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You are here: Home / Archives for crossings

Commitment Lens

February 14, 2019 By admin

Today is the day. I stared at my reflection in the smudged glass, running my hand down the side of my purple, sequin dress. What would my family or his family think? How would I tell my friends?I pursed my lips together to even out the velvety lipstick – it all felt so surreal. 

“You ready to go?” His voice echoed throughout the house.

“I’m ready.” Grabbing my clutch, I made my way down the soft carpeted stairs. He smiled up at me as I descended. 

“You nervous?”

I gave a smirk before slipping on my coat. “Surprisingly, no.”

It was a particularly chilly October day as we made our way to the Lincoln State Capitol. The four of us hastened up the Capitol steps as each stiff breeze stung our already rosy cheeks. It all happened so fast – the ceremony, the pictures, and the once-in-a-lifetime commitment we made to each other. Being the spontaneous person that I am, I suggested months prior that we should elope in secret, and he agreed. Looking back, I can’t help but smile at the excitement and adventure we experienced in that moment. We had officially eloped without telling anyone but our two witnesses (my brother and my close college friend). After a year of long distance, I finally married my best friend of six years. And despite the frigid October weather, it was an exciting day that I’ll always remember. 

After sharing our news, both of our families were understandably shocked, yet excited to hear of our elopement. We promised we’d still throw a big traditional wedding on our first anniversary so that everyone could celebrate. However, when news snuck out that my husband and I had eloped, friends were surprisingly not so pleased. We received a lot of raw opinions and sheer disapproval. What was supposed to be the happiest decision of my life became a sore subject among some of my closest friends. I felt disappointed that a personal decision that I made became the topic of gossip among many. It was even more hurtful to hear such disapproval being spread around without anyone directly coming to me.

These past few months of marriage, I have received multiple comments about my decision to elope. Friends have expressed their annoyance and hurt feelings over not being invited to a traditional wedding. I’ve received comments like: “You’re not ready, why rush?” and “Your decision is disappointing. You should have had a traditional wedding.” Although these comments remain frustrating, I realize that it’s not necessarily about the big traditional day; the most important outcome is that my husband and I made a commitment to each other.

Receiving the aftermath of my elopement reminds me of a deeper, more spiritual scenario. As Christians, we often show our disapproval of others in their spiritual journey. Some of us want people to accept Christ in a way that we see is correct. It’s easy to judge too quickly or speak too harshly, and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve found myself casting judgment. In the end, someone else’s relationship with Christ is their own; it’s not up to us what that relationship should look like.

Our Savior values each of us. He meets us where we are, despite how we got there. I realize that it’s not always about finding Christ in a traditional way; it’s that we are committed to following Him. Archibald MacLeish sums it up perfectly:

“Religion is at its best when it makes us ask hard questions of ourselves. It is at its worst when it deludes us into thinking we have all the answers for everybody else.” 

Maddie Temple-Lowe writes from Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: answers for me, big-traditional, christ, commitment, crossings, disapproval, lincoln, lincoln-state, news and feeds

The Mask

February 13, 2019 By admin

Her delivery of the poem slammed my thoughts into an emotive wall. My daughter was preparing to participate in a Poetry Out Loud ™ event at her high school, and as she read The Mask, by Paul Laurance Dunbar, it resonated with me as powerfully as it had during my senior year.

    We wear the mask that grins and lies, 
    It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— 
    This debt we pay to human guile; 
    With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, 
    And mouth with myriad subtleties.

    Why should the world be over-wise, 
    In counting all our tears and sighs? 
    Nay, let them only see us, while 
            We wear the mask.

    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries 
    To thee from tortured souls arise. 
    We sing, but oh the clay is vile 
    Beneath our feet, and long the mile; 
    But let the world dream otherwise, 
            We wear the mask!  

–Paul Laurance Dunbar (1872 – !906)

More than 100 years have passed since the ink flowed to write this amazing poem, and yet its meaning for humanity is as fresh and real for us as the day it was written.

