Blog Masonry

Experiencing God in unexpected places!

LCM Blog 9/4/12

The cool crisp air ran through my tossled hair as I slowly made my way along the west river road. Saturday morning was one of the most beautiful mornings I have experienced in some time and I was able to take time to get out for  a nice long ride through the gorgeous city I now call my home. Although fall has always been my favorite season, there is something about the last few days of summer, the feeling of freedom, and the ready to turn trees that gives me a little extra energy. After a long week of leadership training, meetings, and moving in I needed to take some time for myself and explore the wonderful trails I am so privileged to have around me. It seems like I always have a lot on my plate and my mind continuous juggles far too many thoughts but on this ride I had an overwhelming sense of peace rush over me. I was about half way through my ride and decided to stop along the river and take in the beauty that surrounds me everyday. As I stood along the path taking in the glorious creations of god I also began to notice the others around me. The groups of mothers jogging with their strollers, the intense biker who was on a mission, or the family strolling through the park with there children. This was a major god siting for me. I felt as though it was the place I needed to be in that exact moment. To be there noticing all of the wonderful lives others have and how grateful I am to be able to be healthy enough to be on a bike, and close enough to be out enjoying such beautiful landscapes. I was reminded that morning of the importance of gratitude and being thankful for the ability to be able to perform everyday tasks, and that god is always there opening your eyes a little bigger, or speaking a little more clearly in the most unexpected of moments.

Amanda

Beginnings

1 Corinthians 12:14-20

‘Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body.’

This is a common passage that is frequently read. Despite how often we encounter this text, it is important to remember that we too are necessary as a part of community. At Lutheran Campus Ministry, we have a community like no other on the University of Minnesota campus. It is no surprise that the U of M campus is huge and often times feels overwhelming. Feeling as though you belong at the U can be a great fear. I had this same anxiety when starting college, but after becoming a part of the LCM community I truly feel like I belong here. At LCM I feel free to be who I am, no exceptions. I can bring any questions or problems that I am experiencing and have support to work through whatever is going on.

Know that whoever you are, whatever is going on in your life, there is always a place where you will be welcomed. We hope to see you soon! Come join us for Tuesday Soup (free!) every Tuesday, starting Sept. 4^th, from 11:30am-1pm.

Laura McDowell

Curiosity as a value of faith

During leadership training we are revisiting our values as a ministry: hospitality, service, justice, integrity, and curiosity.

Curiosity: the desire to learn.

It is a value integral to deep faith, yet often overlooked in religion. Jesus is referred to as “teacher,” which means that we are his students. Our role is to question, to explore, to be curious.

Professors can lecture for an entire two hours, but nothing will take root without the students’ investment.

In the same way, we can live our lives at face value, simply accepting things as they seem, never questioning the why or the how. But without curiosity, without the hunger to learn, we can never know the world, each other, ourselves, or God as deeply.

As an exercise during training, we walked around campus and brought back an item or photograph of something that represents curiosity. A few of us returned with items from trees.

Trees, as they stand, are majestic. Without much curiosity, one can appreciate a tree as beautiful, tall, green. With curiosity, however, one can delve beneath the bark and into the leaves, wondering why this life exists and how this life is sustained. With curiosity, we reach a much deeper level of understanding and awe, astounded by the complexities and details of a life longer than our own.

And the deeper we go, the more curious we become – it is a never-ending journey.

In this way, by questioning and exploring our religions, our faiths, we delve ever deeper into the complexities and intricacies of God, never fully knowing and always hungering for more.

How I Have Seen God…

I didn’t join LCM until my sophomore year here at the U of M. My freshman year, I didn’t see God, mainly because I wasn’t looking.

Fast forward to my senior year…

In one of the first weeks of this school year, I paused for a moment during on our events, and I thought to myself, “since when did so many cool people start coming to LCM?” I don’t mean to offend anybody who came to LCM prior to this acknowledgement. It’s my fault. The cool people were always here, and I wasn’t. Up until this past fall, I never realized their greatness. I wasn’t present enough to do so. I was too caught up in my own world, trying to be my own savior.

Well that didn’t work.

You can’t find God if you’re not looking. Up until this year, I wasn’t looking hard enough. And then I opened my eyes. I noticed those who were present with me, and there God was too.

