Let's face it: this life is not a cakewalk. Some days are easier than others, of course, but there are always the inevitably tougher periods of time that have the potential to drain all traces of life out of you. Sometimes we are faced with extremely busy schedules where it seems as if we will never finish the never-ending task list on time. Other times we find ourselves in the midst of drastic life changes that have seemingly spawned from nowhere. Then there are the times when we experience tragedy and heartbreak and struggle miserably to try to put the pieces back together. The last of these three things can be especially difficult if they happen to come to mind in later years around the time of the original incident; experiencing even a little bit of the original sorrow is never enjoyable.
Through experiencing all of these things myself at one time or another, or by experiencing them with someone else, I have learned two very important lessons. The first is that no matter what happens, God will never forsake us and is always ready to receive us in a loving embrace to take away the pain, the fear, the worry... Christ dying for us proved the ultimate, unconditional love He has for us, and He desires for us to lean on Him and to take His yoke upon us. Christ offers us rest, comfort, peace, and everlasting love in all situations we experience. By placing our full trust in the Savior of the world, we can know that everything will turn out okay, even if current circumstances seem to suggest otherwise.
The second lesson I learned is that in addition to trusting in God, it is highly beneficial to have friends and family that you can turn to at any time for help and encouragement, no matter the experience. Suffering hardship alone is possibly the most difficult way to live through that tough time. Having a fellow human being that you can turn to can be a huge source of comfort. Being a shoulder to cry on or simply being a voice to talk things out can go a long way. Even answering your phone just for the sake of answering it so that the person on the other end can feel some kind of comfort in their distress through the mere sound of your voice can be more than enough in that moment. We were created to live relationally: we need to have each other's backs no matter what the situation. One simple expression of love, compassion, and care at a particular moment during a rough experience can make all the difference in a person's life.
There are many times in this life when we will feel weak and weighed down by the burdens that we face. It is important to remember, however, that Christ has you covered at all times. I really like the way the bridge of Elevation Worship's Give Me Faith puts it:
I may be weak, but Your Spirit's strong in me
My flesh may fail, but my God You never will
No matter what we are facing, we can always count on God to pull us through. It is also incredibly helpful to have trustworthy friends who are willing to encourage you, suffer along aside of you, and pick you up when you fall. The power of love can go a long way. Do not choose to suffer alone: rest in the love of Christ and be thankful for the friends and family in your life who will not abandon you when you need their company the most.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Reactions
Where in the world did spring break go!?!? It is truly amazing how fast that week can (and did) go by without noticing it. I suppose it was not all a blur, but wow. I am very thankful for the time I got spend with my family and friends. I even got a little homework done, but only what I absolutely needed to do; after all, it was spring break, meaning I had the right to be a little lazy...right? Of course! One of my favorite moments was right at beginning of break when I made a surprise visit to a friend of mine at work near the end of her shift. It was definitely a surprise, and it was simply great to visit and catch up. While it was a late night, it was totally worth it. There is nothing quite like the company of great friends, especially when they least expect it.
In this past week, certain thoughts had come to the forefront of my mind and decided to re-introduce a mental struggle of sorts. Generally, I tend to go a little crazy when there is a lot on my plate and simply do nothing because I cannot decided what to do first because everything seems to be equally trying to gain my attention. In regards to this past week, a particular circumstance (which, truth be told, was rather trivial) was just owning my thoughts and keeping me from being myself. I did not have a good reason to let this particular issue control my actions, but alas, that is exactly what happened. When you let some of the smaller things in this life overpower that which is more important, you will quickly find that you will not be as satisfied or content as you really should.
Somewhere in the middle of that mental battle, however, I was having a conversation with my Dad when he said something that I will not soon easily forget: "You cannot change the way things happen, but you can control how you react to them." Unfortunately, I forget the overall context of the conversation (but I do know it had nothing to do with that which I had been struggling), but that is besides the point. What my Dad said hit me right between the eyes; not only was this applicable to my current situation, but it is applicable to daily life in general. This life principle is truly a gem, and it is another reason why I cannot express how grateful I am for my Dad.
