Letting Go

It is the season of letting go.  

When we lived in Lafayette, an elementary school was just down the street from us.  I enjoyed watching kids walking to school.  The first days of school you would see a little boy or girl walking next to their mom or dad.  Usually they would be holding hands.  Moms and Dads would have eyes full of tears. 

After a few days the scene changed.  The kids would be holding hands with another new friend.  Occasionally they would glance back at the parent.   But there was a new confidence that had been borne. Some of the parents would actually stop the last few hundred yards and just let the kids walk the rest of the way.  The kids liked this idea.  No one wants to be seen at school with their parents in tow.

By the end of the first month few parents were in the picture.  The routine had been established.  Kids would walk and play with kids.  They had been let go.

One of my clinical friends had a great definition for parenthood.  The object of parenthood is work your way out of a job.  It is to create a confidence and ability to live independently within our children.  It is NOT being your child's best friend.  They will have many friends.  But they will only have two biological parents.  Some parents do not understand this.  They do not understand letting go.  

In letting go we are found.  We are created to be what God has created us to be.  We learn what it means to be independent and yet dependent.  Isn't it interesting that when God created, the first act was to let them roam in the garden.

Some young adults will leave for college in a few days.  It is a time of letting go.  Moms will want to decorate their college rooms.  And some will.  But then they will leave.  I tell college kids if they have a grandparent praying for them while at college, they might as well just let God in their life.  I think grandparents have a special link to God sometimes, especially for grand kids.  For those who do not have a grandparent praying for them, find one to borrow, rent, or lease.

It is a story that I just remember this time of the year.  A young man arrived at his college for the first time.  He had left home and driven in his car to college.  He remembered watching his mom and dad in the rear view mirror.  Even his dad's eyes were teary.  But he was so excited to be on his own.

He arrived at the dorm and began to unpack his belongings.  His mom had packed the suitcase as only a mom would.  His dad had helped him just throw some stuff in the car.  When unpacking the suitcase, he found something really strange at the bottom of the suitcase.  There were two pieces of cloth.  They seemed familiar but he could not place them.  So he stuck them in the drawer.  No time to figure that out.  He would ask mom later.

So the first day was exciting.  Finally he fell into bed exhausted and yet excited. Before he fell asleep he did what he had done all his life, he began to pray.  In his prayers, visions of the day came forward with a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving.  Just was he was about to fall asleep, he prayed for his mom and dad.  And then it happened.  He remembered.  As a little boy when he needed the comfort that only a mom could give, he would go into the kitchen.  His mom would be cooking a meal.  The only thing he could reach was the apron she wore--that familiar apron.  He would pull on the ties of the apron and his mom would pick him up and hug him as only a mom can.  

The strange pieces of cloth in his suitcase were now clearly identified.  His mom had cut the ties of her  apron and given them to him.  She was letting him go.

Pray for me as I Pray for you.

M. Jack O'Dell

Lead Pastor

www.stlukesimpson.org

www.midweekmanna.com

 

Watching Your Children Grow

One of the great joys of parenthood is watching your children grow up.  It happens so quickly.  It seems like yesterday and then all of a sudden tomorrow is here!  You sit back and find yourself filled with wonder.  Sometimes wonder turns into awe.

This week I am watching three of my children in wonder and awe.  They are things that I played a role in birthing in the life of United Methodist Church.  I am in awe of what God continues to do.  It seems like yesterday that the seeds were planted.  There were times when I wondered what was happen.  Other times when I felt overwhelmed.  Yet I believed God would use these in a mighty way.

In the Shreveport and Northshore areas of Louisiana, there is a weekend called Weekend of the Cross. It is a weekend that is began out of Ruston.  The concept is to get youth working in their neighborhood during the day painting, building ramps, or small repairs.  As the work is done, relationships are formed.  Youth, adult, young and old are all mixed together.  I think there will probably be about 400 folks participating in these events this weekend.  Then there's the grandchild in New Orleans that is just beginning.  It is an "offshoot" of the Northshore Weekend of the Cross.  You see when God begins to work, things multiply.

Years ago I was a part of a group of folks that helped birth a Youth Leadership Event for Cambodian Youth.  The Methodist Church in Cambodia is a first generation church.  It is made up of mostly young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty five.  What an exciting event!  It has continued over the years to change the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Yes!  It is changing the continent of Asia with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There is a group of Louisiana folks over there this week.  We continue to support our young church in Asia.

Each one of the disciples of Jesus Christ after the resurrection went into the world and became fathers.  We actually refer to them as the Church Fathers.  They began to birth communities of faith or pockets of faith that multiplied.  They too were proud of what God is doing in the world.

Wonder and awe. Changing the world.  It is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.  Let me encourage you to join in the birthing process!  Then you can watch your children grow--and the grandchildren.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

Lead Pastor

St. Luke Simpson UMC

www.stlukesimpson.org

www.midweekmanna.com

Removing the Insulation

In our tradition like most churches, we have groups of great influence and power.  It does not take long to find them.  They usually find you especially when you cross a line.  You know you move something that has never been moved.  You change something and are quickly told, “It has ALWAYS been ….”  I have maintained that the most powerful person in a worship service is the organist.  Just imagine what havoc this person can play in one hour!