I was having a chat recently with another LCMer, which sparked this thought process. She told me about how important has been in her life this year. She thanked me for being a role model. I found this funny, because I didn’t join LCM to be a role model. I came for the same reasons she did:

To find friends.

To find community.

To find faith.

To find some reason to be hopeful.

To find a place to struggle, where struggling is socially acceptable, and where others are struggling right a long side of you.

That’s where God meets us, after all, in the struggling. So it makes sense that this is where I saw God. We all have brought our whole selves to this place, meaning we brought our struggles, our insecurities, our worries, our doubts, our imperfections, and we’re still okay. We have each other, and we have God. This community has meant more to me than any community I have ever been a part of. Because the people are real. The people care. The people love. And in those people, I have seen God, because I finally had the sense to look.

I love you all so much, and I will miss you all immensely!

Best of luck in all that you do!

-Ellen

God, present in others

Twice in this past year, around the end of each semester, my mom has had surgery.  Neither has been particularly serious, but each has presented its own challenges in recovery.

I’ve become quite familiar with feeling helpless as I’ve waited alone in the waiting room, and as I watch her trying to overcome the weakness that follows any surgery.  Being an only child, I have felt particularly responsible for being there for her, but often there’s nothing I can do but to be there along the journey with her.

In the past months, I’ve often felt overwhelmed, trying to balance life at school and life at home, but there have been so many people who have been there to help us through these tough times and for that I am incredibly thankful.  For a while, we had more food than we knew what to do with, because it seemed like a neighbor or friend would come over at least once a day with a meal.  When I had to go somewhere, someone would always offer to come over and keep my mom company, and people just keep checking up on us.

It’s been a good lesson to me, a stubborn, independent person, that I don’t have to go about life alone, especially the tough parts.  God shows up all the time in the people I know, in little ways that they might not even notice are that important: offering to sit with me in the waiting room, listening as I recount my rough days, and by praying for us.  But these little things make a world of a difference.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for all of the people you have placed in my life.  The way you show up through them continues to surprise and amaze me.  Help me to remember that I don’t have to face life alone, that you are always on my side, and you’re always sending help.
Amen

Sara Sneed

Parables

This weekend, I saw God in one of the last places I would have expected.  It wasn’t at the shopping mall, or in STSS.  I saw God while I was at work!  Crazy, right?

Maybe I should begin by explaining where I work.  I am an usher at Ted Mann Concert Hall, and I work at a lot of performances though the school of music as well as private renters.  This weekend, the U of M music theater put on a performance of the Opera “Parables”.  Parables is geared toward addressing the issues of racial and religious intolerance, and working to shed light on how we can be more tolerant of those around us.  The three main religions that were targeted in this opera were Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

One of the key ideas that was brought forward through this musical masterpiece was that religious tolerance can only be achieved when we take the “triumph” out of faith.  I was trying to decide what this meant exactly, because it was the first time I had heard it.  Herschel Garfein explained in a Q&A session after the performance that people often believe that their religion is right and everyone else is wrong.  In this regard, everyone believes that the whole world will be proven that their God is the “right” God and that everyone will convert to their faith.  Through this belief, it is hard to see another religion as equal, thus exemplifying intolerance.

There was also a powerful moment in the opera when the choirs representing each religion all said the name of “God” in their language, in unison.  This, along with many other pieces of symbolism went to show that we all believe in the same God, but told through a different story (or in this case, song).

I was fortunate enough to work during 3 performances of this production, and each time I saw it I took something new from it.  It is clear to me that religious intolerance exists everywhere, but it takes everyone to put an end to it.  God was most definitely present through the mouths of all of the performers, just as God was present in all the audience members who the message was passed on to.  I hope that the message this opera conveys continues to resonate on this campus long after the melodies can no longer be heard.

Joe Carlson

Relationships and new beginnings

Throughout this season of Lent, I have taken on the practice of relationship building whether it be with existing friends or getting to know new friends in an intentional way. Although outwardly, I may not portray my feelings of insecurity around these conversations, it truly does cause me much anxiety internally. These types of encounters, especially with people I don’t know very well, make me overanalyze my actions and words to a point where they don’t flow with conversation creating awkward pauses (which I dread!!!). After intentionally practicing this for the last forty-some-odd days, I have come to the conclusion that after the initial conversation the flow of subsequent talks is much smoother and even more enjoyable. This has led to the beginning of some great new friendships already and growth in a lot of previous ones.

