Monday, March 03, 2008

Bildungsroman



I always wished I had a dramatic testimony
some epic tale of You finding me
in the dark places we only read about or see in movies
a climactic, cinematic, automatic blockbuster tale
that would bring out tiny tissue packets from old lady's purses
and the engraved hankies from the suit pockets of the men
at summer campmeetings where I learned to sing
some old bar songs with new lyrics
but mom and dad loved us well
with an apple pie, bubble gum, flannelgraph childhood
where Jesus was at the dinner table
pushing us on the swingset
smiling from the felt boards
dressing in itchy burlap twice a year
and kissing us goodnight in bedtime prayers
but my forever friend grew up too
the world wasn't as pretty as my bedtime stories
romance didn't end the movie
and I couldn't find the sunset to walk off into
then You came leaping off the flannelgraph
asking me for more than I wanted to give
the conversation never really ending
just fading in and out like a bad connection
with a static fear on my end
I almost lost You a few times
but found You again in the oddest of places
a party where You asked me to stay
Dad's face on my wedding day
Picadilly Circus in London
in the middle of a cornfield
in a coffee house in Texas
in an 8lb. 13 ounce invitation to chase You like never before
in the stories of the ones who couldn't pay attention in my class
in a church that is bigger than any building
the more I sought You I realized
it's time to grow up and get up
there's work to be done
less like a kiss goodnight
and more like an earthquake in the morning


"What if Jesus meant what he said? What if we know precisely what Jesus meant when Jesus said what he said? What if we just don't like what Jesus said? What then?" Mark Beeson, "Are We Kidding Ourselves?" post

"If you want flannelgraph Jesus to stay your forever friend, that's what you'll get. If you want to truth about Jesus, that's what you'll get." Mark Beeson, "Tight Like Spandex"sermon 3/1-2/08

"Just remember, you gotta clean what you catch." Papa in William P. Young's The Shack
"The music he wrote must now be performed." N.T. Wright, Simply Christian

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)






2 comments:

Sarah (Koutz) Johnson said...

The picture alone makes this post worth reading. This reminds me of our conversation last week.

...greg smith said...

I like the picture - I always wonder what was up with the bunnies (they're so popular this time of year). And, thanks for letting me be your "ungle greg"...:)