Won’t You be My Neighbor ~ Are You Special?

Greetings Dear Reader,

Some years ago, one of the stories that surfaced about Fred Rogers was that part of his message was harmful.  The perspective was that telling every child that he or she is special is not healthy.  It caused quite a stir at the time and has resurfaced with the advent of the documentary.

The real problem here is that we must all answer that question sooner or later.  Is each of us special?   We must address if our life is unique and has significant value.  We must decide that about everyone. 

The analysis should be simple.  If you are conservative and believe in God then every life is special because it contains a unique soul on the same journey as you are.  If you are liberal and believed in God then the same applies.  If you are an atheist it does become more complex. 

Since faith is not your standard it falls to you to choose what you think the value of life is.  We live in a world where that value varies from culture to culture.  We fight over the value of life, when it begins, and who can choose to end it.  It should not surprise us when there are those who see life as less than unique to the individual. 

I would submit that we dare not dismiss the value of any life until we have taken honest assessment of our own.  I do mean honest.  It is easy to count oneself valuable or worthless when pride and pain are in play.  It is much more difficult to do the same with honesty and integrity.

As a Christ follower I believe that every life; every soul is unique.  I believe that we are all special in some way that the world needs.  We all have something to contribute to the journey back to the Father.  What does this mean then to everyday life for me?

It is simple.  It means that you are special and that I want to know you and the ways in which your life makes the world a better place.  If I am going to accomplish that I must do so by journeying with you.  No matter where we fall in step I must treat you with love and kindness.  No matter what our differences I must see that you are a life worthy of kindness and grace.  So, please won’t you walk with me for a bit and, therefore, for a time be my neighbor.

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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Answer the Pepperoni ~ Predisposed

Greetings Dear Reader,

My children will tell you that I like my routines and rituals.  I like to get up at the same time every day.  I don’t like naps.  Sleep and I are enemies.  I like rest but not sleep. 

I have a morning coffee routine.  I have pattern for getting dressed and arriving home from work.  I partly do this so that I do not forget things.  I partly do it because I just like patterns.  I am predisposed to them and cannot remember a time when I was not.

We are all predisposed to certain things.  We like what we like.  We are prone to embrace the familiar.  We develop habits that suit our tastes and preferences.  It makes it more difficult to embrace change, new things, and the differences in others. 

It is our love or comfort with the familiar that makes accepting the differences in others difficult.  I am trying to be someone who is predisposed to our differences.  I said to my friend Abby just yesterday that I want to always be looking for the unique beauty in others.  I want to find that bit that makes them unique in all the universe. 

I craft this into my annual birthday greetings that I offer to friends on social media.  It is easy to say “happy birthday”.  Every year I try to create something that celebrates the individual.  I see every life as a unique creation of the Father. 

If we become predisposed to the unique beauty in every human it becomes easier to love and accept everyone.  I will not accept every behavior, choice, or belief.  I will love and accept the person because the Father put them here.  He does everything for a purpose. 

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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What are We Made For – One of a Kind

Greetings Dear Reader,

We do not understand our uniqueness enough.  We do not see how much effort God has put into our existence.  We run the gamut from believing we sprung accidentally from primordial ooze to thinking we are an alien science project. 

I hold the waning belief that we are created by a God who loves us and wants to know us.  He claims to have created us as unique individuals.  He made us to know him, love him, and enjoy him.  

We have a purpose.  We all have gifts, talents, and abilities.  I wish that one of mine was the power of flight but for some reason God ruled that out.  I can write.  I enjoy being good to people.  I can sing a little and play a couple of instruments.  Many others do all of these things better than me.  I am a small fish in a vast ocean. 

I am, however, one of a kind.  God knew all that I would be before he laid the foundations of the earth.  He knew and responded to my choices for ill of good.  He is working out his design in me. 

When I feel loss, unloved, unwanted, or unneeded I can find some solace in this.  I will not pretend that knowing this heals all.  It could but my fallen nature does not allow it.  I doubt and I fail.  In Christ alone all can be mended.  He made me unique to be his then I ran away. I am one of a kind made by God and I rejected my maker. 

My Grandfather used to tell a story about a little boy who built a model sailboat.  His father helped him cut the wood but he glued, nailed, and painted it.  It was bright red with a blue stripe all the way around.  It had three white sails.  .