Life will constantly throw a myriad of circumstances our way, good and bad, and we will ultimately have little to no control over how those things come to pass. However, the way we choose to handle those circumstances can make all the difference in our lives. We can choose to wallow in a state of misery or perpetually complain about the undesirable situations. But will that get us anywhere? More than likely, no, it will not. The desirable experiences of this life are always easy to live out, but it tends to be the undesirable experiences that reveal our true colors. If we can be mature enough, strong enough, and faithful enough to react to any and all circumstances with a heart of purity and the desire to grow into the people God calls us to become, imagine how different the world could be.
In this past week, certain thoughts had come to the forefront of my mind and decided to re-introduce a mental struggle of sorts. Generally, I tend to go a little crazy when there is a lot on my plate and simply do nothing because I cannot decided what to do first because everything seems to be equally trying to gain my attention. In regards to this past week, a particular circumstance (which, truth be told, was rather trivial) was just owning my thoughts and keeping me from being myself. I did not have a good reason to let this particular issue control my actions, but alas, that is exactly what happened. When you let some of the smaller things in this life overpower that which is more important, you will quickly find that you will not be as satisfied or content as you really should.
Somewhere in the middle of that mental battle, however, I was having a conversation with my Dad when he said something that I will not soon easily forget: "You cannot change the way things happen, but you can control how you react to them." Unfortunately, I forget the overall context of the conversation (but I do know it had nothing to do with that which I had been struggling), but that is besides the point. What my Dad said hit me right between the eyes; not only was this applicable to my current situation, but it is applicable to daily life in general. This life principle is truly a gem, and it is another reason why I cannot express how grateful I am for my Dad.
Life will constantly throw a myriad of circumstances our way, good and bad, and we will ultimately have little to no control over how those things come to pass. However, the way we choose to handle those circumstances can make all the difference in our lives. We can choose to wallow in a state of misery or perpetually complain about the undesirable situations. But will that get us anywhere? More than likely, no, it will not. The desirable experiences of this life are always easy to live out, but it tends to be the undesirable experiences that reveal our true colors. If we can be mature enough, strong enough, and faithful enough to react to any and all circumstances with a heart of purity and the desire to grow into the people God calls us to become, imagine how different the world could be.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The Power of Pride
So, I'm not sure if this is going to become a habit or not, but it seems as if my post ideas are stemming from situations that I find myself in on Monday nights. This is an interesting development indeed, but I suppose I will take what I have and make something out of it.
I was driving out to my young adults group last night, and about ten minutes into the trip I found myself behind a truck for a brief moment which had the following bumper sticker affixed to it:
The Power of Pride. This sticker is clearly conveying a sense of pride in our great nation and the power of having such pride. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it does bring up a rather interesting matter. No, I am not about to bash the USA or tell you that being proud of your country is a terrible thing (truth be told, I feel quite blessed to live in the USA and do my best not to take what I have as a result of living here for granted). What I would like to bring to the table is geared more towards the essence of pride in and of itself. Actually, I probably will not mention the USA much, if at all, for the remainder of this post; the bumper sticker just happened to trigger a posting obligation within me.
Pride is something that affects us all. In fact, it would be fair to say that pride itself is the root of many of the wrongs that we commit in this life. C.S. Lewis writes on the very matter in his essay, The Great Sin, which can be found within his work called Mere Christianity. I would strongly encourage you to read this essay; it should only take you five to ten minutes and I personally guarantee that it will be well worth your time.
Pride, as Lewis puts it, "is essentially competitive. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man." The source of much conflict in this world, past and present, can easily be traced back to pride and the unhealthy desire to simply be better at something for the sake of being better. Take a moment to reflect on your own life right now: are you pursuing something just so that you can place yourself higher on the chart when compared to your peers?
Now I should mention (as Lewis also does) that pride in the sense of finding pleasure in being praised or being "proud of" someone is not the evil Pride. Taking delight in being recognized for something is not a bad thing until you begin to place yourself upon a pedestal and begin to have thoughts along the lines of "What a great person I must be to have done _____." Being proud of someone is, perhaps, better expressed as having admiration or regard for someone because of something they have done. As long as one does not go so far as to sinfully idolize the person of admiration, the problem of Pride will not be an issue.