So I am hanging out with one of the groups of great influence and power—the UMW.  For those who are not Methodist, it is not the United Mine Workers.  It is the United Methodist Women.  If you want to meet and greet power and influence in most congregations, just stroll into the women’s den.  I once heard of a pastor who had the choice of confronting the women on an issue or having two root canals.  The root canals were a piece of cake. 

This week we are learning together.  They are being nice to me!  We are learning about a group of people in Europe called “The Roma”.  Maybe you know another name for this group of people—gypsies.  The study is inviting us to learn about the uniqueness and struggles.  I must admit that I have learned much.

I have learned that I live a pretty insulated life.  Most church folks do.  Most of us in this world pretty much insulate ourselves.  We tend to keep the “edgy” folks pretty far away.  It is a safety and comfort mechanism in life.  After all “they” might harm us or challenge our world views.

I feel a sense of shame about this when I look at the life of Jesus.  Jesus was all about hanging out with people on the edges of life.  Jesus was all about going to find where people were hurting.  Jesus was condemned by the religious folk for hanging out with sinners and tax collectors.  Maybe I am afraid that if I am seen in the wrong place with the wrong people, I might be condemned as well.

So I am listening to God in these moments about removing some of the insulation from my life.  I realize that in removing insulation, I am going to be vulnerable to the elements.  But I need to remember that in my vulnerability, I am safe forever.  Jesus has done that for me.  I do not need to be afraid.  I just need to go!

I can just hear the talk beginning….”that preacher….”

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Jack O’Dell

www.stlukesimpson.org

www.midweekmanna.com

Be Careful When You Reach

There are not many things more annoying than a barking dog.  Okay, someone chomping ice may be more annoying.   Have you noticed that something that someone else does is annoying to you?  You may be doing the very same thing but as long as you are doing it, it is not annoying—except maybe to others.

Our dog, Lisa, rarely barks.  She is just not a barking dog.  An intruder to our space is more likely to be licked to death than bite or greeted with a bark.  When we first adopted her, she would bark at men with a hat.  But she quickly forgot to bark at them.  I think that is why she is loved so much.  She wags her tail, licks you and does not bark or bite.  But the other night she was barking in the back yard.

The other thing you need to know about Lisa is that she is fifteen years old.  She has recently lost her hearing or just chosen not to listen (I am not sure which).  Lisa has cataracts on her eyes so we are not sure how much she even sees.  So sometimes you just have to physically touch her to get her attention.

So Lisa is barking like the world is about to end.  I go out to see what all the commotion is about.  Lisa knows when I come out to stop barking.  She is not a dumb dog.  With only my cell phone acting as a flashlight, I am searching for Lisa.  I see movement in the bushes and reach down to pick Lisa up when I am surprised!   I am about to pick up a small possum, not Lisa.

I do not know who was more surprised—the possum or me.  I am sure that Lisa was hiding in the near by bushes laughing at me.   The possum darted THROUGH my legs and out of the yard.  Lisa now appeared and had this smug dog look—“I told you there was a stranger in my yard.  Why didn’t you believe me!”

In the darkness of our struggle in which there seems to be more noise than we want to admit, we find ourselves reaching.  I am reminded of the incident in the Bible where Jesus’ friend, Lazarus has died.  Mary and Martha are reaching for answers.   When Jesus does come, Martha says those painful words to Jesus, “If you had been here…”  The words are words of disappointment.   She is asking Jesus why he did not come earlier.  Jesus weeps.  He is overcome with grief.

Be careful what you reach for during difficult times.  You can reach for the wrong things.  Bitterness and despair can take root in your life.  Indifference can become a regular entree at the table of darkness.  Hatred begins in the darkness of the soul. 

Welcome Jesus in these moments.  Welcome his presence.  Welcome his word of life.  Welcome the light that Jesus can bring in the darkness.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Remember to Remember

In the celebration of the Passover, the people of God are told to remember.  When Jesus of Nazareth celebrated the Last Supper, he told his disciples to remember and to do this often.  During this holiday season, we remember the costs and benefits of freedom.  What is in your memory?

As I have packed and unpacked boxes in our move, I would remember.  There was the small package wrapped that held nothing but good words that Miss Nell gave to me.  She knew there would days that I would need to stop and smile.

There were the letters that I had long stored away that different people had written to me.  The letter from a family that I had grieved with.  The note from a mom whose daughter had run away and returned home.  The little things that I kept to remind me of the joy that my family has given me through the years.  I would stop and laugh.  I would stop and cry.  I would remember.

Sometimes I have to remember to forget!  Sounds strange, but think about it.  All of us humans hold on to the wrong things sometimes.  It is the cup of bitterness and anger that we drink from.  Words that harmed us.   Actions that someone took that really hurt us.  Or maybe it is something we did and said that we cannot get our of our mind.

Computer geeks tell me that the computer has an active and an inactive memory.  Both of them are necessary for the computer to work well.   The geeks know how to get to the inactive memory when necessary. Sometimes the crash of a computer is due to the inactive memory conflicting.  It is true in life.

All of this is to remind you and me to remember.  Remember the costs and benefits of the good things in life. Let go of those things which weigh you down.  Remember that you are forgiven, so forgive.  Remember that you are loved, so love.  Remember that you are free so free others.  

Memory is a wonderful gift that God gives us....now what was I saying?

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In the Master's Name,

Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

Lead Pastor

St. Luke Simpson UMC, Lake Charles LA

www.midweekmanna.com

www.stlukesimpson.org