He took it out to a local lake to sail it.  A high wind arose and his precious boat was blown away.  He mourned its loss and moved on to other things.  A few weeks later he was walking down the street and in the window of the local pawn shop was his boat.  He went in and told the proprietor about his boat.  The unyielding man insisted that he had bought the boat and that the selling price was thirty dollars. 

The boy saw thirty dollars as an unreachable sum.  He did odd jobs, saved his allowance, and watched every day to make sure his boat was still in the window.  After three long months he had enough money.  He went to the shop and purchased the boat.

As he left the shop he cradled the boat in his arms.  He whispered to the boat, “You are twice mine.  I made you and I bought you.  You are twice mine.”

We are uniquely made.  We are one of a kind.  When God lost us he bought us back.  He paid for redemption with his dearest blood.  That is truly a comfort. .

In Christ Alone – Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe.

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied -

For every sin on Him was laid;

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine -

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand:

Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

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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My King – Unparalleled

Greetings Dear Reader,

We tend to compare things.  Before I cemented my faith in Christ I did a vast comparison to other faiths.  I read what they said about themselves.  The unparalleled difference that I found is that God does not require us to earn our redemption.  In fact, it is clear that we cannot earn it.

Evolving out of a world where everything up to and including human sacrifice was employed in an attempt to appease a deity, Judaism and eventually Christianity required faith for redemption.  The Old Testament law was not a tool for salvation but, rather, a teacher to show us that we could not merit redemption through our own efforts. 

To further evidence his unique approach to us God becomes incarnate.  He journeys to us to do what we cannot.  He becomes like us so that he can die for us.  There is no one like him.  He is unparalleled in his love, power, and sacrifice.  Everything about following Christ compels us to love and sacrifice as well. 

We are to love our enemies and pray for those who show malicious hatred toward us.  Being generous is required of us by this God.  Caring for those in need is part of our mission.  Promoting peace even at the cost of our own lives is to be who we are.  We fail at this.  We are poor examples.  That is all the more reason to see Jesus for who he really is.

We fail but Christ does not.  He has no equal in his desire for us to be whole and his.  He has no parallel in the length he goes for our reclamation.  He has no competitor in his love for us.  More words have been written about Jesus than anyone in the history of the world.  He only wants one thing.  He wants to make all things “good” again.  That’s my King.

To the Mystery – Michael Card

When the Father longed to show

A love He wanted us to know

He sent His only Son and so

Became a holy embryo

That is the mystery

More than you can see

Give up on your pondering

And fall down on your knees

A fiction as fantastic and wild

A mother made by her own child

A hopeless babe who cried

"Was God Incarnate and man deified?"

That is the mystery

More than you can see

Give up on your pondering

And fall down on your knees

Because the fall did devastate

Creator must now recreate

So to take our sin

Was made like us so we could be like Him

That is the mystery

More than you can see

Give up on your pondering

And fall down on your knees

Oh that is the mystery

More than you can see

Give up on your pondering

And fall down on your knees

Oh that is the mystery

More than you can see

Give up on your pondering

And fall down on your knees

Oh that is the mystery

More than you can see

Give up on your pondering

And fall down on your knees

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 ͡°)

Every Diner – People are all Unique

Greetings Dear Reader,

I realize that just yesterday I said we are all the same and I stand by that.  In the infinite paradox, we are all different as well.  We are all snowflake unique.  We are the personification of infinite diversity in infinite combinations. 

Only man manufactures the identical.  Even in the things we create that we wish to be identical there are tolerances for variance.  At the molecular level everything has variance.  Some see these as flaws and others as uniqueness. 

This premise is at the heart of my belief that every person matters.  There will never be another Tom or Laura or Val.  I am privileged to know people who are one of a kind.  I get to see them become what they will become.  I get to love them and respect them.  I get to encourage and support their dreams. 

Some of these one of a kind individuals hate me.  Some of them do not even know me and they choose to hate me.  I get to love them too.  I get to respond to the negative with positive.  I get to see that they are unique and hope to show them that they are worthy of love.

I am honored to move through the world seeing the value of each person.  I get to experience the gifts and challenges of others and sometimes I get to help or honor another soul.  I get to be good to others.  I get to be a part of the unique journeys of others.

It is the heart of the Gospel that we do this.  It is the essence of creation that we are unique, loved, and valued.  It is the benchmark of Christ followers that we treat others this way.  It is the requirement of the one I follow that I live this way.  We are all the same but we are all uniquely different.