Ultimately, we must be wary of Pride in our lives and how we let it affect us. It can create animosity between people as well as between people and God. As I said a moment ago, think about your life and how you may be letting Pride take the wheel. Perhaps you think you are not prideful: I beg to differ. As Lewis so adequately puts it, "If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed." I know I struggle with Pride in my own life. How we choose to act on such feelings and impulses will make the difference. By first recognizing that we are prideful will bring us quite closer to achieving some level of humility. I would argue that life is much better lived in loving community with others, so why try to always be fighting to be on top of everyone else? Obviously there is nothing wrong with wanting to achieve different things in this life, but a motive check would not hurt.
I feel as if I should address the bumper sticker. To be honest, the sticker basically only served as a jump-start to the content about which I would be blogging and I really had no intentions of writing much about the sticker itself. However, I think it deserves a little bit of attention (which could very well adequately conclude my thoughts): being proud of one's country is not a bad thing in any way. The question is whether or not that admiration is leading towards rash, ill-conceived competitive action. If that is the case, beware of Pride. As the Proverb goes, "Pride comes before the fall" (my paraphrase). You are not the only human being on this earth: while it is okay to look out for yourself, your time would be better spent looking out for others above yourself. Living a life of neighborly love will always be more rewarding than only living for yourself and letting your Pride corruptively and selfishly dictate your every move.
I was driving out to my young adults group last night, and about ten minutes into the trip I found myself behind a truck for a brief moment which had the following bumper sticker affixed to it:
The Power of Pride. This sticker is clearly conveying a sense of pride in our great nation and the power of having such pride. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it does bring up a rather interesting matter. No, I am not about to bash the USA or tell you that being proud of your country is a terrible thing (truth be told, I feel quite blessed to live in the USA and do my best not to take what I have as a result of living here for granted). What I would like to bring to the table is geared more towards the essence of pride in and of itself. Actually, I probably will not mention the USA much, if at all, for the remainder of this post; the bumper sticker just happened to trigger a posting obligation within me.
Pride is something that affects us all. In fact, it would be fair to say that pride itself is the root of many of the wrongs that we commit in this life. C.S. Lewis writes on the very matter in his essay, The Great Sin, which can be found within his work called Mere Christianity. I would strongly encourage you to read this essay; it should only take you five to ten minutes and I personally guarantee that it will be well worth your time.
Pride, as Lewis puts it, "is essentially competitive. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man." The source of much conflict in this world, past and present, can easily be traced back to pride and the unhealthy desire to simply be better at something for the sake of being better. Take a moment to reflect on your own life right now: are you pursuing something just so that you can place yourself higher on the chart when compared to your peers?
Now I should mention (as Lewis also does) that pride in the sense of finding pleasure in being praised or being "proud of" someone is not the evil Pride. Taking delight in being recognized for something is not a bad thing until you begin to place yourself upon a pedestal and begin to have thoughts along the lines of "What a great person I must be to have done _____." Being proud of someone is, perhaps, better expressed as having admiration or regard for someone because of something they have done. As long as one does not go so far as to sinfully idolize the person of admiration, the problem of Pride will not be an issue.
Ultimately, we must be wary of Pride in our lives and how we let it affect us. It can create animosity between people as well as between people and God. As I said a moment ago, think about your life and how you may be letting Pride take the wheel. Perhaps you think you are not prideful: I beg to differ. As Lewis so adequately puts it, "If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed." I know I struggle with Pride in my own life. How we choose to act on such feelings and impulses will make the difference. By first recognizing that we are prideful will bring us quite closer to achieving some level of humility. I would argue that life is much better lived in loving community with others, so why try to always be fighting to be on top of everyone else? Obviously there is nothing wrong with wanting to achieve different things in this life, but a motive check would not hurt.
