4-Leaf Clover

I spent over an hour today hunting for a 4-Leaf Clover in our backyard. The girls kept picking little flowers off a nearby bush and bringing to me: "fa-wa da-da" (as Bibs puts it). It has great. For a time we all lay on our backs and watched the clouds move. And somewhere in those moments of refreshment (finally a good description when I preach about sabbath) it dawned on me how many years it has been since I took the time to stop and hunt for 4 Leaf Clovers.

When I was young this was an almost daily occurance. See some clovers...go searching. And growing up on Vancouver Island, they were everywhere! But obviously a day arrived when I stopped. It is not as if I stopped seeing fields of clovers, I just stopped getting down on my hands and knees and searching. I can't remember when...probably a mix of boredom or workaholism (both can have the same sabbath-crushing effect) and the need to look cool (what would the high school girls think if they saw me searching through the clovers?) both led me away from my lifelong search. Years went by, and more and more I detached myself from interacting with Creation.

To date, I have yet to find a 4-Leaf Wonder. The little booger is still eluding me. But perhaps today, playing with my kids outside (for WAY too long by our world's busy standards) I have been reminded of the need to stop, get on my knees, and find that elusive clover. Do you hear him shaking? He knows I'm on his trail again!

God's Faith in Me

Mo and I watched Rob Bell's 8th Nooma shortfilm, Dust, tonight. I picked up three of his shorts at the local Christian bookstore today (while Mo was shopping for my birthday present, which I actually chose myself...long story, but it goes much better that way). I am a newcomer to Nooma (was introduced a couple months back when I bought Rob Bell's "Everything is Spiritual Tour" DVD) and I checked the FAQ section of their website to confirm what I figured "Nooma" was supposed to mean:

Question:
What does NOOMA mean?

Answer:
The name NOOMA is an English phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma, which is commonly translated to “spirit” or “breath”.Pneumatology refers to the study of spiritual beings, particularly the interactions between humans and God.


Cool. Spirit films. Really well done! Really, really, really well done.

And here is what knocked me over in Dust: Jesus only calls disciples who he knows can become like him. Bell does an awesome job of walking through 1st Century Jewish society and explaining how a rabbi would call his disciples. Only those who had the potential to become like that rabbi would be called to follow him . And so, regardless of how inadequate I may feel at times, Jesus called me to be his disciple. Wow! I know, I know...this should be nothing new. I "know" this stuff...it just hadn't completely sunk in.


I have been in a tough space over the last couple months. I've been dealing with some poor choices I've made over the last 11 months and at times I have felt totally "off the path" vocationally. I have wondered at times if I haven't screwed it all up beyond repair. And, then in comes Dust's message and I'm floored. I'm deeply comforted. Jesus has faith in me. Jesus would not have called me to follow him, if he hadn't seen the longterm result: that I can look more and more like him. This is what we call "sanctification" in Christianese. And tonight I have been washed again by Jesus' promise that he called me because he knew something about me (that I can follow him well...the Spirit being my guide). AMEN!