sabotage a new friendship out of fear? Don’t allow the past to prevent you from seeing new possibilities. Does it hurt to love sometimes? Yes. Do those you love sometimes disappoint you? Yes. Do we disappoint those we love? Yes. But loving courageously and boldly in the midst of risk is what makes life worth living.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
– Proverbs 13:12

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Boredom Breeds Excess

January 4, 2009 at 10:55 pm (Inspirational)

I was in Borders yesterday and came across an intriguing book – The Writing Diet by Julia Cameron. The author has worked for decades encouraging aspiring writers to “find their voice.” Over the years, she has discovered something quite interesting – those who are able to unearth their creativity and find an outlet for expressing it, lose weight. Well, that thought got me really thinking. If fact, I awoke at 3:30am this morning, with my mind filled with ideas. Hopefully, at this time of day I can write more coherently about my thoughts.

I completely understand the correlation between individuals focusing on writing and as a result, losing weight. They were no longer bored and without direction. Someone spoke vision into their lives. It seems to me that boredom breeds excess. People eat too much, shop too much, watch TV too much and any number of other things too much when they are bored. It grieves me to think that there are so many of us who live life without direction, without purpose, without vision. We allow our lives to pass us by without committing to a particular path. We are on the “moving walkway of life” – simply going where the walkway takes us. This lack creates an environment of boredom, discontentment and dissatisfaction which then drives us to do something excessively to fill the void. If we live in that climate too long, we get stuck and even fall into self-pity. We feel powerless and hopeless.

The book of Proverbs says, “Without a vision people perish (cast off restraint).”
We don’t have to live that way. In 2009, let’s pray that God brings clarity and revelation into our lives and then let’s commit to pursuing the purposes of God, both individually and corporately.

“Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. – Ephesians 5:14-17

By the way – Yes, I did buy the book. Not only was the topic interesting, the cover was awesome.

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