Year: 2013

Worry & Lent

So it’s getting to be the middle of the semester, about the time I start to get stressed. Between schoolwork, planning for summer, figuring out living situations for next year, applying to scholarships, and all the other hustle and bustle of being a student, it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed. Just a tad. Or a lot.

At pause this week, Pastor Kate asked us to think about what things were separating us from God and from the person God made us to be. And I realized that I worry about a lot of things. And that this worrying is keeping me from living my life in the fullest, like God intended. My home pastor once described worrying as a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere. Which is how I’m feeling right now. Worrying is keeping me busy. But it isn’t taking me anywhere.

And while I realize this, it’s really hard for me to give up worrying. Believe me, I’ve tried! I try to remember Matthew 6:25-34, the lilies of the field passage.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

But then I get to thinking, that’s fine and good for those lilies, but they don’t have student loans! Or exams! Or papers! Or friendships that need tending! It seems like an unfair comparison.

I guess I don’t actually have an answer to that one. As I say all the time at work, “I’m just a student. I don’t actually know what’s going on.” I do know, though, that I always come back to this one line (maybe because it’s the last one). “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” So for this Lent, I want to make a better effort to turn away from worrying. Because rocking chairs are inefficient forms of transportation.

-Meghan with the H

PS. http://i.minus.com/iBjggllWTYF0I.gif

“Let Love Be Genuine”

As another valentine’s day has come and gone I spent the weekend thinking of what the holiday really means to me. As a child it was by far my favorite day of the school year. I would spend hours decorating my special valentine’s box with glitter glue and delicate shades of pink and purple. Of course I can’t forget about the hours of deliberation that were also spent on choosing the perfect valentines and what candy would accompany your card! Now as college students the only exciting parts of Valentine’s Day are the care packages we hope to receive from our mom’s back home. Whether or not you have a significant other may also change your view on the holiday however this year I came to a new realization for me. Although I feel like it is an extremely over commercialized holiday, and that you should celebrate the love you have for others every day, there is an important lesson to be learned. On Thursday I happened to stumble upon one of my favorite verses in the bible. Roman’s 12:9 says “let love be genuine.” This simple phrase could not be a more perfect reminder of the true meaning of Valentine’s Day to me. It is a day to remember how although the dimension of love can change, there is a underlying quality of love being genuine. Whether you celebrated with the love of your life, your best friend, a new friend, a family member, or your favorite girls I bet you exerted a form of genuine love. God reminds us that every relationship we encounter in life should be rooted in a love that is genuine and from the heart. I hope you all had a wonderful valentine’s day and can continue to build relationships grounded in genuine love.  

-Amanda

On life, love and quite a bit of Jesus

Over the course of the past week, I’ve somehow managed to realize a few new things about my faith. Last Wednesday, we got to celebrate a particular faith story, wonderful music, and newfound faces. It was the first time this year that I felt like the Lord was strongly present. We sang, we talked, we laughed, and we prayed. On Saturday, a bunch of us LCM’ers all went to Pastor Kate’s wedding and also laughed, cried, and enjoyed a heck of a lot of good company (and some Spanish candy hearts!!!).

With Valentine’s Day here and present, I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships. I mean we all do it, right?! I constantly think about my friends in relationships and how much I want to find someone who gets me too. I wonder when God will tell the guy to just hurry up and make it happen, and everything will reveal itself magically. I want the whole dress-up, mushy Valentine’s date, flowers and chocolates in hand, and the other in the one that I’m supposed to be with. But sadly, today is Valentine’s Day and there isn’t that one special date to have dinner with. It’s hard. And when I speak for myself, I’m assuming I’m speaking for a lot of other people as well. It’s hard to look for that trust in God and for that constant remembrance of His plan when you feel as if you’re the one that has been forgotten about.

After Pastor Kate’s wedding on Saturday, I really realized that waiting for God and turning to God is the best thing I can do. I would rather wait for a while longer to find the one that shares my passion for faith and for God than to date somebody now who doesn’t feel the same. I know He has a plan for me and has plans for me to meet the best guy I could ever dream of. And the most important thing I can do is wait patiently with my eyes and ears open to all new experiences, situations and people. Maybe then I will finally find exactly who I’m looking for, and a whole lot more love to give. For right now, my faith will guide me and I’ll continue to keep on loving all those I can.

