Tag Archives: Humility

The Meaning of Life, IMHO

June 8, 2009
Philosopher in Meditation (detail) by Rembrandt

Philosopher in Meditation. (Image via Wikipedia)

In case you aren’t up on Internet slang, the acronym in the title of this post means “In My Humble Opinion.” It is often used in conversations to mark points that are (a) already obviously opinions and (b) just as obviously not humble. Users of this phrase generally recognize that they are pontificating and making a pronouncement beyond the scope of their expertise and experience.

Such is the case with this article. I’ve made some observations and come to some conclusions about what is important in life, at least in mine, and felt they were worthy of sharing here. This is my (current, changing) explanation of What Really Matters. Of course, the purpose of this blog is more for me to have a place to hash out ideas and wrestle with aspects of my spiritual journey than to enlighten anyone else about anything. I just find that the hashing and wrestling are more effective when done in conversation with other people than within my own head.

So you get to hear me pontificate and make pronouncements beyond the scope of my expertise and experience. But feel free to tell me how wrong I am and where I missed the boat. Besides, nothing I’m thinking here is really new. Others before me have expressed it better than I. It just happens to be my turn this week to recognize them.

Here are the things I’m realizing matter most in life. For now, just a list (in no particular order). A more detailed reflection on each one will have to wait for another day.

  • Trust God
  • Love (both the noun and the verb)
  • Learn
  • Have integrity
  • Take pleasure in small things every day
  • Lift someone else up every day
  • Care
  • Simplify
  • Build relationships not walls
  • Don’t run from pain or obstacles
  • Embrace change
  • Use your gifts and chase your passions–they come from God

Nothing earth-shattering here. But these are things I didn’t know twenty years ago, and don’t really fully understand now. Not only that, but I also fully recognize that the list isn’t finished. I’m not so arrogant as to believe that I have it all figured out. But for now, for today, these are the things that I believe God is showing me about how to live my life, and the things that will make my life satisfying and relevant.

In my humble opinion.

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Shadow of a Cloud

April 17, 2009
cloud shadows
Image by zen via Flickr

Halloween 1983. I stood in front of the mirror, checking out my costume. It looked pretty good, if I did say so myself. I’d spent several days building myself a stylized suit of armor from black poster board and red duct tape. I had a shield and sword, helm and breastplate, gauntlets, greaves, and sabatons. I wore red long-johns to simulate the chain mail beneath the plates. I had researched real armor in order to get the details just right, and I thought I’d nailed it pretty well. I was pretty impressed with myself.

When I got to the party, many of my high school friends were already there, and a few of them commented on how cool the costume was. I was feeling pretty good about myself and my accomplishment.

Until about ten minutes later. A friend of mine walked in with her new boyfriend, a guy from another high school whom we hadn’t yet met. He was also wearing a suit of armor. A real one. That he’d built himself.

Talk about total humiliation. For the rest of the evening I endured the awkward conversation as people studiously avoided any mention of the costumes, or they weakly attempted to find things to say that would build me back up. While I appreciated the thought, their words mostly just reinforced the fact that I was indeed the lamest loser at the party.

Throughout my life and career I have had similar experiences. Just when I thought I was becoming accomplished at something, when I was feeling good about where things were going, or how well I was doing, something would happen to remind me that I had many, many, many miles to go. What I thought was the end of the journey really turned out just to be the end of the on-ramp. What I thought was real substance turns out to be only the shadow of a cloud.

So it is in my relationship with God. I must not ever begin to believe that I have gotten anywhere near the holiness that God desires and requires of me. If I think I’m close to good enough, he’ll have a way of holding my miniscule accomplishments up to the searing light of his goodness, and I’m put in my place.

The difference, though–and it’s a glorious, awesome difference–is that God doesn’t humiliate, he humbles. And then he reminds me that while my goodness and holiness don’t begin to approach the standard that he has set, he still loves me, and he has given me grace to cover that gap.

On earth I may only be the shadow of a cloud, and I may never amount to much by the world’s standards. But in God’s eyes, I am his child, and anything I do for him is a true accomplishment. If I am seeking his will and following his plan, then I can do truly great things, because it isn’t about me, it is about Christ working through me.

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The Best Sunrises Have Clouds

October 23, 2007

Sunrise CloudsIt’s kind of surprising that I’ve not written about sunrises at all, considering it’s probably my favorite time of day (and it’s the first line of the song that launched this blog). I’ve had this half-thought floating around in my head for a long time—probably years—but it never really crystallized completely until this morning. Most people consider clouds a blemish on an otherwise perfect sky. But God can’t create perfect sunrises without clouds.

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