I feel as if I should address the bumper sticker. To be honest, the sticker basically only served as a jump-start to the content about which I would be blogging and I really had no intentions of writing much about the sticker itself. However, I think it deserves a little bit of attention (which could very well adequately conclude my thoughts): being proud of one's country is not a bad thing in any way. The question is whether or not that admiration is leading towards rash, ill-conceived competitive action. If that is the case, beware of Pride. As the Proverb goes, "Pride comes before the fall" (my paraphrase). You are not the only human being on this earth: while it is okay to look out for yourself, your time would be better spent looking out for others above yourself. Living a life of neighborly love will always be more rewarding than only living for yourself and letting your Pride corruptively and selfishly dictate your every move.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Making a Difference
Allow me to preface what I am about to say by officially welcoming myself to the blogging world. Yay!! *Confetti* *Other Random Party Effects* This is definitely something new for me, unless, of course, you count micro-blogging via Twitter. By the way, follow me: @zkantner. Anyway...
As I was saying, blogging is basically a new concept for me, but I feel rather inclined to give it a go. Why, you may ask? Two reasons. The first is simply that I want to express some of my thoughts in writing, cacophonous as they may end up being. Writing is a primary form of communication, the quality of which seems to be running down the drain at an exponentially increasing rate among people my age and younger. I want to further develop my personal writing technique and hopefully stir up some healthy conversation at the same time. The second reason is more or less a child of the first: I think about/read about/hear about various different things every week, and I feel as if I just do not givesome of a majority of those things a fighting chance outside of a short one to two minute conversation with a friend or two. Do I expect everyone and their mother to read and respond to what I have to say? Of course not, but there is nothing wrong with at least putting some thoughts out there for anyone who cares to take a look. So, here's to a new experience with endless possibilities!
Last night I attended a short chapel for the Collaboratory at school. This particular chapel is a weekly occurrence which takes place before the various Collab groups go their separate ways and work on various projects that have worldwide impact (such as projects with World Vision). This particular chapel featured Dr. Michael Zigarelli, a professor of leadership and strategy. I unfortunately have not had the pleasure of having him for a class yet, but I will at some point next year (and I am genuinely excited for when that opportunity finally arrives).
Dr. Zigarelli spoke to us of an event that happened back in 1999 when he used to work at Fairfield University in Connecticut. One day he noticed that when his young son went out to get the paper, he stood at the end of the driveway staring into the sky at some unknown yet captivating sight. Dr. Zigarelli figured he might as well have a look since his son, at this age, would only pay attention to Barney and related TV shows for the same span of time that he spent staring into the sky on this morning. It turns out that the boy was looking at three news helicopters hovering not to far out in the distance behind their house. Later that day, Dr. Zigarelli learned that these helicopters were hovering above a scene where, hours before in the dead of night, a single mother and her four sons were killed by an Amtrak train. The mother was running across the tracks to retrieve her youngest son when the horrific incident occurred.
After recalling the incident, Dr. Zigarelli went on to mention that this woman, Julia Toledo de Urgiles, happened to be a custodian at Fairfield University, the very same place where he worked. She happened to be struggling to pay for everything. She was only making minimum wage and was attempting to support four children as a single mother. Dr. Zigarelli and Julia never had contact with one another, but Julia represented a type of person that many of us tend to ignore or may even be ourselves. She was invisible. She was one of the people that many of us today simply overlook. There are just some people with whom we do not concern ourselves. It is a downright regrettable truth. We live our lives, interact with those we know, and try our best to stay out of everyone else's business. But when we step back and take a minute to examine the situation, there are many invisible people, like Julia and her children, who are very real people with very real lives and very real problems. And like the rest of us, they deserve the same love and respect that we give our friends.
In the words of Dr. Zigarelli, "In Jesus Christ, there are no invisible people." Everyone in this world longs to be loved, cared about, listened to. What if we actually took the time to give someone else a little bit of our time? What if we chose to dwell with those who, in our selfish and corrupted mindsets, appear to be below us when really they are people just like us? What if we gave that person across the coffee shop a chance to feel like a real human being? What if we actually loved people the way Jesus taught us to love? I think the world would be a very different and more likable place.