This is why the server, the cook, and the guy at the table behind me matter.  It is why I must remember to be nice to the guy at the servo when I fill up or buy a Coke.  It is the reason for taking the time to help people that cannot help me.  It is why I do almost everything the way I do it.  It is why I keep looking for ways to do it better. 

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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No One is Irreplaceable

Greetings Dear Reader,

I think that in every job I have ever had I have heard this at some point.  More often it was said to me about others.  Once during tech week of a theatre production the director lost it for no good reason and started screaming obscenities at a young woman in the cast. 

Another actor had unintentionally made a sound that drew attention away from critical action in the show.  The director wrongly assumed that it was the actress and launched his tirade in the wrong direction.  He would not listen to her protests that it was not her and the actor was too much of a coward to admit he was the culprit.

I stepped forward and informed the director that it was not the actress who had made the sound.  He was too far into the fervor of his anger to listen and turned his fury on me.  I had at least gotten him off the girl and that was enough.  Not having mastered my own anger to the degree that God’s grace has allowed me to at this point, I kept silent but he could see the rage building in me.

He had left anything substantive about the production and was indulging in speculation about the legitimacy of my forbears.  Something in my look must have quelled his resolve to keep attacking and he ordered the cast to sit in the house.  After we were seated he resumed his rant about the importance of getting everything right.

I took a seat at the back of the house seething.  I was already on the path of trying to master my own anger and knew that if I listened I would escalate things.  Instead I tuned him out and began to pray.  His wife came and sat next to me.  Her words were worse than anything he had done.

Quietly she said, “It would be a shame if because of your anger we had to replace her a week before we open. Then again, no one is irreplaceable.”  The girl had done nothing wrong.  My outrage at the injustice boiled over and I locked eyes with the woman.  She did not know me well enough to realize she had just poked a bear with the stick of injustice.

With all the rage that lurks within my soul I whispered in that screaming whisper that is so threatening, “If you or your husband do anything to that girl to hurt her further I will tell the whole world how abusive you both are to your casts..  My words will open a floodgate of people coming forward to attest to the abuse and your directing days will be over.  The girl did not even make the sound that set him off.”

I could tell she was unused to anyone pushing back and she retreated without a word.  The director ended his invective and we went back to work.  I saw the director and his wife talking quietly in a corner backstage.  For the remainder of tech week they both treated the girl, one of the leads in the show with deference. 

I recounted this because I have since realized something.  No one is replaceable.  We may fill a roll, play a part, or do a job that was once someone else’s. We may “fill the shoes” of someone lost or dismissed.  The truth, however, is that no one will do it just like you.  No one can replace you.  In all the universe each of us is unique. 

God makes it clear that each of us is designed by him.  There will never be another Aramis Thorn.  There will never be another Maxim, Bezel, or Christmas.  There will never be another Avalon.  It is my obligation to see every individual as the unique gift to the world that they are.  It is my duty to love the beauty and grace reflected in each of them.  I must honor the benchmark of the divine in everyone.

When I dismiss, reject, or hurt my fellow travelers I betray that uniqueness.  I squander the opportunity to revel in the greatness of my Creator.  I deny the pricelessness of the moment with another human.  It is not right to see anyone as lacking value, unworthy, or  replaceable.

I must treasure those whom God puts close to me and respect everyone that breathes.  I am required to love them all.  This I must do with all my heart.  Each one is more precious due to his or her uniqueness.  Each one is worthy of God’s blood and, therefore, my time, attention, and compassion.

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 ͡°)

On Giving Thanks – Diversity

Greetings Dear Reader,

There are some things that I always want to be the same.  I always want my steak to be rare and juicy.  I always want the Braves to win.  I always want the time with my children to last forever.  There are things that I want to be a constant in the universe.

But I am also thankful for diversity.  I do not mean the political diversity that seems to be pushed at any cost.  I mean the infinite diversity that exists in the world because of divine and human creativity.  I am thankful for the uniqueness of every sunrise, every cloud, and every snowflake.  I find awe and wonder in the natural world.  

I celebrate and love the diversity of people.  Everyone brings his or her own gifts and talents to the world.  Each person offers the particular beauty created in him or her by God.  I love seeing that uniqueness and seeing my Creator reflected in it.

If I am giving thanks I can do it in every moment with others.  Since I am commanded to love everyone if I am looking for how they are fearfully and wonderfully made then I am more likely to overlook flaws and imperfections.

The imperfections will pass when God makes all things right again.  What will remains will be the unique good things created in each of us from the beginning.  I would love it if I had focused on those things in others enough to barely notice the difference.   

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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