May 2011

The view from my enemy’s shoes

Relationships /

I was shocked the night my father casually revealed to the family that he had purchased a pair of shoes for the likes of Genie Arneson, my mortal enemy. He dropped the bomb when all of us were sitting around the kitchen table, enjoying our evening meal and engaged in casual conversation. When I heard it I was flabbergasted. Could it be the same Genie Arneson who was in my fourth grade class at school? How did Dad even know him? Where did he meet up with him? And why for heavens sake did he take the kid shopping?

I was raised in a small rural town where the term “gang” referred to a group of elementary school kids who played together after school. There were good gangs and bad gangs. The bad gangs were typically the ones that bullied the good gangs. Genie Arneson led a bad gang and he was the biggest bully of them all.

Just weeks before my father’s disheartening news, I had gotten into the one and only fist fight of my life. It was with Genie. After school he and some of his toughs were picking on my friend Jimmy Smith. Now any gang member worth his salt is loyal to his mates. So I didn’t hesitate to come to Jimmy’s defense and jumped into the fray. Genie was a bigger, stronger, seasoned fighter and got the best of me. It is a fight I am proud to this day that I fought even though I lost. Jimmy and I ended up high tailing it to my house with Genie’s gang in hot pursuit.

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Stressed? Where to look for help.

2 Comments / Growth & Development, Overcoming /

“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1 NIV)

I have been battling some stress lately, feeling deluged with last minute details for an upcoming event in which I have some major responsibilities. It dawned on me this morning that the stress was having a cumulative effect upon me. I had to acknowledge that I had been trying to carry things in my own strength rather looking with eyes of faith to God who is the burden bearer. Consequently fear and anxiety were robbing me of my peace during the day and my sleep at night. Perhaps you can identify with me.

Basically what I realized was that I had been looking in the wrong places for answers and help. It reminded me of the man in Psalm 121 who had a similar revelation in his journey through a trying time. As I read this psalm it helped me get back into a place of faith as I focused on where real help comes from.

Psalm 121 is the second one in a series of 15 psalms called the Psalms of Ascent or the Pilgrim Psalms. These psalms, from 120 through 134, were written describing the pilgrimage each Israelite was required to make annually to Jerusalem to worship at the great feasts. They were songs the pilgrims sung, journeying from their respective towns and villages, climbing steadily through the Judean hills and valleys, battling adversity both from within and from without, ever looking for a glimpse of Mount Zion where they would eventually enter God’s presence in the temple courts.

These psalms are also descriptive of the spiritual journey that each of us must make in order to grow in our faith relationship with God. Spiritual growth can only begin when we acknowledge the mess our souls are in, our need for change and the necessity of looking to God as the change agent.

Stressed? Where to look for help. Read More »

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