Change the World

We all long for lives of significance. Most of us want to change the world, in one way or another. And as a Christian that desire goes far beyond merely making my mark in business or leaving some meaningful body of art behind for posterity. It’s actually about affecting the eternal destiny of my fellow men …. quite literally, for heaven’s sake. My particular calling and giftedness tends lie along the lines of encouraging and inspiring others. However, as in any movement, I can hardly ask more of others than I expect of myself. For what do my words of encouragement mean if they are not supported by the life I lead and the condition of my own heart. So, in a very real sense, I must embrace the change that I desire in others. I must be the change. This truly raises the bar in my personal journey. And while I talk about myself here I also shout out to my fellow believers. The revolution begins right here, within our own hearts and minds and souls. And if we aren’t changing the world then the first place to look is in the mirror. Who are we? What do we believe? Do our lives actually support our lofty words? These are the fundamental questions to ask in any movement. And once we answer them it’s time to start having a greater impact. It’s time to unleash the full power of God through us. Are you ready? Then let’s change the world! And let it not just begin, let it begin with me.

To Change the World
Lord, I want to change the world
To lead a revolution
And such rhetoric comes easily
But when it comes to execution
I have a nagging feeling
That in order to succeed
The change I long to bring about
Must be brought about in me
For I cannot ask of others
What I will not take to heart
So if I pray for transformation
My life is where it starts
If I would place a yoke or burden
Or some other expectation
On another I must make myself
The root of the equation
Lord, I want to change the world
But now I clearly see
That if the world is to be changed
It must begin with me
                  By Frank Carpenter ©

Crossroads

Sometimes we reach junctions in life, by our own choice or otherwise, where the way may seem unclear. We can only look so far down the path of each option, which can lead to some fear and uncertainty as well. This can paralyze people with doubt and lead to inaction. Yet, while such curve balls in life obviously present challenges, they also represent the moments of greatest opportunity. Perhaps therein lays the formula for approaching such events. For I have observed that challenges are the gatekeepers of opportunity. These crossroads of change can be a gift if we are willing to accept them as such. So many of us wake up each morning and do the same thing we did yesterday. We follow the routine we have become accustomed to because it is familiar and safe and comfortable, having been conditioned to believe that people who rock the boat tend to end up getting wet. But what if one of the formulas for happiness and significance is actually to rock the boat? What if we become better people by getting wet once in a while? What if those challenging moments of opportunity are actually a gift from God? Maybe it’s good for us to walk a little closer to the edge once in a while.

The fact is that even the paths we traditionally perceive as safe don’t always turn out to be so. The stock market can crash, a job or a company or a pension may fail, a key relationship can change or, God forbid, we could get very sick. There really are no guarantees in life and the things we often choose to cling to sometimes prove to be less buoyant or stable than we thought. In the end our hope and happiness can’t be anchored entirely on external factors, or upon a rigid course that we assume will absolutely lead us to a desired destination. Sometimes it’s just not that simple. The one thing, however, that we are in complete control of is our constant opportunity to choose how we will respond to whatever life sends our way.  So when we reach those junctures in life they need not be feared. For they can absolutely be, as implied in my question above, gifts from God.

Today I find myself at just that kind of crossroad. At such a moment I find some solace and inspiration in Robert Frost’s classic poem, The Road Not Taken, which I’ve taken the liberty to paste below for your consideration. Such sentiments are instructional as we wrestle with options in our own hearts and minds. As I strain to perceive the final destination of each path available to me it can be a little overwhelming, and there is a natural tendency to face such moments with trepidation. However, when I consider that each path, though conceivably strewn with unseen obstacles, is actually a vessel of opportunity it alters my perspective entirely. The challenges are certainly easier to imagine than the opportunities, but that is actually just a matter of perspective. I don’t know what you might be facing today, but I’m encouraging you to face it with hope and optimism. The future will always be shrouded in haze, but the present is ours to command. We should absolutely make careful and informed decisions, tempered with wise counsel and prayer. That goes without saying. But if you woke up this morning, then the world is still your oyster. A crossroad can be frightening and it’s easy to ask yourself, “What if I make the wrong choice?” This may be a valid question, but it can also lead to a mire of indecision. The real question for us to ask ourselves today is, “What if I make the right choice?” That question will be an excellent first step towards embracing the future and all the opportunities which lie ahead. Are you ready? I say, “Rock the boat.”

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

By Robert Frost

A New Beginning

As we come to the brink of another new year, it’s a time to reflect upon the past and look forward to the future as well. If you had a great year then you’re probably hoping to maintain your momentum. Maybe 2011 fell below your expectations. If that’s the case, then a new year may hold the promise of a fresh start or a do-over. The wonderful thing about this life we live is that no one’s path is set in concrete, no destiny is yet determined, and every day offers the opportunity to change our course and adjust our sails. In that spirit, I offer the following essay as an encouragement to anyone who looks ahead to a different or brighter tomorrow. As I close I am reminded of a familiar chorus from the musical Annie which reminds us, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I love you, tomorrow. You’re only a day away.” That’s just what I was thinking.

