Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 6:19-34

Tomorrow I will be flying out to use my third week of vacation for the year 2010. I will be using that time in order to attend my 25th high school r”eunion in Deer Park, WA.

Like many people, I have somewhat mixed feelings about attending a reunion with folks I haven’t seen for many years. In my case, a lot of those mixed feelings have to do with how folks will relate to “the new me”.

You see when I was in school I was the classic overachiever. I was our class president, church youth group president, accomplished pianist, football player and wrestler, salutatorian, and ASB President. Lots of folks expected me to grow up and become to realize the all-American dream – meaning I would grow up, get married, have 2.4 kids, and make lots and lots of money.

Fast forward 25 years.

On the surface my life looks different than some might have expected. I did grow up (though some might take issue with that assessment), get married (albeit it to someone of my own gender and from a different racial/ethnic group than myself), had 2 “kids” (who have 4 legs, long noses, and are prone to bark), and (don’t) make lots of money.

Some people very well might look at my life from the outside and say my life has gone horribly off-track since I graduated from high school in 1985. I would say, however, that my life is happier and more fulfilling than I ever thought possible 25 years ago.

So which voice will win out – the voice driven by judgmental folks from the outside or the internal voice rooted and grounded in my love of God and self? That’s what I’ve been wondering about the past several days…

Needless to say, as I prepare to get on board the airplane tomorrow I’ll try to carry with me Jesus’ words from today’s passage in Matthew: “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Those words will help ground me and help prevent me from trying to anticipate what will happen when I return to the conservative small town in which I was raised.

I’m wondering if there are areas in your life where you have gotten caught up in worrying about tomorrow and what may - or may not - happen. Perhaps those worries are centered on finances, the status of a personal relationship, or some other matter. If that’s the case, I would encourage you to carry Jesus’ words with you today. Be present in today… Let tomorrow take care of itself…

Til next time…