Kaleidoscope

As I briefly mentioned awhile back, I feel like the word that God spoke for me this year is "kaleidoscope." If you don't know what a kaleidoscope is, it's basically a telescope that you look through and turn. (I think most kaleidoscopes are small and designed to be children's toys.) As you're turning it, you'll see cool stain-glass-window-esque designs created right before your eyes. From what I understand, a few pieces of colored items are reflected off a bunch of mirrors inside the device as you're turning it. That's how the cool designs are made. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, think about that scene in Home Alone where the "wet bandits" are robbing Kevin's neighbors' house. One of the burglars is hanging out at the Christmas tree and looking through a kaleidoscope.)

So far, my 2016 has been like a kaleidoscope in that certain pieces of certain questions/puzzles/problems that I have in my life have suddenly made sense when God has "turned it," causing all the pieces to come together in a new way and helping me see answers/aha moments/solutions. This process has felt quite empowering so far.

So, I thought it would be cool to organize this post like a kaleidoscope. I will transition between my ideas with the phrase "Turning it..." Thank you in advance for humoring me. (And please keep in mind that my opinions are my own -- not my employer's, my pastor's, or anyone else's -- just mine.)

Turning it...

When I was in college, three of my friends and I were excited about rooming together. All four of us were to share an apartment together, and we moved in at separate times. When roommate #4 moved in, she showed up at the front door with a nosering bud. This seemed to be very uncharacteristic of her (because I thought she was meek and mild, not sleek and wild), but we were excited about rooming with her nevertheless.

Later that evening, she removed her nosering bud and showed us that it was magnetic; her nose wasn't pierced after all. Her father (who was helping her move in) chatted with us and said that she wanted to test us. He explained that despite her new appearance, she was still our roommate. He said that something different like a nosering "doesn't change who you are."

I thought that was a very interesting lecture.

A month or two later, this roommate gently confronted me and my roommate with something that was heavy on her heart: "I feel like I don't know you." This made my emotionally volatile roommate freak out; she started crying and said she didn't know what this roommate wanted from us. So, our "It's just a magnetic nosering" roommate backed down, and all four of us planned some purposeful get-to-know-you bonding such as roommate nights.

Recently, I was thinking about this "It's just a magnetic nosering; I feel like I don't know you" roommate. When I was in college, I thought she was very mature and intriguing. But now in hindsight, I feel like she was kind of hypocritical and strange. Seriously, what the heck? "I disguise myself on purpose, and now I complain about the wall that I feel between us." My gosh.

Many years later, this roommate contacted me online and tried to convince me to vote for Barack Obama. Um, I don't mean any disrespect to our President, but I have always voted for his opponents. Anyone who knows me knows that I wouldn't have voted for President Obama.

Hmm. I guess my hypocritical and strange ex-roommate was right: She didn't know me.

Turning it...

In the middle of this election year when emotions are already running high, I guess Target felt the need to just add more drama to our lives. Seriously? Over a public restroom policy? I was already considering shopping less at their store, but this whole transgender stuff has kind of solidified my shopping choices.

When I boycott a store, it usually isn't temporary. It's usually a permanent heart-shift that redirects my consumer affections elsewhere. About 12 years ago, I boycotted Wal-Mart (and I blogged about it) just because I was sick of their terrible customer service and because I was tired of spending like an hour and a half trekking half a mile around a gigantic store just so I could save a nickel. It was my own personal boycott, and it changed the way I shop. (I would rather spend a few extra cents for good customer service instead of saving a buck and get treated like cattle; it's the principle of the thing.) Now I shop at Wal-Mart very rarely, and usually only if I can't find what I need anywhere else.

Now I'm gradually shopping at Target less and at their competition more. For example, a giant Wal-Mart-esque Kroger opened in my area several months ago, and I'm thinking about shopping there more.

But it's not like ALL of the people who are appalled at Target's new restroom policy are boycotting the store. When I was shopping there the other day, the parking lot was full.

Maybe if some boycotts don't harm a business immediately, perhaps they are impactful over time. I can't help but notice that some Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets have closed lately. Perhaps if businesses were more professional -- if we customers would be treated like human beings instead of like cattle, and instead of like freaks who should draw attention to ourselves whenever we use a public restroom -- this type of business tragedy wouldn't happen.

Turning it...

