Second Thoughts – A Heart Less Ordinary

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you Dear Reader.

Let me start out by saying that this is not about romance or infatuation.  It is not about the flirtations and innuendoes that permeate diner conversations all over the world.  It is about a woman who waits tables in a diner.  This is as an upscale bistro trying to masquerade as an every-diner.   The food is excellent and always in demand. 

Her name is Zoe.  I will not identify here further so as to avoid any undo tension in her life.   Her obsidian hair and fauzia eyes combine to create a visage that one would get lost in were they not careful.  I fear that too few look past the amazing beauty to the more amazing person who is content to be a server and give her very best to it.

Her smile always reaches her eyes.  Her greeting is always genuine.  I always want to be a good man in her presence.  It is not because she is a woman.  It is because she genuinely leaves me better after every encounter.  I want her to experience the same.  I want to reciprocate.

That is what it is.  This journey back to God is about doing my best to leave everyone better than I find them.  I want this person to feel her value and gifts as the rare and precious things they are.  I long for her to feel free of doubts about who she is and difference she makes.

I want everyone I encounter to have a moment of feeling whole when I am with them.  This is not a power I possess but a power that can pass through me when I get out of its way.  I long for people to see me and feel that their day is about to get better.  It costs me so little to be this kind of person.  I think that Christ and the Gospel can be seen more clearly when I am.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Every Diner – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have probably left some very obvious metaphors out of the discussion.  I want to be clear that I still see value in the Church and even in the local church.  I also see that there needs to be vast change in the way we approach the social aspects of the Gospel.

People rarely continue to eat at a diner with bad food.  Some do because there is some other need that gets met there.  People tend to go where they get their needs met.  People tend to stay where they feel welcome.

I have recently seen local churches act very badly regarding the needs of others.  Perhaps they have forgotten just how closely they area watched by those outside the faith and those just outside the doors.  Even if you see the church as merely a business that just uses God I think you might agree they do not always act in a way that attracts customers.

We the Church need to see this reality and demand that the local church become an every diner to those in need.  The social gospel must never overtake the Gospel but it must remain a central part of it.  Things must change or the right to be heard will be lost along with our effectiveness. 

More importantly that change must begin with me.  I must assure that I am living all the things that are required of me as a Christ follower.  I cannot ignore the needs of others when I have the ability to help.  I cannot refuse to be good to others as a way of life.  I cannot travel the journey with a blind eye toward the needs of my fellow travelers. 

This is a discipline that gets easier as it is practiced.  The examples from Christ are sufficient to figure out what to do to obey.  The opportunities are endless.  I just need to remain aware and prepared.  He is in those moments where we do what is right no matter what the cost to us.  After all, if Jesus said we would find him among “the least of these.”  If we want to find Jesus should we not look for him where he says he is?

Distressing Disguise – Michael Card

He is in the pain, He is in the need

He is in the poor, we are told to feed

Though He was rich, for us He became poor

How could He give so much, what was it for?

In His distressing disguise

He waits for us to surmise

That we rob our brothers by all that we own

And that's not the way He has shown

Every time a faithful servant serves

A brother that's in need

What happens at that moment is a miracle indeed

As they look to one another in an instant it is clear

Only Jesus is visible for they've both disappeared

He is in the hand that reaches out to give

He is in the touch that causes men to live

So speak with your life now as well as your tongue

Shelter the homeless, take care of the young

In His distressing disguise

He hopes that we'll realize

That when we take care of the poorest of them

We've really done it to Him

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Every Diner – Tipping

Greetings Dear Reader,

I find that when I see someone else tipping badly it irritates me.  I am keenly aware of how hard people in the service industry work.  At my favorite diner the servers work long days on their feet all day. 

This past week I saw a man leave a twenty-five cent tip for an eight dollar meal.  I do not know the man and do not wish to judge him.  It seems that if one can afford the meal one can afford the tip.  If not, perhaps one should order something less expensive because tipping is implied and right.

I know the level of service at this diner and the quality of the food.  The latter by the way should never impact how one treats the server including the tip.  It is vital that one keep this distinction.  The person carrying your bacon and eggs from the pass to your table is worthy of kindness and respect.

This translates to the larger world for Christ followers.  We must be generous.  I am not going to equate this to giving to the church.  That is something that each individual must ponder on his or her own.  What I do want to focus on is that Christ followers are to be known for their generosity.

I also feel that someone needs to make up the difference for those who tip too little.  When I tip honestly and generously I can make a difference.  I can improve the day and perhaps over time the life of a server just by being a little more thoughtful.  The essence of the Gospel is seeing that everyone matters to God. 

If I do not purposefully see that server in this light I am in danger of not seeing her at all.  I am in danger ignoring that she keeps my coffee cup full.  I am in danger of taking for granted that she knows what I want for breakfast most mornings without me saying a word.  I run the risk of her feeling that a regular customer does not care about her or her life.

I am not allowed to move through life without noticing, caring for, and acting on that care for others.  Every server in every diner is worthy of kindness and respect.  Leaving behind a few dollars to show the respect can be a sublime act of worship.   

