Splendid Summer Mornings

as of 7/5/08

My windowsill has become a favorite spot and I find myself missing it while away on business and pleasure trips. It is my hermitage for reading, thinking, and writing. This particular Sunday I have concocted muffins from scratch. (Still loving variations of that recipe, Mom. Thanks much). Complimented with iced coffee reminding me of my sister, I am prepared. It is amazing how much the right combination of foods can create a mood.
Common sights from my fifth floor window box are bicyclists loaded down with wood, plastics, piping and the like. I keep checking for the wide-load security signs as commonly seen on the back of vehicles in the States, yet here a wide-load seems an average load for wiry pedalers. Trucks and taxis drive about on the sidewalks of our apartment complex with their daily to-do’s. Women parade by in their baby-doll party dresses with frills and laces. The sun is safely blocked from their faces with an equally frilly umbrella. I’m not so much about these frills for girls past the age of seven, but they do take care of their skin.
My reading for the morning is a book my Mom sent, Enjoying the Presence of (the Father). I promised a breakfast date with Dad since last night when I was tied up at a friend’s apartment in the rain. Somehow I had been volunteered to bring the school’s projector and laptop equipment to our weekly fellowship meeting. Last night there was no way to safely escort the materials home in the torrential downpour via bike, taxi, or bus, so my friend and I watched Adam Sandler’s 50 First Dates over soup as we waited for the rain to subside. An acceptable evening, but in no way up to the caliber of jazz and reading – my original idea. Jazz24 has become our excellent choice of jazz streaming, by the way. I recommend it.
This morning, however, is just the thing. Summer is for inspirational relaxation after all. I have been pondering the disciplines. Yesterday’s fellowship group watched Rick Warren’s message to the Asia conference titled Affluence and Excellence. Today’s reading delved into the ways that the physical body can be a real expression of veneration to the Father. If the desire is to be more completely taken by Him, grasping the idea of breathing his presence, then He must become more a part of daily living. With His daily presence there is peace that transcends logical understanding and inner joy regardless of circumstance. It is the sensation of taking home with me wherever I go. It is the calming dissonance of real understanding amidst language and cultural obstructions.
Practically, I am challenged to out-give our Father. Affluence is relative. It will always be possible to convince myself into poverty or riches. I have been given a salary (though some prefer to call it a stipend). We have house cleaners, go for pedicures, and travel frequently. We also are considered below poverty line by State-side standards. I am literate and have a university degree. I speak English. Better yet, I am trained to teach it. Still I do not read or speak in more than 2.5 languages. I do not yet have a master’s degree. I am currently China-fit –meaning I can walk, bike, and climb stairs with 5 sacks of groceries. I am also no longer in the best shape of my racing life. Perspective is everything. Daily I am convinced that the true battle for fulfillment, joy, and peace begins and ends in the mind. Hence the reason for my window dwelling.
Rick Warren challenged us, “What do you have in your hand?” From the story of Moses, that very thing is your staff and also the rod of the Father. Which do you choose it to be? Will you pick it up or lay it down? These abilities and monetary funds of mine are both pauper’s coins and riches. I desire to be a good steward of my gifts, using them for the blessing of others so to most glorify the Father.
I was reminded of our human frailty the other day when I ridiculously ran into a flowerbed while biking. (Typical, right?) I felt like an idiot and managed to rip the skin off the insides of two toes. By the time we returned to my friend’s apartment, I had lost so much blood I was nauseous. I have been hobbling around for the last two days – all due to a minor altercation with an inanimate object. Oh my, how pathetic and weak I can be. I think the parallel can be extended to other areas. Money and popularity and success waffles easily.
So in all disciplines, in affluence, in influence as a teacher and as secondary lead, in athletics, in hospitality, in language learning, in travel, in cleaning my apartment, in food preparation and consumption, in reading, in movies and music – in all things may I grow to be more disciplined and more willing to offer these things in my hand to the hand of the Father. I believe what Warren shared that one can never out-give the Giver. I am off to clean the house now. May even this small act be a reflection of His character, in work that is thoroughly and well done.