Mischievious Maurer's Miscellaneous Misquotes » Introspection

Let the Wind Blow

Dave — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:21:12 +0000

About a year ago, I had been having a rough period in my life where I was yet again questioning why God chose not to reach out to me in a physical manner. If we are tactile people and are created in God’s image, than why does he choose not to physically touch us?

One Sunday I sat in church, humble, broken, and hurting. As I sat there with my head bowed I felt the Spirit breath on the back of my neck. I was stunned. I was relieved. I relished this physical confirmation of God’s presence.

About nine months later I was sitting in church and felt the same breath on my neck. Only this time I realized that the fresh spring breeze was blowing through the open window behind me. My analytical mind kicked in and I was angry! What I had felt earlier was nothing more than the wind. It wasn’t God at all! I was again bitter at God’s refusal to reach out and be physical with me.

Recently, I was sharing these experiences with a friend who encouraged me to acknowledge that maybe God can use the wind to breath afresh on me. If he created the earth, he knows how it all works and could easily command the wind today just like he did in Mark 4. My friend suggested that maybe I should be intentional about recognizing that God’s touch may not look or feel like I expect it.

With that in mind, I sat in church a couple Sundays ago and felt the spring breeze through the window. I smiled knowingly and thanked God for his touch. Within moments of my thankfulness the lady sitting behind me asked me to close the window because the breeze was making her cold.

ARGH!! NO!!! I had just acknowledged that God was touching me and this lady was asking me to stop his touch. I was frustrated, to say the least.

Again I relayed this experience to my friend and he started laughing! He suggested that this may be God acknowledging my recognition of his touch. He went on to explain that God wants to show me that he does hear me and that this could be a humorous way to get my attention. I’ve sat with that for a couple of weeks and decided to let this be my attitude. God does reach out to me. It just may not look like I expect.

So last Sunday, the nfcBrass helped lead worship in church, as we’ve been doing for more than 20 years. As we sat on the platform several of us were having issues with the wind blowing our music off the music stands. Now keep in mind that this is the first time I can remember having this problem in the sanctuary of NFC. Several of us were using clips to secure our music to the stand. In fact one person had to finish playing the song we were playing by reading his music off the floor!

I am choosing to believe that God is yet again trying to get my attention. He has shown me that he DOES want to reach out and touch me. I just need to be open to the way HE wants to do it. I’m thankful for this renewed awareness of God’s presence in my life in this funny and very physical way.

Now, does anyone know where I can get tornado insurance? I think maybe I should get prepared!

Walking on Water

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:04:54 +0000

I was struck with the message Arun Massey shared in church last Sunday. Arun is founder of the Joyful Children’s Home in Dharwad, India where Kara went last summer.

Arun spoke about Peter stepping out of the boat to walk toward Jesus during the storm in Mathew 14. Peter was successful at walking on the water, just like Jesus, as long as he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus. As soon as he noticed the storm around him and his fellow disciples in the safety of the boat behind him, he began to sink and drown.

What kept Peter afloat? It was keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus. When did he begin to sink? As soon as he stopped looking to Christ.

Frequent readers of my blog may well remember my recurring theme of struggling to find Jesus in a tangible way. We can’t see him, touch him, or physically feel him. Our relationship with Christ is an emotional connection, something not tangible in our physical realm, but rather a feeling, a knowledge, an awareness.

So how do I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and continue to stay above water in the raging storm of life when I struggle to see him tangibly?

We are made in the image of God. Humans require physical interaction and touch to survive. Do a google search on the importance of human touch and you will see that this isn’t just my thinking, but rather scientific fact.

So why does God choose to not physically touch us himself? Why can’t I see him physically?

I’m not sure how to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, but I’m working on it.

Stay tuned as I learn how this seeming dichotomy fits together in my daily walk after Christ.

True Colors

Dave — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:42:38 +0000

I’ve heard it said that the true measure of a man, who he really is deep inside, is demonstrated by how he responds to life and situations when things aren’t easy. You know… “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”

Life for me right now is complicated… and I am not pleased with how I’m responding.

You Look Marvelous

Dave — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:19:17 +0000

Back in the 1980s, Fernando Lamas (aka Billy Crystal) used the catch phrase “You look maahhvelous.” It was a great Saturday Night Live sketch. Today, I realize that I am still trying to make myself look marvelous. Back in October I wrote about my attempts to make myself look good.

Why is it that I still want to keep up appearances? What is so inherently ingrained in my psyche that I want people to like me and don’t want to show my flaws? Why can’t I accept the fact that there will be people who still accept me, despite my inadequacies?

I struggle with lots of things. I’ve typed the list here and reedited it and ultimately deleted it because… I fear showing people what I’m ashamed of in my life. The shortcomings, the addictions, the flaws… some are major, some are minor; some I’m working on, some I try to ignore myself.

Ultimately, I am scared of what people will think of me. I’m worried about disappointing my family and friends. I’m apprehensive that people won’t like me if I’m really vulnerable.

So, I continue to put fresh paint on the broken down parts of my life hoping that they continue to look good. And I think I’m doing a pretty good job at looking marvelous.

Keeping Up Appearances

Dave — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:44:29 +0000

I have been bit by the Facebook bug. Like MySpace and other social networking sites Facebook allows you to connect with friends (new and old) through the Internet. I have enjoyed reading the profiles of friends whom I’ve not seen in years and finding out what they are now up to.

But as I’ve read the profiles of people from around the world, I’m struck by the fact that nearly all of us are trying to impress the readers of our profiles. We put our best foot forward. We tell about our accomplishments. We “brag” about where we’ve been and what we’ve done.

This has caused me to wonder what it would be like if we became really vulnerable and showed our true colors. What would happen if I told about my struggles and failures as well as my victories?

I’m not saying that we should avoid celebrating the high points of life. But I would guess that if we presented the dark sides as well as the bright we would be able to connect with each other on a deeper level. If we shared our frustrations and defeats we would most likely be able to relate better with others.

At this point in my life I’ve been longing for deeper connections with those people around me. I want to connect with people who have experienced the same struggles as I so that I can learn from them and discover how they worked through those difficult times. I want to share with others so they can learn from my mistakes and not have to repeat the negative lessons.

So, here is to being vulnerable; here is to presenting the real me, warts and all. And I hope that as we interact, we will be able to grow stronger as individuals and as friends through the better understanding of our shared victories AND failures.