I'm not saying that we as Christians shouldn't stand up for what we believe in, and I'm not saying we should give in to other people's sin or accommodate anyone's sinful lifestyle. I'm saying that it's important to be sensitive to the things that pull people into certain sins or push them into certain lifestyles.

I'm saying we should take a good look at ourselves.

For example, if you're a mom who barely shows any affection to your daughter, then she will grow up with a huge hunger for female affection that could potentially pervert into lesbianism. Then if your daughter happens to be molested by another woman (or by another man, and if the experience permanently turns her off to the idea of ever marrying a man), it could seal the deal.

As another example, if you're a dad who rarely spends time with your son, then he will grow up with a huge hunger for male affection that could potentially escalate into homosexuality. Then if your son happens to be romantically pursued by a boy or a man, it could seal the deal.

I think psychologists can vouch for what I've just said.

Then if your kids come to terms with their issues, and if they repent, God can definitely heal them and restore their sexuality back to where it needs to be. But it could take time, and it could take years of heartache and very hard work.

Or even if your child never actually gives in to the temptation of the iniquity that is already hardwired inside them, they'll have to let God uninstall their iniquity software. The devil will come along and try to run the program; he'll get error messages, but your child will need to be prepared for these unwelcome visits. Jesus definitely provides victory, but it is a process, and it is a battle that no one should really have to fight.

I can vouch for what I've just said.

I'm saying that you can blame Target or the media or the deterioration of our society for the "direction" that you say America is going in right now. You can do that if you want. But I recommend getting your head out of your butt and taking a good look around you. Do you have kids? Do they know that you love them? Do they know that you value them? Or do you know the headlines better than you know your own children? Are you more familiar with the lives of Fox News anchors than you are of the life of your own child? Do you spend more time doing silly things like boycotting Disney or The Muppets or Target than you do protecting your child from the sheltered life that you've set up for your kid?

Are you too busy avoiding the restrooms at Target to realize that some perverted usher is taking advantage of your kid at church while you're not looking?

Turning it...

Today, I was bitten by an I-wonder-what-happened-to-the-people-in-my-past bug. Whenever this happens, I spend some time cyberstalking people on Facebook. (I know. I have issues.) I discovered that some of the Spanish-speaking churches that I used to attend back in the 80s and 90s are still around, but not all of them have much of an online presence. It's cool that a couple of them have learned how to use Facebook a little bit to stay culturally relevant, e.g., by sharing photos and videos and by posting other stuff. But some of the stuff I saw didn't seem cool to me at all. A lot of the stuff that was posted (e.g., an Easter program, a Valentine's Day banquet) looked like it could have taken place back in the 80s and 90s, not in 2016. Seriously? After all that trouble you had reaching and keeping your youth simply because of the language barrier? Did you learn nothing from the heartache of your kids leaving the church because they were bored?

But that's just my opinion. If my old churches haven't really changed with the times because God wants them to reach people where they're at -- and if where they're at is a very conservative Mexican Baptist community that is very set in its ways -- then that's cool. They should simply do what God wants them to do and follow Him in whatever He puts on their heart. But if they wonder why people leave their church or leave the faith altogether, then I think they should take a good, long look at themselves and their stubbornness.

Turning it...

"Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses... My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net." (Psalm 25:12, 16)

 

Macho finally figured out that I keep my good food (not the canned soups or frozen TV dinners) in my refrigerator. So, now he spends a lot of time hanging out next to my refrigerator. Smart cat. He knows where to find the good stuff. (Even though I don't usually allow him to have any.)

I hope I know where to find the good stuff, too (spiritually speaking). Lately, my "quiet times" have been more laidback than ever. I've wondered if something has been wrong in my relationship with God, so I've asked Him if I've been doing something wrong. He's been telling me, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It ain't broken, so stop trying to fix it." Yes, Father. No problem. Just as long as I'm not some lazy jerk Christian. If You're OK with it, I'm OK with it.

In the past, I would have called this time of my life a "dry season," but God keeps showing me that I need a season to simply just exist. He knows me. He knows that I've had some crazy religious stuff to shake out of me and that I've needed time to grow some new stuff. Some good stuff. Some talking-to-God-face-to-face-just-like-Moses-did-because-God-is-my-Friend stuff.

This hasn't always been my heritage. But it's my heritage now.