Life after portal 25

Life after portal 25

The hunt for humility just gets harder. One would like to think being persistent for a day would be all that’s necessary. Not so. Banging on the door looking for help may just need more than one brief stop. It may require several stops. At least for me, humility needed a second round. Once again, I needed help. I couldn’t give help to myself.

Bill Coffin comments on the need for help. “I have always like the old fairy tales in which the one who has turned into a beast can only regain human form through someone else’s love. Here I think is the clue to love. Love is to make us more human, that demands that we care so much for each other that we have not to be nice but to be honest. We have to be honest, for most real faults are hidden and therefore demand an outside revealer.” (from Credo)

Portal 25 wasn’t working. Portal 25 is the default entry point for my laptop’s email and it was working fine. When I updated operating systems, it wasn’t fine. Then I asked for help and it was fine. Then, eight hours later, it wasn’t fine. So this time, instead of being totally annoyed, I had a much better attitude about investing time and energy into getting this computer operational. I was the widow banging on the door, asking for help. After being at the judge’s door a number of times, it wasn’t so bad. The door and I were gaining a little familiarity. The ritual of banging on the door and asking for help was not so bad the second and third time around. This is true even if the answer from the door was different at each knocking. “No, the answer to your problem is not portal 25, it’s portal 995 now, and select SSL.” “How come Cox didn’t tell me this?” “They’re in transition to a new system, too. They’re going to ‘spop.east.cox.net’” “You mean we’re all in transition?” “Yes, but not everybody knows it.” The answers were different yesterday, but I didn’t care, as long as they worked.

What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about God in my life? What if I was demanding and persistent and wouldn’t let go until God gave me a blessing, even if the answer was different than I expected, or was used to? (am I coachable?) What would it take to be demanding and persistent and would I be willing to go further?

Another clue to understanding the word “God” is to substitute the word “relationship” or “vulnerability” or “courage” or even “single mindedness”. For example, read the statement, “What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about God in my life?” with substitute words. What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about relationship in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about vulnerability in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about courage in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about single-mindedness in my life?

Substitution of words of your choosing is allowed. Play with it. What would change in life if we used “Thanksgiving” as the center, or “Christmas” or “grades” or “a weekend off,” or “intramural sports” or “a healthy lifestyle” or “shopping” or “Wii” or “winning a national championship” or “only what I can control”? Some folks would substitute “myself” as the designated center of life. Others might suggest “balance” or “knowing what I really believe.”

Lots to ponder. Let me know if something comes to mind. I’d love to hear from you.

Luke 18:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I think you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating this breast and saying, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”