Perhaps none wear “the mask” as well (or as poorly) as people who call themselves Christians, and yet have no relationship with the One they claim to love. They smile, they laugh, they say all the “correct” things, and yet inside they feel spiritually hollow. They live day to day, wondering how (and if) they will ever be able to truly be the person on the inside that matches the one that they attempt on the outside. It’s a lonely and desperate struggle.

I wore “the mask” for years, and admittedly (from time to time), I attempt to see if it still fits. I find myself trying it back on when life gets too busy, when I don’t spend quality time with my God, or I attempt to make my relationship with my Creator more complicated than it needs to be. Loving relationships take investment, and when my priorities get tangled, the mask comes back out of the closet, and I begin making excuses to myself as to why I should start wearing it again.

Living “mask free” is sometimes a frightening proposition, but wearing it spiritually suffocates and stifles me. The only real freedom that I have found, happens when I stay connected to the One who wants me to be who I was designed to become…and who I was designed to be, doesn’t require a mask at all.

Michael Temple writes from North Dakota.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: appearance, crossings, debt, facade, matches-the-one, michael-temple, since-the-ink, take-investment, world

A New State of Mind

February 4, 2019 By admin

As each new year approaches, four cliché words consistently resurface in my mind: “New Year, New Me.” I must admit, thinking about a new year with a clean slate is exciting! I have the opportunity to start new hobbies, take on extra responsibilities, and reinvent myself. A new year also presents each of us the time to recover from the challenges that were thrown at us. 

This past year was one of the most difficult years I’ve ever experienced. I became newly engaged while trying to complete the last of my requirements before obtaining my degree. Between a graduation portfolio, full-time classes, two jobs, and a long distance relationship, my schedule left me with little time to study. I was surviving on coffee, small paychecks, and short frantic prayers. Everything felt so close, yet too far to grasp. I remember lying in bed at night with the overwhelming pressure weighing me down as I desperately prayed for the motivation to wake up the next morning just to do it all over again.

December eventually arrived and my senior year finally came to a close. I graduated with a BA in English, and immediately the pressure and anxiety melted away! All the last minute assignments and torturous late nights were over. I was sure that once I left college, life would be easy. Who was I kidding? In just one month, I’d graduated from college, gotten married, moved to Indiana, and am now trying to secure a new job in my new location. “Easy” isn’t exactly the word I’d use anymore. Now that it’s a new year, I’m finding it less exciting and more challenging to start fresh. I’ve always thought of myself as fairly adaptable, but I’ll admit, I’ve been struggling to adapt to this new stage of life with its unfamiliar obstacles.

We all have new stages we’re experiencing. Maybe for some of you it’s not graduating college. Maybe you are newly married, have added a new member to your family, or are exploring a different career path. Whatever the stage, it can be worrisome to start in unfamiliar territory. We’re creatures of habit – comfortable with our daily lives and repetitive schedules. Although a new start to the year is exciting, it’s for sure without its challenges and concerns. Joshua 1:9 says this, “Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, am with you wherever you go.” This particular verse is encouraging because I’ve experienced a lot of change, but despite these frightening changes, Christ remains the same.

Life will never be easy and we’ll always be entering a different stage, but we’re not alone. In this new year, I challenge each of you to take your unfamiliar experiences and instead of feeling anxious, choose to learn from them. Remain open to new changes with a positive attitude and allow God to turn them into growth! 

Madeleine Temple writes Indiana.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: answers for me, been-struggling, challenges, christ, crossings, feeling-anxious, motivation, new thoughts, requirements, take-on-extra, unfamiliar

Melting Ice

January 16, 2019 By admin

Falling down on the ice isn’t as inconsequential as it once seemed when I was a kid. There’s something about frozen water on a pedestrian passageway that gets my attention. As an adult I’ve occasionally fallen hard on slippery surfaces, and not once have I enjoyed it. Between scraping my entire right shin from my ankle to my kneecap, and knocking the wind out of myself to a point where it felt like I might never get my breath back, I do my level best to avoid getting “horizontal” when going outside during the winter months.

