Skip to main content

I'm Allergic to Housework

So awhile ago my wife, Jennifer, was having some issues. (Disclaimer: I know, she's a girl and they all have issues.) But these issues were causing my wife to have headaches and nasal problems.

So after ruling out other possibilities, the doctors sent her to be tested for allergies. If you've never been tested for allergies, I would suggest it. It's a wonderful experience where they treat your arm like a pin cushion. They stick you with row upon row of the usual suspects. So after the tests were done, we waited a week and found out Jen is allergic to...

Corn...dust...children...Okay, I made that last one up. But tell me how a girl living in Indiana is allergic to corn? Isn't that like a fish being allergic to water? Or birds being allergic to feathers? Or Chuck Norris being allergic to cool? It just doesn't make sense. (Side note: Did you know that Chuck Norris invented the Cesarean section when he roundhouse-kicked his way out of his mother's womb? How cool is that?)

So now that I have to supervise our children dusting the house, I have some time to ponder; do we as Christians become 'allergic' to things that surround us? Are there normal happenings in church which cause us to react poorly? Are there people in our communities about whom we make rash judgments (pun intended)?

It seems to me that since God made us for relationships, we should seek a solution to all these unhealthy reactions. And perhaps the solution is more of what Jesus modeled in John 17:20-21. Jesus prayed for unity among the believers. It will make all of our lives so much more enjoyable and so much less dramatic.

I also imagine Jesus knew that believers who got along would be the best message non-believers could see. In this way, they won't become allergic to us.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

But I Wanted It

As I've said before , I'm looking for a new place to do youth ministry. Job searching in itself can be a full time task. Unfortunately, no one is paying me to look for a job. And when you haven't had to find a job in 15 years, the whole experience can feel brand new. And nerve-wracking. And quiet. So very, very quiet. I may spend a few hours here and there sending out my resumes and writing cover letters. But the churches I'm sending my information to have their own timeline. And sometimes that timeline does not involve acknowledging my presence. Which is fine, especially if one of the churches I've applied to is reading this right now. I understand those looking for youth pastors will have their own agenda and their own timeline. But it leaves me sitting here with a deafening quiet around me. I am choosing to walk by faith through these days, picturing God working behind the scenes (always behind the scenes) and holding His voice very still, until He is re...