A Ring Around The Moon
By Frank Carpenter
The iridescent moon was not quite full, though seeming somehow larger than usual... almost as if it filled the entire evening sky. And then there was the ring, that big beautiful ring around the moon. Not a small ring like halo or a belt. No, a giant, endless, wonderful ring. For that moment, the ring seemed to encircle all that I knew or could imagine. For that moment, the moon and the universe within the ring which enveloped it were everything. The silver sky, or something within it, held me entranced, as it were, for a time unmeasured, or immeasurable. Perhaps I lay there only for a moment, an instant, though it might just as well have been a lifetime.
Nonetheless, I felt as though everything changed during the encounter. That conclusion was unmistakable. The winds of change blew over me. Silently, sweetly, certainly. They were not such winds as I could detect merely with my senses, or which disturbed so much as a single blade of grass around me. They were were the winds which blow through our souls and swirl within our very being, the winds of inner change.
The moon was still there, and very much so. The ring was still there. Yet, suddenly, I became aware of other things around me. Other things which had long cried out to be noticed, to be understood. Whose voices had been carried away by other winds and drowned out by more urgent voices. Yet now I saw, I felt, I knew.
I became aware of the ground beneath me. How long had I lay there, in the wet grass beneath the moon and its ring? Ah, the ring. It had been raining for days. The ground was wet, more than wet. It more held me than supported me, but the feeling was not unpleasant. The grip of the wet ground against my back, against my long soaked clothing was a comfort, almost a relief. Without the pull of the moist earth, I might well have drifted off toward the moon above, lured by the intoxicating glow.
I could feel more than just the ground beneath me. There was more, much more. There was a whole world. The same world I had always known, yet which now seemed strange and wild and undiscovered. That was the change. I could no longer accept everything which before had been so clear, so concrete. I knew the world had not changed in the least, but I had. So, in relation to me, everything else must change as well. I inhaled deeply. Not the kind of breath which merely replenished oxygen in my lungs. I inhaled something better, deeper. It was a breath of life, of things so long left undone, unsaid, unknown. I was different.
However, I understood somehow that I could not be different alone. I must make the world around me to be different like me, or with me. Was it a calling? Perhaps more of an accepting. The acceptance of a call so long unheeded, one nearly snuffed out in the shuffle of daily life with its minutia of urgent details begging to be attended to. We get so busy with living that it becomes something less than living. I had forgotten how important every minute detail is. I had forgotten how very important life is. Now, I remembered.
All of this happened within the circle which held me through that time. The ring around the moon. Just an optical illusion, water vapor, reflected light, barometric pressure. Perhaps. Moon dust and magic are, however, somehow more appealing. A sign, a signal, a catalyst. It was enough. For whatever reason, I would never be the same. I could not, nor could anything else be. Blame it on the ring, the moon, the movie, romance, whatever. The world, the universe, were entirely different than they had been just a short time before. It matters not the reason, for the why and the hows only serve themselves, yet they would be our masters if we tarry long enough to let them enslave us. No, there are other more pressing issues at hand ... broader frontiers yet undiscovered. Let it begin.

May you have a blessed New Year ... and make it an even better one than the last.

Change & Growth

My granddaughter just turned one this past weekend. As I’ve observed her over the recent months I never cease to be amazed at how she quickly she grows and changes. In fact, at her age change is the norm. She recently learned to walk, she has babbled her first words, and she is absorbing life like a cute little sponge. For her, literally everything is new and fascinating and exciting. All of this has gotten me thinking about how different our “adult” lives are from hers. Obviously we all stop growing taller at some point, but somewhere along the way many people also reach an age of equilibrium where they stop growing intellectually and emotionally as well. We settle down, get comfortable, and begin to shun change. This can be a dangerous thing, for once our hearts and minds become less pliable they begin to atrophy. In short, we remain the same. In my opinion this has at least the perceived effect of aging us. Another interesting side-effect of this common condition is that we begin to judge others who may choose not to stay the same as us. That is a defense mechanism which helps to justify our own position. Is this who we wish to be? When I was in the middle of writing this, I stumbled across the following thoughts in Sarah Young’s devotional: “Without any conscious awareness, they make their habitual responses. People who live this way find a dullness creeping into their lives. They sleepwalk through their days, following well-worn paths of routine. God, the Creator of the universe, is the most creative Being imaginable. He will not leave you circling in deeply rutted paths. Instead, He will lead you along fresh trails of adventure, revealing to you things you did not know.” What a great perspective.

Newton’s first law of motion states that a body in rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Do we want to stay at rest, or in motion? Stability and security are a comfort, but they can also put us into bondage as we fight to main maintain and protect them. I, for one, desire something more. One of my grown children mentioned a while back that I was very predictable. It may even have been intended as a compliment, but I want to be just a bit unpredictable. I want to be interesting. Why not be adventurous once in a while? I’ve always appreciated C.S. Lewis’ description of the lion, Aslon. “Is he safe? No … but he is good.” That offers some food for thought because we are entirely too safe. I earnestly desire my character, faith and integrity to be consistent. However, my goal is for those qualities to manifest themselves creatively and dynamically so that they provide inspiration rather than justifying a rut.

What do you want for your own life? Are you too predictable? Do you want to be? I, for one, desire something more than a steady, quite suburban life. We need to keep changing and growing and responding. Let us not put down the roots of comfort and complacency so deeply that we become as immovable trees. We should never consider ourselves as done or complete. Each life is a work in progress. Each person is also a work in progress. So, like my granddaughter, we need to let go, lean forward, and see where our feet take us. That is what life if all about.