I'm Waking Up to See the Sun

Greetings, blogosphere, or particularly, those who have discovered this little outlet of mine. Many, or few, of you may be asking, "What have you been up to recently, Jeremy?" Well, let me answer your curious inquiries.

President's Day weekend, I was in DC visiting Heather, which was awesome. We had lots of fun running around DC on a scavenger-birthday hunt, put together by some really fun friends of hers. And then of course, we saw the memorials, and some of the museums, and the National Archives, which was my first time seeing those documents in person, and that was incredible. Honestly, if you even love the idea of freedom, you should visit. There is something majestically tangible in the room.

I had the opportunity to meet her friends, like I said, and they were really cool. And it made me miss that special kind of community, the heterogeneous, diverse myriad of people, since I am in the smooth relief of Wheaton. And so, when I came back, it was shock to my system in its own way. It's funny. Leave a place for a few days, I recommend at least three, go away the farther the better, and live in the difference for a while. It taught me to appreciate both, and reminded me of great diversity of life, and how amazing it is. Everyone has their story, or to use some imagery, everyone is a stream, coming from their own mountains, having their own trail down to this river of life. Alright, that was cheesy. I apologize, but you get the point, right?

And I am back at Wheaton, and life is already sweeping downstream. Already, I have written two papers, attended a lecture by Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics and The Great Awakening. And at this lecture, which rock faces, as Nick would say, Wallis said something interesting that really struck me. He said, "Don't go Left. Don't go Right. Go deeper. We don't need a soulless Centralist...We can find common ground, by going to higher ground."

He emphasized the unity of faith, and not just 'Christian' faith, but Jewish, Islamic, and those who share the goal of the common good. Working together, he posited, we could change the world for good, not just caring but unborn children, but poor children, vulnerable people, who need justice, and not just gay-marriage, but the restoration of the family unit, and the environment and the larger agenda. It was a critique of the 'Religious Right', and how their binary agenda has polarized, instead of united, people of faith. But he offered hope, as the dialogue has expanded beyond those single voices to include the 'Religious Left', and the independents, and how in this conversation true change and true social justice and true revival can happen.


And here I am. It's Thursday morning at 10:30, and I am going to English soon. I am listening to the Postal Service (nothing better), and pondering the issue of intimacy, both in life and in worship, but that's for another time. For now, I leave with this:

Snails see the benefits.
The beauty in every inch.