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Every Diner – Losses and Gains

Greetings Dear Reader,

In every diner there are good days and bad days.  Sometimes the cook is on his game sometimes he is not.  There are good meals and bad ones at even my favorite diner.  Very little of what happens is under my control or authority.  It is how I respond to the good and the bad that matters.  How do I treat my server?  How do I interact with the owner or manager when he asks if everything is satisfactory?

Photo by Echo Michelle 02/2015

Whilst I write this it is -10 degrees outside my Wisconsin window with a wind chill of -35.  In my home state of Georgia ice has sheathed the world in crystalline beauty that is both amazing and dangerous.  We endure the weather.  We do not control it.

My friend Will has reached the clearing at the end of the path.  I am not sad for him but I am for his family and friends.  He is a good man who from our limited perspective is gone too soon.  He no longer needs his strong and vibrant faith.  I wish I could pass it on to those who so desperately do need it.

There will be gains and losses.  The journey will have good moments and bad ones.  The days will be long and short.  It is up to us to find the beauty in all of it.  It is up to me to look for Christ in the moment.  It is my responsibility to follow no matter where the path leads.  It is not a blind following but a following of faith. 

In that following I must treat others well no matter the pain or disappointment of the moment.  My pain does not give me leave to be unkind to others.  My frustration does not allow me to treat others with impatience or harshness.  If I do this I will be able to find the beauty in all of it.  It is how we actualize the community that is the diner, the church, and all of life.

The Basin and The Towel – Michael Card

Photo by Echo Michelle 02/2015

In an upstairs room, a parable

Is just about to come alive.

And while they bicker about who's best,

With a painful glance, He'll silently rise.

Their Savior Servant must show them how

Through the will of the water

And the tenderness of the towel.

And the call is to community,

The impoverished power that sets the soul free.

In humility, to take the vow,

That day after day we must take up the basin and the towel.

In any ordinary place,

On any ordinary day,

The parable can live again

When one will kneel and one will yield.

Our Saviour Servant must show us how

Through the will of the water

And the tenderness of the towel.

And the space between ourselves sometimes

Is more than the distance between the stars.

By the fragile bridge of the Servant's bow

We take up the basin and the towel.

And the call is to community,

The impoverished power that sets the soul free.

In humility, to take the vow,

That day after day we must take up the basin and the towel.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

To Be or Not to Be – Compassionate

Greetings Dear Reader,

I think about this so much.  There is potential here that too often goes unrealized.  By unrealized I do mean that we miss the opportunity to make compassion real.  When confronted with a moment where we can act we instead do not. 

Recently I went to one of the local eateries I frequent.  I was not doing the best and simply wanted a hot meal with no prep and no dishes.  I wanted to get lost in a crowd and do a little private writing to work out some inner turmoil.

I had a couple of hours to use for this.  I ordered my meal and opened my tablet to give the impression that I was lost in what was on the screen.  Things were slow at the diner so my food came quickly enough.  With it came the waitress wanting to talk.

For the first time in years of frequenting this wonderful place the waitress sat down at my table.  She wanted to talk about her ailing mum.  She dove right in completely ignoring my attempts to be aloof and feign distraction. 

Her need and my heart seemed determined to set aside my needs and worries.  I listened whilst my grilled cheese and soup grew cold.  She talked and cried.  Twenty minutes later she excused herself to fix her eye liner and tend to other duties.  When she returned with fresh Diet Coke for me she was smiling and her usual chipper self.

She leaned over and whispered, “I was hoping you would come in today.  Thank you for listening. I knew you would listen and understand.”

She and I have never had a serious conversation before this one.   We are not friends in the true sense of the word.  In that moment, however, God pushed aside my own desire and intervened in someone else’s life. 

He used my past pattern of kindness and compassion to make a difference.  I did not really do anything but sit and listen.  Instead of my solitude I had unwanted company and compassion took over.  It is compassion that can make the difference in people’s lives.  It always costs us something to risk compassion but it is vital to representing who Christ is.  “…and for some, have compassion, making the difference.”

Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them – Steve Camp

Oh, the suffering souls

Crying out for love

In a world that seldom cares

See the hungry hearts

Longing to be filled

With much more than our prayers

And a young girl sells herself on Seventh Avenue

And you hear her crying out for help

My God! What will we do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

Till you're ready to love them too!

Till your heart breaks from their sorrow

And the pain they're going through

With a life full of compassion

May we do what we must do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

Till you're ready to love them too!

All the desperate men

Are we reaching for the souls,

That are sinking down sin?

Oh, cry for the church

We've lost our passion for the lost

And there are billions left to win

And another 40,000 children starved to death today

Would we risk all we have

To see one of them saved!?!

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

Till you're ready to love them too!

Till your heart breaks from their sorrow

And the pain they're going through

With a life full of compassion

May we do what we must do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

Till you're ready to love them too!

Why have we waited so long

To show them Jesus lives

To share salvation's song!

Why have our hearts become so proud

That we fail to see

To love them is to love God!

And a young girl sells herself on Seventh Avenue

Hear her crying out for help

What will we do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

Till you're ready to love them too!

Till your heart breaks from their sorrow

And the pain they're going through

With a life full of compassion

May we do what we must do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

Till you're ready to love them too!

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)