Megan

+1 John 4:7-12

In the spirit of taking on and not giving up

We often speak of Lenten practices or traditions such as Shrove Tuesday, the imposition of ashes, or the popular question “what are you giving up for lent”? As a kid growing up, I was the Lutheran in a neighborhood where my friends down the street all went to Catholic school and without fail every Lent constantly talked about what they were giving up. It always struck me as odd and it still does. Not that it’s a bad practice, it’s just that I’ve never really understood it.  I think it must be for the same reason I don’t particularly care for Valentine’s day. The thought being, you shouldn’t need a day to tell someone you love them, it should be a daily affirmation. Similarly, these forty days of Lent are an important and powerful time in the liturgical year but we shouldn’t limit ourselves to forty days but instead embrace all 365. Instead of giving up something,  I have found myself thinking “What might I take on for lent”?

I wasn’t really sure what that “taking on” might look like until last night. I had the privilege to join a delegation from Grace, meeting at a church near the state capitol as a part of the larger group ISAIAH, which brings together  people of faith to promote equity and justice during the legislative session. There were many inspiring words from faith leaders of many traditions, including our own Pastor Dan. A fitting way to start Lent it seemed, for then it hit me. Amidst the stories of struggle and calls to action, I was reminded of the story of my freshman year roommate Vang. I would like share with you a bit of his story here.

Vang  grew up in the son of Hmong refugees in the projects on the East side of St. Paul. Not the projects of New York or Harlem or Chicago but right here in  St. Paul, Minnesota. Vang and I were roommates my first year of college and became good friends. I have never met anyone as deeply passionate about the power of education both in his own life but more importantly how that gift can work for good in the lives of others. Vang dedicated his studies to math and education and I watched him put in long hours to help others realize their own potential and work towards success. Through our many conversations, Vang told me that his passion for the power of education came from his childhood. He told me stories of how his parents came to this country, refugees from the secret war, in order that their children might have a better life.

Of how his older brother was involved in a gang and one day some members of another gang pulled up in a car in front of Vang’s house looking for his brother. They asked Vang if he had seen his brother that day and knew where he was. Vang said no. They replied that they would kill him if they saw him or his brother again, flashed a gun and took off. Vang then told me that he loved his older brother but feared that his younger siblings might end up in that lifestyle as well and that is why he worked tirelessly to instill the value of education in them and many others in his community.

Vang is now a successful student teacher in the area, having already given so much to the community he loves and has set himself up to be able to give back even more in the years to come. While his story is one of struggle and perseverance that serves as a shining model, it is also a strong reminder. A reminder that no child should have to grow up among gangs or bullets or threats, living in the projects, having to worry about their safety while trying to get an education. No parent should have to lie awake at night, worrying if their child will make it home from their pickup basketball game with friends down the street.

And so it is Vang and his struggle, and his story that I seek to take on for Lent.

I challenge you in this time of reflection to think about what or whom you might reflect on, or take on if you will, for lent and hopefully turn it into a daily practice.  Naturally, the liturgical calendar does not line up nicely with the school calendar and it is a busy time for all of us, but in the spirit of Luther, it’s not about our actions but our faith. Faith that amidst brokenness, stories can be told and love can be found and grown. Love which lays the foundation these forty days, of the house which in the face of sorrow and strife proclaims from floor to rafter

All are welcome

All are welcome

All are welcome in this place

May the peace that passes all understanding be with you and guide you this Lenten season and always.

-Mark

Success Is A Very Hideous Thing

“…Success is a very hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men. For the masses, success has almost the same profile as supremacy.”

Winter Break gives us a chance to spend time with family and friends, it gives us free time and the space to reflect on our lives without the constant pressure that classes put on us, which can greatly alter our perspectives.  I myself have had a fair amount of free time over these past few weeks and one of the things that I have done was start to re-read my favorite novel, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. And while I was reading it a line struck me that never had in my multiple readings of it in the past, “success is a very hideous thing.”

It struck me because now that I am no longer surrounded by the immediate pressure of success, in the form of grades on tests, and finding a job I am able to see what an ugly thing it is. It reminds me that our lives are not, and should not, be measured in quantitative terms (which is difficult for an engineering student to admit) through test scores or salaries, but instead through our passions, and our relationships with people. This is not at all different from the message that Jesus tells in the Bible, treat others as you would like to be treated, don’t focus on numbers but instead on being your genuine self; because success is a very hideous thing.

-Laura Kulm

*Victor Hugo’s explanation of success goes on for a couple paragraphs and is in Book 1, Chapter 12 (the ebook can be easily found online).