the thirsty.

 ...Jesus walked into a group of people whose ritualistic practice of religion had so numbed their souls that they no longer were conscious of unsatisfied desires. To move them from lifeless ceremony toward the vitality of knowing God, He stood up and shouted 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink' (John 7:37)...After Jesus asked if anyone thirsts he didn't tell people to ignore their thirst, to get on with duty and stay away from people so you don't get hurt, or deeply explore that thirst, understand it with others. No, He says "Come to me". - Larry Crabb, Inside Out

Larry Crabb's Inside Out is a fantastic book for anyone looking to grow in personal wholeness, connection with others, and in relationship to God. The book focuses around the idea of taking an inside look - looking at our desires, unmet and otherwise, our past, and the unsuccessful methods we use to deal with life. I recommend it to you whole-heartedly.

I would say that I tended to fall in the camp of one with buried desire. It seemed far too dangerous to me to want too much from life. I thought, if I actually felt my deepest desires I would be consumed and eventually disappointed. In reading Crabb's book I realized this: if we ignore desire we will be half-hearted and disconnected people at best. Conversely, if we chase after each desire as it crops up we will be at the mercy of want – no longer over it but under it, serving its every whim.

No, the only way to deal with desire is to go to the One who says: come to me in your thirst. He knows our thirst, He knows the very fabric of your being. There is no one else that can handle and fulfill our desires like He can. But even this is not an easy, painless, or buttoned up process. It does however allow us to leave that safe, lifeless state and step into the world with hope. Dangerous, I know. But it is entirely worth the fight. If reading this strikes any chord with you, think about reading this book. It just might impact you in a way that you desperately need to be.

Just one more thought from Crabb's Inside Out, "Desire much, pray much, but demand nothing."

the path that leads to nowhere.

There's a path that leads to Nowhere

In a meadow that I know,

Where an inland island rises

And the stream is still and slow;

There it wanders under willows,

And beneath the silver green

Of the birches' silent shadows

Where the early violets lean.

Other pathways lead to Somewhere,

But the one I love so well

Has no end and no beginning –

Just the beauty of the dell,

Just the wind-flowers and the lilies

Yellow-striped as adder's tongue,

Seem to satisfy my pathway

As it winds their scents among.

There I go to meet the Springtime,

When the meadow is aglow,

Marigolds amid the marshes, –

And the stream is still and slow.

There I find my fair oasis,

And with care-free feet I tread

For the pathway leads to Nowhere, 

And the blue is overhead!

All the ways that lead to Somewhere

Echo with hurrying feet

Of the Struggling and the Striving,

But the way I find so sweet

Bids me dream and bids me linger,

Joy and Beauty are its goal, –

On the path that leads to Nowhere

I have sometimes found my soul!

-Corrine Roosevelt Robinson (1861-1933)

Whimsy.

On Monday I had the great pleasure of meeting Leif Enger, the author of one of my favorite novels. He was impossibly insightful, witty, and his speech possesed a cadence and warmth that was like being wrapped up in a heavy, patched quilt. 

The topic of the evening was excellence. Enger described excellence as a mix of discipline, dedication, hard work, and whimsy. Enger explained even further, "Ambition without whimsy leads to every dark corner".

Whimsy. I was enthralled with this idea. I am quick to throw whimsy and beauty out the window when I have "more important things to do". I too often see these things as frivolous and opt for activities that seem more necessary, more significant. Hearing Enger speak sparked something inside of me. I wanted to chase beauty, read poetry, and find the whimsy of the world. Not because there is a significant reason, but simply for the sake of beauty and freedom.

The more this rolls around my mind the more I start to realize that as we pursue whimsy and find beauty I think we will find even more purpose and truth. The things which I hope to achieve will find a new richness and vitality that truth alone can not afford. Or perhaps beauty and truth are not so separate, but inextricably linked?

To quote Enger who quoted Keats:

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

In finding beauty we find truth, and in finding truth we have found beauty. I hope you find whimsy in your day today, in shared laughter, an impromptu dance party, doing something frivolous but fantastic. I'm going to look for it in my today, but with whimsy on my mind I can't wait for spring this year - to sit by a lake, lay in the grass, to find beauty at every turn. I think I will take a cue from the Tallest Man on Earth:

         Well, if I ever see the morning
         Just like a lizard in the spring
         I'm gonna run out in the meadow
         To catch the silence when it sings