The darkness was...

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.

³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining.

The proof is in His presence

From Frederick Buechner:

"We all want to be certain, we all want proof, but the kind of proof we tend to want - scientifically or philosophically demonstrable proof that would silence all doubts once and for all - would not in the long run, I think, answer the fearful depths of our need at all. For what we need to know, of course, is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-to-day lives who may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but who in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God's existence that we want but, whether we use religious language for it or not, the experience of God's presence. That is the miracle that we are really after. And that is also, I think, the miracle we really get."

A clip from my favorite movie of all time.

Mateo is Dying Scene from In America Movie (2002) | MOVIECLIPS

Gratitude

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
New every morning
Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord
Great is Thy faithfulness.

BIG 12

Happy Birthday to my sweet Nat Lou who turns 12 today! What a blessing and gift she is in my life. Her laugh can make my worst moods go away. Her caring heart for others inspires me to do the same. And her love for music and doing things right makes me proud as proud can be to be her dad! Love you Roonie.

Keep breathing

I like the movie Cast Away. There is a lot to think about in this movie. This scene generates a lot of questions and good stuff worth thinking about: how there is still hope when you feel hopeless; how to acknowledge loss yet balance it with thankfulness; how to utilize past coping skills with present grief; and how to keep breathing and remain alive when it defies logic. On a walk last night with my family I asked everybody what gets them out of bed in the morning. Their answers were surface level at best - "My alarm clock." "My dog licking my face." My sister-in-law asked me the same question this morning. I said, "Because I never know what the tide will bring in today." Everyday has the potential to bring in a sail - just when you need it. Yes, life is full of loss. That is guaranteed. But, life is full of gain as well. Also guaranteed. Kinda gives you a reason to get up everyday, eh?

Who can you tell?

I am re-reading this great book called Prayer by Philip Yancey. I love it that it has little vignettes every chapter that are written by everyday people. This excerpt is from someone named John. His writing makes a lot of sense to me. It reminds me of how important it is to simply let people tell their story. Let them share their hurts, worries, passions, triumphs and bare their soul. Here are two parts of what John wrote:

"I have a theory that both street people and fundamentalists suffer from attachment disorders. Somehow in childhood they never learned to bond with parents an n ever learned to bond with God either. How can you trust another person with who you are, much less God?"

"We all bear secrets. Those of us fortunate enough to have a spouse, a friend, or someone we can trust, have someone to share our secrets with. If not, at least we have God, who knows our secrets before we spill them. The fact that we're still alive show that God has more tolerance for whatever those secrets represent than we may give God credit for."

"If I'm right about attachment disorders, the best ministry I can offer is a long-term relationship. I tell people that I hand with the poor all day, and that sums it up. I hope that over he years and decades they learn to trust me as someone who can handle their secrets. I hope that trust will gradually spill over to God. And I tell people who encounter the homeless on the streets and are confused at how to respond, that eye contact and a listening ear may be more important than food or money or Bible verses. They need to connect in some small way with another human being."

I think that this applies to all of us - not just the poor. We need people in our life like that. People that can sit and hold our stories no matter what comes out. People that can listen and not fix. People, who by their very presence are saying that "No matter what, I am with you." This doesn't mean that there is never confrontation, accountability, or correction. Quite the opposite. That comes at the appropriate time and in the appropriate context and it should always come from a place of love and humility knowing that as others expose their stories to us we are becoming part of that story and they are becoming part of ours.