Coming in for a Landing

As I travel with Faith, Hope and Love Global Ministries, each time a plane lands, I find myself in a “different” place. But before the wheels touch the ground, there is an in-between time. Periods of transition are useful as one looks back and forward without any point of grounding; one is “up in the air” both literally and metaphorically. From this vantage point, life can be seen more objectively.

Big questions can surface and be considered. “Where is God?” often comes to mind (even though I believe that God can not be so isolated as to be totally localized), as does the echo of Psalm 139:7-10

…where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

 

With each landing, I arrive in a new context. There is much to do to ground myself. At the same time, the Ground has been below me always, supporting me.

 

Question for reflection:

What grounds your life?

 

Prayer: Ground of all Being, Ground of my being, may I sense my roots extending into Your soil—in this place and in every place that I land and live. Amen.

Sacrifice

A beheaded plucked chicken sitting before a Nat House honoring the property’s guardian spirits, caught my eye as I basked in the humid warmth of the Bangkok morning. I was eating breakfast, looking into the garden area of our modest hotel. My mind wandered back to college and seminary classes when I had studied animism. The need to feel secure in a world where one often feels out of control is basic to humans. We use many different strategies to feel safe and remain hopeful even though life seems unpredictable and deeply challenging.

A young hotel employee approached the altar area dedicated to the spirits of the area, took off his plastic sandals and placed a very appetizing frozen coffee drink before each of the two miniature houses on raised platforms. So many questions flooded my mind. How did this young man understand his actions? Would someone drink these delicious looking frappaccinos or would they “go to waste” (my bias)? What religious behaviors do I use to try to bring balance to my life? How can one differentiate between human beliefs that “help” and those that “harm?”

Nat Houses, Bangkok Hotel Garden

Stepping into a different culture is very engaging. People do things that seem odd. Sights, sounds, and smells are not only different, but often incomprehensible. Questions arise out of almost every experience. Cultural assumptions are revealed and reviewed.

Garden Ornament, Bankok Hotel Garden

I find that my conversations with God sound different when I travel. This morning as I lingered in prayer, I meditated in God’s presence on Romans 12:1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

What types of sacrifice do feel compelled to offer to God? What makes you think that these are worthwhile and efficacious? What do they say about who you believe God to be?

Prayer: God, Thank You for the love in my heart for You. Thank you even more for Your love for me and for all people in this troubled world. Melt our fears and transform them into hope in your goodness, kindness and mercy. May my body, my living sacrifice to you, be a conduit of Your gracious invitation to trust in You as You use me to share the love that Jesus embodied when he walked among us.

Nat House in the corner of a parking lot in Bangkok

 

Come Along!

Welcome! I invite you to journey with me around the globe. May my images, words and prayers be an encouragement as you seek to know, love, and serve God better!

Leaving the United States, I’m heading back to Asia for the next two months. The question of “home” is vital to us all and very present to me as I separate from loved-ones and anticipate joyous reunions with beloved sisters and brothers half the world away. Is home a place? A cluster of relationships? A state of being? I wonder where you feel most at home?

Chartres-style labyrinth installed in Asia, 2009

When I close my eyes
travelling to the center of my Being,
I am Home.

When I put down my shopping bags
so that I can ring the bell
that sounds in God’s heart,
the front door opens, and I am greeted,
“Welcome home!”

When I lose myself
in service for the One I love,
I find myself at home.

When in the presence of those
whose faithfulness to Christ
shines through prayer,
I rest in their home,
that for a time becomes mine.

Home within
has meaning
that home without
only begins to mirror.

Home is where all is well.
Home is what we all need.
Home is where I long to rest.
Home is who I want to know.

Prayer: Home, may we all find our way to You. Amen.