Sooo...
Things got busy. Super busy. Really a lot busy.
October was really bad. The first half of November was only slightly less bad. Then I was gone.
But now I'm back! (...hollow breeze... crickets...)
*sigh*
How about that Thanksgiving, eh? I bet that was something. A day where we practice gluttony and then lapse into a coma for an hour or so. Lather, rinse, repeat.
We spent our Thanksgiving in Canadia (Canada, I know.) and New York City.
"New York City?!? Get a rope."
(...hollow breeze... crickets...)
Apparently I was the only one who remembers that salsa commercial. I digress.
Yes, we went to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. It's pretty impressive there. Both the falls and Canada. There is so much water going over the falls. It's truly impressive. The hotel we stayed at upgraded us just 'cause and we wound up on the 15th floor, or so, with an open and unobstructed view of the falls.
It was pretty great.
I also discovered that everyone in Canada is really friendly. I say "everyone" as if I met every last Canadian. But everyone we did meet was really nice. Even the border agent. He was really nice. He wasn't even phased when he asked me if we were carrying knives and I said, "yes." I have a small pocket knife that my dad gave me. I keep it in my pocket. Like ya do. He asked me how big and what kind, I told him, and he was all smiles and charm.
Even the signs in Canada are nice. They not only tell you the speed limit, but they tell you the fines for different speeds. Let's say the speed limit is 100kph (kilometers per hour, because Canada.). There are regular signs that tell you what the fine is for 120kph, 140kph, and 160kph. And THEN, there is another set of signs that tell you the penalty that will go on your drivers record for the same speed sets. "Demerits" as they are called and are measured in points. I didn't ask, but I assume after so many points, they take your license, take your car, take your horse, shoot your dog, and then write a country song about it.
Na, they wouldn't do that. It's Canada. They are super nice.
The road quality was very nice. The radio stations were nice. The people on the stations were nice. Their news stations were informative. Their music was American, but with a side of Canadian. I did hear some stuff I've never heard before. And it was nice.
I decided that I could probably live and be very happy in Canada. No, I know nothing about their politics and laws and such. I'm sure I would check that all out before I made that decision. But still, a really nice place with really nice people.
Then we crossed over into New York.
The border agent was a few notches down from "cheerful". Not rude, but not not rude either (is that even a thing?). But he didn't ask me about my knife, so, I guess that was good. All he wanted to know was if we had bought anything and were now transporting it across the line. I told him we bought a magnet. For our refrigerator. He didn't exactly go for his weapon, but I could sense that he wanted to. I smiled, he grunted, then sent us merrily on our way.
Which was when I noticed the road quality suddenly go to hades in a hand basket. Potholes the size of sinkholes. The exit we needed was actually closed, which made us drive a bit through Buffalo, and the part that we skirted was significantly not clean. I wouldn't say "sketchy", but I wouldn't say "not sketchy" either (still not sure that's a thing.).
Eventually we made it into NYC. That's New York City for the uninitiated. And let me tell you, it's pretty impressive. I live in Chicago. The city, not some suburb there of. I'm used to sky scrapers and urban goodies, but Manhattan is dense. And tall. And large.
We stayed with some family peeps. They live up high in a building with a view. It was nice. We spent three days walking Manhattan. We walked over 35 miles in three days. No, that's not an exaggeration. That's an actual number. The male family peep was tracking steps and gps-ing the journey for health purposes. We walked 15 miles one day, 13 the next, and then 7 or so the third day.
I won't lie. I was beat. I slept really well every night.
We hit pretty much all the major touristy thingies. Our familial peeps were fabulous tour guides. And even better, they knew were all the good food was. More importantly, they knew where some of the good pizza was. Now as I said, I'm from Chicago. We know pizza. But so does New York. You don't go there to "eat pizza." You go there to "get a slice." And, you fold it in half, shove it in your pie hole, and like it.
Good stuff.
But you know what impressed me the most the whole time we were there? It was how connected our family peeps were to their city and to the people. They have taken the time to know their people and community. They go places and chat up strangers. They get involved. They do community service projects. And, whenever they'd see a homeless person, they would chat him up, learn who he was, find out his name, and then help him.
That's when I realized something. I may be a "theologian". A preacher man. But those people were better Christians than me.
When I find myself not wanting to be bothered by people, they go out of their way to take the time.
Do we live what we say we believe, or is it just words?
I woke up in the middle of the night last night with this thought in my head. As Christians we talk about proclaiming God's majesty. Or His glory. Or His kingdom. Or His name. And as literalist humans, we file that under "words about stuff". But to proclaim a kingdom or a name is about proclaiming the IDEALS of that kingdom or that person who's name you proclaimed. And if we are going to proclaim it, it's suppose to be because we not only believe it, but it's what we stand for. It's who we are.
Not coincidentally, to "proclaim" something by definition is not only about words. The word "proclaim" also means "to show."
So if I am going to proclaim the Kingdom of God and His Name, that means I need to be actually showing it to people. Living it. Being it.
By it's very definition, Proclamation is about Imitation. There is no proclamation without imitation.
Who we are transcends our location and vocation. We either represent and act upon a higher ideal or we don't. Everything else is just talk and wasted time.
What is it that you believe and, more importantly, what are you doing about it? Just as importantly, what does how you live say about what you believe? And I'm not talking about rules or laws. I'm talking about character and compassion. Love and integrity. Selflessness and the need of people.
I hope you were inspired, some how, to look closely at yourself this Thanksgiving. Not only to see what things you are thankful for, but to see if you are ever the thing someone else is thankful for.
Maybe the answer to that question is important.
Have a great night.
