Lesson Learned on the Road to Iowa

We returned this afternoon from our pilgrimage to Iowa to be with family. While we were there I learned a great deal from a culture that is in many ways very different than our California lifestyle.

The small town element still exists to some extent in Iowa; people know each other and they have often known each other for years. They have rhythms of life and an interconnected web of relationships that remains constant. This type of lifestyle fosters a great deal of loyalty and relationships that truly last, marriages and friendships that are rock solid through thick and thin. Without getting into too many specifics I got to see some of this first hand and I really wanted more of that for my life and the lives of people around me back home.

I am not saying that this type of lifestyle is non-existent. It just seems like at times our fast paced lifestyle is all about moving forward with our lives. Friends and relationships drift in and out of our spheres whether it be in our childhood neighborhoods, our schools, or later on our vocational spaces.

That small world feel is nearly gone but the reality is Southern California cannot be the same type of community Iowa can, because they are simply different populations and different types of cultures altogether. I would like to see more of a small world type culture that shapes communities and truly impacts individuals and their families for good. It certainly is something to think about and challenge myself with as I get ready for another year at UCSD.

As we traveled I was also able to see a lot of middle America, going to and fro from Iowa. Some of the places we went past were very different from home. They might be characterized as one horse towns or rural areas. That being said, it made me realize that the Lord has blessed me with a great many things that I should not take for granted just like he has blessed people all across the country in different ways. Instead of focusing on the negative, the glass half full mentality is the way to go.

I will pray that I can live with a small-world mentality and a genuine thankfulness for what I have been given.

All the glory be His as always.

Summer Reading: Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

I just recently finished Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

There was a lot to mull over and think through afterwards but there were several main ideas that stuck out to me. First off, I must say that in some ways I struggled to get through this book. It was both convicting and reaffirming at different times and I turned the last page thankful that I took the time to read it.

Early on Piper recalls a small pithy poem that used to hang in his childhood home. It reads like this:

Only One Life,
Twill Soon Be Past
Only What's Done
For Christ Will Last

These words are much of the framework for the entire contents of his book. He makes the point that our entire life on earth should be to magnify the Lord and glorify him. This really caused me to question my own existence. Am I constantly striving to make my Lord known by thought, word and deed? Am I simply doing good works for my glory or thanking Him for what He does for me and not simply for who He is? It's tough stuff to be confronted with but it certainly seems necessary to consider.

Furthermore, Piper suggests that we can glorify the Lord wherever we are placed. For him it was the call to be a pastor, for others it might be missions, or someone else might be going into the workforce. All these vocations are good and well. But it is what we do with those lives that truly matters. God has blessed each and everyone of us with a vast web of relationships that we are called to grow, foster and glorify Him through.

For good measure he acknowledges that missionary work is important pointing to previous movements in the past centuries and also pointing out the need for laborers in the 10-40 window. However, just as importantly Piper points out we must also take care of those living around us because we do not want to fall into hypocrisy.

If I took anything out of this book, honestly, it was the simple urging of the title. Recently I have thought about certain people who are older than me or people that the Lord has taken to be with Him. I look at their lives and see great fruit. I see many lives impacted for better through love and joy.

I cannot be sure what will befall me or how my life will turn out but my prayer is that it might not be a wasted existence. I want the resolve to continue to live my life for Christ because He is worthy of it.

All the Glory Be His