Checking Out...

It's been more than a week since I've posted and I'm pretty much forcing myself to write today.

I've been feeling a little disconnected lately. Maybe my priorities are a little bit out of whack. It seems like there is a lot attention being paid to things that I have absolutely no interest in. I didn't listen to the POTUS State of the Union Address. I didn't listen to any of the rebuttals and I didn't read anything about either one of them. It's not that I don't care about the state of the union, I just don't think that there is anything to be learned from the people that are spinning reality into their own ideal images.

I haven't watched any of the recent award shows. I don't watch movies and don't care which is the best or has the best actors, directors, producers, etc. I don't listen to a lot of current music, nor do I watch much television.

The Super Bowl will be played without me watching since I'm not really a fan of football and can't get too excited about watching the multi-million dollar commercials advertising products that I don't use or would use without them spending millions of dollars for 30 seconds of air time.

I'm beginning to realize that I have very little contact with people. Unfortunately, I'm okay with that.
As an evangelist, I've been thinking about how few people I really connect with on a daily basis. Outside of church today, I spoke with (not really talked to, just spoke with) our server at the restaurant and the cashier at the same restaurant.

That's it! One person other than Chris and the folks at church.
Tomorrow it will be Chris and a couple of people at work.
Truthfully, I probably connect with more people through sharing here at Out of My Hat than I do in any other forum. And this is pretty one-sided and there are only a precious few that read my rantings.

I'm not really sure how to go about connecting with more people in a relational way. Most people would never put me in an introvert box, but I fit quite nicely into that profile. As comfortable as I am in a large group, I generally prefer to be alone. I am not shy when it comes to speaking to people (even strangers) and rarely feel awkward initiating a conversation, but I would rather be alone with my thoughts or with a book (somebody else's thoughts).

The evangelism conference of last week, along with some other situations, has me trying to be more aware of the terrible problems that people are facing and feeling alone as they face them. A couple of weeks ago, I started with the intention of letting people know how much they mean and have meant to me. I've managed to send a few notes out to people. I think that maybe I need to expand my notes of encouragement to include people that just need a kind word or uplifting thought. As much as I want to thank those that have encouraged me, it seems fitting that I would try to be an encouragement to others.

Every once in a while, we need that reality check. I'm just not too sure about what reality is like anymore. I don't think that the reality that the news media promotes is real. I don't think that our politicians (of either party) have a clue about the realities that their constituents live in. I don't believe in the reality of beautiful, sexy, thin people that advertising agencies promote. I don't believe in the reality where success is measured by the biggest office, the largest home or the most sporty car. I don't believe in a reality that always places self at the pinnacle and is only concerned with achieving personal goals.

Before any of us can experience a reality check, we first have to know what is real!

Maybe I just need to check out from the realities of the world. Maybe it's time to assess reality (at least my reality) according to the reality of the Bible. I know that I often fail to live up to the standards set by Jesus. But in spite of what others may say about the Bible being a myth of its own, it is the only reality that makes sense to me. I don't think that living in a biblical reality is going to make me into a nut case or turn me into a religious zealot of some kind. I do believe that it will make me a better man to be around.

It may be that I'll have to place a little less importance on the things that I really like (Jesus before Cardinal baseball? Say it isn't so!) and a little more importance on seeing people through His eyes. If there are people that cross my path each day that are struggling with life, don't I owe it to them (and to God) to offer them the hope that is found a relationship with God through Jesus?

I think I'm going to have to check out of all of the realities that the world is presenting to me and go with the reality that says this world is not my home. I'm going to continue this journey as a traveler. I'm going to share stories of my home and my Father with the people I encounter. I'm going to invite others to travel with me as I head towards my home.

What is life like in your reality?
Do you want to experience my reality? His reality?

John <><