inconsiderate

I wrote this last year as a school assignment. I found it today as I was cleaning and it brought me back to my knees...I still have so much room to grow...

The Light, A (very) Short Allegory

      Change was nothing new to Inconsiderate. In fact, the past year had marked many drastic changes in her life. She found the need to find a circle of friends as she transferred to a new Place of Learning. She also found that her Place of Relaxation was no longer a continual dwelling place, but only a Place of Refuge where her weary frame could continue to struggle against the Mound of Tasks that was ever before her. She toiled each night until she was unable to stand the struggle any longer and collapsed in utter exhaustion.
      As Inconsiderate continued to forge her way through year, the Mound of Tasks grew. Self-Centered began visit her. She revealed to Inconsiderate just how large the Mound of Tasks was and she encouraged Inconsiderate to evaluate the amount of work she was pushing herself to do. Self-Pity was soon knocking at her door. Before long, Inconsiderate entertained the whole Self family daily. They all looked to give their advice on her lifestyle. Because of her new friends Inconsiderate soon realized the she was quite accomplished for handling such a large Mound and she began to complain to her other companions seeking their sympathy.
     The Mound of Tasks became Inconsiderate’s only goal in life. Day after day, she would return to her Place of Refuge and begin to mount the Mound. When objects or even other residents of the Refuge crossed Inconsiderate’s path, she quickly did whatever she felt was necessary to remove them. Nothing mattered but the Mound. Inconsiderate’s exhaustion grew and she began to grow hopeless, seeing no end to her goal.
      After several months, a Teacher of the Light challenged Inconsiderate with a simple question: “what is your identity?”. But this simple question caused Inconsiderate to entirely re-evaluate her purpose. She once again saw the beauty in following the Light. The Light revealed the Mound to her as it really was, a large and dark object blocking her view of the Light. She decided that her entire lifestyle must change starting at the very beginning. It was not important that she find a certain group of friends, but only that she care for and seek companionship from any and all in the Place of Learning. The other people living at the Place of Refuge began to take on names and faces. She saw how oblivious she had been to their cares and needs as she served the Mound. She had not looked to serve anyone, but herself. She found that as she began to serve the unblocked Light, her tasks were no longer toils and the needs of others were slowly revealed to her.

      Once again the Teacher of Light came to Inconsiderate.
He asked her to change her name.

wait

I stole this poem from a friend's blog. I have become very tired of working so hard for things that may not matter. As a senior, I'm becoming very stressed about how the rest of my life is going to be. I read this poem and was reminded of how great my God is. And also, how much I'm not trusting Him.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”

“Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

“My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

“I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

“You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

“You’d never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

“The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

“You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.

“So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait.”

© 1980 Russell Kelfer. All rights reserved.

why study?

     Why do we study history? No, seriously, why? If you ever want to know anything, just Google it. So why do I have to memorize all these key facts, dates and events. And why in the world do I have to know the details of a dead guy’s life? Why is the study and memorization aspect of history necessary in the an age where news travels the world in a matter of seconds and a Flash Drive the size of eraser can hold a small library of information? It is necessary, not because the information is not available, not because information is no longer credible, but because the information is no longer complete.
     Often, the argument is made that we must know the facts because the information we have is no longer credible. If all information is no longer credible, then we can’t even believe our school textbooks. Now, this argument is valid to a degree. If you Google a question, read the first website that comes up in your search and then decide you have all the information, you are obviously mistaken. The keyword in that sentence is obvious. Making sure you have at least three different sources on any given piece of information, is a generally accepted rule. In school, there are times when students try to avoid this rule, but the general populace acknowledges the rule, even if they don’t always abide by it.
     The greater concern, is lack of completeness in historical accounts. Faulty information can easily be weeded out with the assistance of mutable sources. Each source’s level of credibility can also be acquired easily in this day of technology. What is not so easily recognized is the omission of certain details in any given historical subject. And this omission of certain details is often used as current historical authors wish to wipe the hand of God out of HIStory. This omission of certain details is used whenever an author seeks to adapt history to suit their own purposes. The memorization of history is necessary because only then can these accounts be questioned.
     I have been seriously blessed with my education. Most of my schooling was lead by my parents. While they certainly presented the information through their own worldview, nothing is truly unbiased, they also made sure that I thoroughly investigated all sides of any given subject and presented my own conclusion based on solid facts. My junior and senior years have been and are being spent at New Covenant Christian School. I have also been blessed by this educational institution. I understand that not everyone has the opportunities I have been presented with, but I hope that everyone will take hold of the opportunities they do have and maintain a desire to know the whole truth and nothing less.