I can honestly say that since starting this practice I have become more confident in my conversational abilities and no longer dread them as much. What used to be my biggest fear has turned into something that I know will be a benefit in the long run. So I encourage you to embrace whatever is most challenging for you and go out and practice whatever that may be. You never know what great things can come from trying to overcome your fears and anxieties.

Also, go out and enjoy the beautiful weather!!!!  Christ has risen indeed!

Laura

Falling out of tree pose

I never thought I’d be a person that would be into yoga. For starters, I’m terribly inflexible (the sit and reach in gym class was the bane of my existence) and on top of that, my brain doesn’t have a mute button. Great combination for yoga, right? Prior to finding my current studio, I’d go to classes, expect to feel enlightened, and then spend the class feeling frustrated with myself for my lack of yoga skill…and for getting frustrated with myself in a yoga class.

After almost a year of 60-minute classes in a 105* room, I finally get why so many people adore yoga. In the past month though, my practice morphed from something physical into a practice that is physical, mental, and emotional. All of this is because of one pose—tree pose—done in a dark room with my eyes closed.

Tree pose is a standing posture in which you balance on one leg, put the sole of your other foot on your lower calf or inner thigh, and then hold your hands with palms touching either at heart center or raised above your head. With your eyes open, tree pose is a posture that involves some balance but is pretty easy to do. When you close your eyes, however, everything changes. No matter how steady you think you are, you will begin to lose your balance and fall out of the posture within a few seconds. That, my friends, is really frustrating. It also is the reason why the teacher does it.

Off the mat, frustration happens all the time in our lives. We go in to situations with expectations for ourselves or others and then when those expectations aren’t met, we feel one of two things: surprise (when the outcome is better than our expectations) or more commonly, disappointment.

We can’t stop frustration from happening, but we can change our reaction to it. Much like falling out of tree pose with your eyes closed in a yoga class, we can choose to fall more gently in our everyday lives. We can choose to accept the fact that we fell as just that—a fact—instead of as a judgment against ourselves or against others. We can also choose to try again, knowing that we will fall again, but that next time, we will balance a little bit longer and fall a little more gently.

By bringing a peaceful response to our frustration, we free up space to be more loving of ourselves and those around us. As we enter Holy Week, remember Jesus’ ultimate peaceful response to frustration—giving his life for our sins—and look for ways that you can respond more peacefully in your own life.

Thoughts, comments, and discussion are always welcome.

-Lisa

Surrounded by God

I recently went to the doctor because I was having trouble breathing, they prescribed me an inhaler and in teaching me how to use it emphasized the importance to exhaling before using it so that my lungs were empty and then taking a long and deep breath so that the medication could completely fill and penetrate to all parts of my lungs, in order to “heal them” or help me to breathe easier. Later when I was trying to think of where I see God and how I experience God I realized that God is a lot like an inhaler.

He fills us, and in different ways for different people. Personally when I listen to music I feel filled and surrounded by something greater than myself, which is able to take me away from any mental place I may feel stuck in. And I think it is fair to say that that something that I feel filled by is God. I also feel filled by God when I am having a conversation with a friend or participating in community. It seems that God knows us, and knows what mediums in which to come to us and fill us, whether it be through music, through another person, when doing yoga, or when standing at the summit of a mountain.

So in conclusion, God is a lot like an inhaler. Many times in order to fully feel his presence and healing power we need to empty ourselves of our burdens and stresses (which I realize is much harder than exhaling). But then he is able to fill us through the things around us, such as through music or conversation. But no matter what, whether we inhale or exhale, look for him or don’t, God finds a way to seep through.

Tuesdays Together

I had the absolute privilege to volunteer along side some fellow LCM leaders on Valentine’s Day this year. We are on the “Tuesdays Together” service team that volunteers at a community event that takes place the 2nd Tuesday of every month at the Center for Changing Lives. It is a program all about creating community and building relationships with families in the Phillips Neighborhood. The second Tuesday of February this year happened to be Valentine’s Day, so we had a lot of fun coming up with crafts and activities to do with the kids! We found that you can have some great conversations while decorating and coloring!

(be sure to click on the title of this post “Tuesdays Together” to see some photos!)

[slideshow]

-Valerie