Red light

Are red lights a bad thing? I tend to think so; when a light is red, it keeps me from getting where I want to go as quickly as I would like. When used symbolically, a red light is anything in my life that tells me to stop. I generally don't like being told to stop. Do you?

Yesterday I was in a car traveling from a service celebrating the life of my friend's mother, and we had a couple of cars that needed to stay together. Unfortunately traffic caused us to get separated and so we were a little concerned that the car behind us might not know how to find my friend's house.

As we pulled up to the next intersection, the light changed on us at the last second. That usually frustrates me - I almost made it! But in this case, Steve slowed, stopped, looked for the car behind him, and said, "The red light may have brought us together."
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I think that in life we see a purpose to red lights sometimes. We know that things are bad for us and God puts red lights to protect us. But this was a purpose I never thought of. What if sometimes the red lights in our lives are God trying to slow us down....slow us down not because of any bad thing we're headed toward, but to let our friends and family catch up to us?

For example, I can think of a time when I was in a hurry to jump into a career and move away from my hometown. God put up red lights, and looking back I can see that it brought me together with my family and countless friends who have built me up as a person. The red light brought us together.

So I think next time God says stop,  it will be time to look in the rear view mirror for people he may want me to be with. The red light may be bringing us together.

Butterfly

You've heard of the butterfly effect? If not from science, maybe from the movie by the same name?

I so believe it's true, but not in as a manifestation of the universe's randomness, but as a picture of how connected we are and how God moves.

This weekend I attended the service for my friend Jeff's mother. Jeff spoke at the service, and it was very moving. Something I never could have done, by the way. After his tribute and the message by the pastor, I got to thinking about this:

If a young girl had never asked a boy to a Sadie Hawkins dance in 1954, Jeff's parents would never have gotten married.

If they hadn't gotten married, Jeff would not have been born.

If Jeff had not been born, I would not have had his encouragement at key points in my life.

And without that, I don't know what my career would be or maybe where I would even be living.

I certainly would not have flown to Kentucky this weekend, which reminds me of a story that will be the subject of another blog post.

So...Jeff's mom made a decision almost 60 years ago that was part of God' purpose for my life. Wow.

I am so thankful for the life of Jeannine Magner, even though I never spent much time with her. She raised a wonderful family, and a son who has made a difference in my life and so many others. I pray for wisdom so that the decisions I make will create ripples of God's grace in lives I don't even know about - like those of Jeannine Magner.

Fringe: Finishing the story

Once again it's time. Time for one of my favorite television shows to finish its run. This time it's Fringe, and I'm going to miss it.

To me, the best shows, the best movies, the best books are those that tell an epic story. Movies that come to mind are mostly those told over multiple releases, and often are based on a book series. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. For television, LOST is the one that sets the standard for me, but there have been many others.

Fringe is one of the all-time greats. It is unique in that it such a wonderful show with magnificent actors but it never gained a large audience. I personally believe it may become this generation's Star Trek - a show that was canceled after one season but became a cult classic and the inspiration for a series of movies. Through digital media, many will discover this gem after the curtain has fallen.

This show was smart, thought-provoking, centered on extremely interesting characters, and even funny. The acting was amazing and the characters compelling. On the surface, it appeared to be about science fiction, but it was really about this collection of people who became a family. It was a story about choices, and how all our choices are important and affect people in ways we can't even start to understand.

Forgiveness. Love. Family. Choices. Fate. Free will. Redemption. Faith.  If these interest you, Fringe is your story.

So I'll gather with family and friends to see the end tomorrow night. I'm expecting a powerful conclusion. I love a great story.

And what a story it was.

A hope and a future

One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

 It proclaims a wonderful truth. The Lord - the God of Israel, the Creator of the universe, our Father - has a master plan for all of us, one that gives us hope in any circumstance and a future of mercy from him.

But I must confess that most of the times I have read this verse, I have lifted it out of context. Big time. Reading it alone, without looking the context of the passage leading up to it (and without the historical context) can give a false sense of what the Lord is saying through his prophet Jeremiah. I know it has for me. Out of context, we could easily conclude that God is promising bounty, riches, and worldly success for me. And sooner rather than later. But this is not the promise at all.

You see, this chapter comes on the heels of 28 chapters where Jeremiah is sharing some tough news with God's people. He is telling them that they have turned from his ways, and that as a result, the empire of Babylon is going to invade their land, kill many of them, take the rest of them into captivity, destroy their sacred Temple, and impose their false religion on them. It is going to be 70 years of misery.

(Side note: God loved these people; so did Jeremiah. Sometimes love means delivering a hard message that needs to be heard - quite different from one definition of love floating around social media these days.)

So, after delivering this hard message born of love, Jeremiah turns to the promise. The promise that there is hope. There is hope when God's people turn back to him. Hope and a future. That future is 70 years away. It's not coming now...or next year...or even this decade. Seventy years from now. Hear verses 10 and then 11:

This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

A little different, isn't it? Will there be hard times? Yes. Does God promise an easy life or easy success? No.

He promises that, no matter what you're going through, there is a future. He has a plan, and if we will put our lives in his hands he will bring about a glorious end. It may be a long, long time from now. But he is an eternal God and the big picture is what matters, not our momentary happiness.

That is a hope and a future! Not immediate happiness. Not something I can see with my mortal eyes. But a plan I cannot even fathom, where God's eternal purposes are for my good.

And that's so much better!