Week Six: Connected

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

John 20-27-29

"I touch you once, I touch you twice...

I won't let go at any price.

I need you now like I need you then,

You always said we'd still be friends...someday."

If You Leave - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

My old pickup overheated on the way out to the father-son camp-out and we arrived too late to throw our fishing lines in the creek.  We soon realized that there was only one other father-son combo there that we actually knew...and we didn't know them very well.  We had been led to believe that this was a middle-school retreat. Instead, we discovered it was mostly younger dads and toddlers.  In addition, we found out that there were leaches in the water and ants in our tent.  But the food was good and the speaker was good and we were challenged to be "mighty men of God" and to "slay whatever lion is in the pit with us." So, after dinner, my son, Sam, and I withdrew from the group to talk about how we might become mighty men and how we might kill the mighty lions we are facing in our lives.  

"Alright!" I thought, "Finally, some man-time with my 11 year-old son!"  We headed back to our broken down truck where we could talk openly.

"Dad," my son asked, "Can we just lie down look up at the stars for a while?" (The back of a pickup isn't called a bed because it is comfortable!)

At first, I was disappointed. I was hoping to talk, but we didn't talk too much about being mighty men and we didn't talk too much about the lions we had to slay.  However, this, by far, was the best part of the trip. We were far enough from the city that we actually saw the "milky" part of the Milky Way. It was like the night was lit up! We saw more stars to count than we had time. The universe on display was mind-boggling in its immensity! Sam saw four shooting stars.  I saw one, but it was enough to make me feel small, but somehow more important than when I tried to be big. Sam just said, "This is awesome, Dad. Thanks for taking me here." And in that moment, I felt connected to my son and connected to a mighty God and not nearly as worried about those pesky lions.  

I needed that.  Even though I know that we have been created with eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) I was worried about the truck.  Even though I know that we have been created in the image of a God who by definition is a connected trinity of three Persons,  I was worried about my son having a good time.  Even though I know that Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us, I sometimes don't feel it. So, in those moments when it is easy to feel the presence of God, I want to stay.  And I know that I'm not the only one.  I can imagine Thomas, in that unrecorded conversation after touching Jesus once and then twice, exclaiming, "I won't let go at any price!" We don't want to let Jesus go.  

But we have to. The day dawns and the work week looms.  But when we stop to look up, between the overheated truck and the ant-infested tent, God will make Himself known.  No words have to be spoken, no falling stars need to be seen but we will see.  Maybe not with our eyes, maybe not even with our hands, but we will see and we will feel and we will believe. And it all starts with stopping.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

Photo from www.sxc.hu #37188 (This HUGE power shovel is named, "Big Brutus." It scooped out acres of coal in SE Kansas.  It is even more impressive in person!)