When I was younger, I never thought twice about running across an icy area and allowing my winter boots to slide me the rest of the way to my destination, but now I look for methods of avoiding icy pathways. I’ve even been known to wade into the deep, snowy sidelines of a perfectly smooth sidewalk to escape the treacherously glassy patches of ice that sometimes hide themselves beneath the fine powdery dusting of snow that grazes the cement.

There are a number of methods for getting rid of the ice that has accumulated on the surfaces that people tread. One can chop and pick away at it with a sidewalk scraper but this can take some time depending on the thickness of the ice. Waiting for the warm weather of spring is certainly an option but one that I haven’t had the luxury of experiencing during my working years. I guess I could move my family to warmer climates, but I like it here.

I usually opt for the melting method, and although there are a number of products that can be purchased to complete this task, most often I find myself loading a large bag of plain rock salt into the shopping cart. This product doesn’t seem so chemical-laden to me, and besides, if there’s ever a time when I need to make homemade ice cream, that task is almost impossible without having some rock salt around.

If the sidewalk by our home is icy, I don’t chip, scrape and fuss. I grab the bag of rock salt. It takes only a few minutes to spread an even layer over the surface and then I go back inside. Fifteen to 20 minutes later, and I can see bare cement once again.  I still proceed with caution but I am thankful for the melting qualities of those briny little crystals.

“You are the salt of the earth…” ( Matthew 5:13).

I know, I know…this verse is speaking about the idea that salt flavors things, and in the broader context, those who claim to follow the Creator ought to bring a godly, savory zest to everything that they come in contact with.  I do believe, however, that the ability to also use that salty flavor of character to melt away some of the behavioral “icy-ness” we experience in our daily interactions with others helps to smooth out life’s surface.  Why take the chance of slipping and falling in our encounters with others…when we can use salt?

Michael Temple writes from North Dakota.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: answers for me, crossings, dangerous ice, earth, melting, melting ice, michael-temple, rock salt, shopping, smooth-out-life

Home Again

November 13, 2018 By admin

One particular November day, my son Michael and I had taken his old 1976 pick-up to the wooded lot in back of our home to take care of some fallen trees. Our little “forest” was about ¼ mile from our house at the end of a grassy trail.

After cutting up firewood with a chainsaw, and throwing it into the back of the old green and white Chevy, the weariness began to seep its way into my tired old body…with each block of wood. I was grateful to see the sun setting, and the phrase “bone-tired” crept across my mind as I trudged back towards home on foot.

The wind sent the brown and yellow leaves scurrying along the ground around my old sneakers.  With each rhythmic, crunchy footstep, I came closer and closer to the clearing where I could see the outline of our small farmhouse in the distance. As I drew nearer, I could make out the warm glow of the kitchen lights through the window…but it wasn’t until I was just outside the door that I smelled the supper that my wife had prepared for us.

After spending a few hours in the crisp autumn air, that scent of chili was as welcome to me as the warmth of a fireplace on a winter’s night. I had enjoyed working with my son in the woods, but it was good to be home! Upon removing my coat and washing my hands, I gratefully plopped down into a comfy chair with my bowl of home-cooked goodness, and a handful of tortilla chips.

Supper tasted especially good, and upon finishing my last spoonful, a thought crossed my mind: “I have SO MUCH to be thankful for!” Sometimes, it’s the small stuff that hits me just right…like this hot bowl of chili after a hard day’s work, or the smile of a family member who has been looking forward to seeing me walk through the door. I’m always grateful, but every once in a while God reminds me in very simple ways, the blessings He daily gives.

Reminds me of a verse in the Bible: “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:8, ESV).

Michael Temple writes from North Dakota.

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Filed Under: Dear God, News and Feeds Tagged With: always-grateful, appeared-first, blessings, cold, crossings, family-time, michael-temple, sent-the-brown, thought-crossed

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