Untangling Conclusion

I’ve been delayed in posting a blog this week because Joanna and I are having the pleasure and privilege of being with a small group of young ministry couples as they experience a renewal event in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. We’re on a 2,000 acre ranch that is quite rustic. Think port-a-potties and dust. Think great mountain views and grazing deer. Think quiet breezes blowing through pines. Think solitude. My cell phone barely works. Internet does not. I’ve not seen a TV in four days. We’re just a half-mile from the highway that connects us to the world and its frenetic pace, but I have no desire to get back on it today. I’m away from the buzz of life and I’m happy.

Most of us don’t get to live on 2,000 acre ranches. Most of us don’t even get to visit 2,000 acre ranches. Most of us live within a block of the buzz. Some of us feel like we live in the center of it.

Being on this ranch for a few days is serving me well in my quest to untangle my line. (Please read the previous 2 blogs if you are unaware of what I’m talking about.) I’ve withdrawn from the way most of the world operates. I’ve leaned in to creation.

This came at a good time. You see, from a human standpoint I’ve not made much progress on my untangling efforts so far this summer. In fact, in some ways (that I’ll share with you in a later post) life feels like it’s getting more complicated, rather than less. Occasionally on that river bank of my childhood, my inexperienced fingers only made the tangle worse for a while. Rather than eliminating the confusion, I added a loop or twist of my own.

Here’s the principle I’m thinking of today: Life complicates. Tangles happen. Without intentional effort and/or divine intervention, our lives become increasingly complex. Untangling is a proactive and, at times, laborious process. Simplification doesn’t happen naturally. Complexity does.

I believe there are countless reasons for this. Financial debt, material possessions, interpersonal relationships, physical health and many other factors guarantee that without intentional effort to the contrary, life becomes increasingly complicated.

We must be on guard—we must take the position of a sentry for our own spirit—for life can wrap us up in a knot of worry, stress and dis-ease. The good news announced to the Christ-follower is that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I don’t know all that Paul meant by those words, but I do know that many of us aren’t living with a sense of freedom.

I’m calling us today to make efforts for a greater experience of freedom. Untangling is doable. A lightness of spirit can be found. Solitude, simplicity and Sabbath-keeping (i.e. hearing God’s permission to spend a day renewing your soul rather than conquering your “to do” list) are powerful spiritual disciplines helping us enter in to this freedom. Forgiveness is a big one, too: Nothing tangles the line of the soul quite like the skill of hanging on to a grudge. Nothing frees it quite like the joy of letting go of the offense.

I doubt if you’ll be able to find your way to a ranch for a few days. Your back deck or the county park might do just as well. Wherever it is, pursue some soul-quieting places this summer. While you are there, listen to the Spirit and see if He whispers some ways to your spirit to get a loop or twist out of your line.

We’re losing daylight. Our time to “fish” is limited. I want to get in lots more casts before nightfall. I’ve got to get this line untangled. I hope you will, too.

Hmmn, maybe it’s time to ask Dad to help.

Traveling with you,
John


PS To post this blog I’ve driven into town and am sitting inside my car outside the bank. The locals tell me this is the best place to pick up internet service as the bank’s connection is unsecured. Evidently this is common knowledge. You gotta love Montana!