"Making a difference begins with one person at a time. Making a difference begins with one conversation at a time." These words from Dr. Zigarelli struck me at the core last night. If someone had taken the time to get to know Julia, maybe offer her some help, would her situation have been any different? We will never know, but I would go out on a limb to say that circumstances would most definitely have been different. It is time we all reconsidered how we go about our daily lives. For all we know, one conversation could make a world of difference in someone's life. If we are so busy that we cannot find even a few minutes to engage in someone else's life to make them feel like they matter, then our priorities are way out of order.
Romans 12:9-13
As I was saying, blogging is basically a new concept for me, but I feel rather inclined to give it a go. Why, you may ask? Two reasons. The first is simply that I want to express some of my thoughts in writing, cacophonous as they may end up being. Writing is a primary form of communication, the quality of which seems to be running down the drain at an exponentially increasing rate among people my age and younger. I want to further develop my personal writing technique and hopefully stir up some healthy conversation at the same time. The second reason is more or less a child of the first: I think about/read about/hear about various different things every week, and I feel as if I just do not give
Last night I attended a short chapel for the Collaboratory at school. This particular chapel is a weekly occurrence which takes place before the various Collab groups go their separate ways and work on various projects that have worldwide impact (such as projects with World Vision). This particular chapel featured Dr. Michael Zigarelli, a professor of leadership and strategy. I unfortunately have not had the pleasure of having him for a class yet, but I will at some point next year (and I am genuinely excited for when that opportunity finally arrives).
Dr. Zigarelli spoke to us of an event that happened back in 1999 when he used to work at Fairfield University in Connecticut. One day he noticed that when his young son went out to get the paper, he stood at the end of the driveway staring into the sky at some unknown yet captivating sight. Dr. Zigarelli figured he might as well have a look since his son, at this age, would only pay attention to Barney and related TV shows for the same span of time that he spent staring into the sky on this morning. It turns out that the boy was looking at three news helicopters hovering not to far out in the distance behind their house. Later that day, Dr. Zigarelli learned that these helicopters were hovering above a scene where, hours before in the dead of night, a single mother and her four sons were killed by an Amtrak train. The mother was running across the tracks to retrieve her youngest son when the horrific incident occurred.
After recalling the incident, Dr. Zigarelli went on to mention that this woman, Julia Toledo de Urgiles, happened to be a custodian at Fairfield University, the very same place where he worked. She happened to be struggling to pay for everything. She was only making minimum wage and was attempting to support four children as a single mother. Dr. Zigarelli and Julia never had contact with one another, but Julia represented a type of person that many of us tend to ignore or may even be ourselves. She was invisible. She was one of the people that many of us today simply overlook. There are just some people with whom we do not concern ourselves. It is a downright regrettable truth. We live our lives, interact with those we know, and try our best to stay out of everyone else's business. But when we step back and take a minute to examine the situation, there are many invisible people, like Julia and her children, who are very real people with very real lives and very real problems. And like the rest of us, they deserve the same love and respect that we give our friends.
In the words of Dr. Zigarelli, "In Jesus Christ, there are no invisible people." Everyone in this world longs to be loved, cared about, listened to. What if we actually took the time to give someone else a little bit of our time? What if we chose to dwell with those who, in our selfish and corrupted mindsets, appear to be below us when really they are people just like us? What if we gave that person across the coffee shop a chance to feel like a real human being? What if we actually loved people the way Jesus taught us to love? I think the world would be a very different and more likable place.
"Making a difference begins with one person at a time. Making a difference begins with one conversation at a time." These words from Dr. Zigarelli struck me at the core last night. If someone had taken the time to get to know Julia, maybe offer her some help, would her situation have been any different? We will never know, but I would go out on a limb to say that circumstances would most definitely have been different. It is time we all reconsidered how we go about our daily lives. For all we know, one conversation could make a world of difference in someone's life. If we are so busy that we cannot find even a few minutes to engage in someone else's life to make them feel like they matter, then our priorities are way out of order.
Romans 12:9-13
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