This is the second of five blogs reflecting on my trip to the Seattle area a few weeks ago.   A few days before my trip, I was meditating on the story in John 5, of the invalid laying by the pool in Bethsaida. This man has been trying to get into this pool at just the right time, in order to be healed, for over 38 years. Yet Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” Isn’t the answer obvious? I was reflecting on this question as I prepared to be the weekend retreat speaker for a church group. It occurred to me that Jesus’ question is not as shallow – or as obvious – as it seems.  On the surface level, of course, we know the man wants to be healed He’s obviously been sitting by that pool for nearly 40 years with a specific purpose in mind. Yet this question from Jesus – like many things he says – is designed to dig below the surface to deeper issues. He wants to root out our motives and attitudes. He wants us to become self-aware, and recognize whether or not ...

For the next few weeks I want to share some reflections based on my October trip north to the Seattle area.  I parked in front of an old, two story building not far from the Columbia River and stepped into the history of a 1911 building. For a number of years this huge building (14,000 square feet) was a church. It also spent time as a very large home, and even had years as an Antique Mall. There were nooks and crannies, old pipes and insulation, furniture from other eras, and non-standard windows and shades.  My host and her parents bought this building at an auction one year ago. Some of the large, public spaces will be redesigned and re-purposed to serve as rental space, or an art studio, or a meeting and event room. Other parts of this building will be updated and used as originally intended: as bedrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms and closets. Walls will be moved, space will be cleared, furnishings will be relocated, fresh paint will be applied.  Sometimes we...

“I’ve never done this before,” I told the young man. He said, “My mom’s in her 60’s and she does it all the time!” That was only partly reassuring, because – even though I’m also over 60 - I was facing a totally new and rather scary experience. The young man hooked me into the harness, encouraged me to take my time, and just see what I could do.  I took a deep breath and looked for the green hand-grips, which were the largest and easy to grab.  I just focused on what was before me, one step higher at time, and refused to look down. When my arms grew tired, I leaned back momentarily to rest and kept my grip. And then, all of a sudden, I was there. I had reached the top. So I pushed off the wall, and the auto-belay lowered me down. I was full of a great sense of exultation and accomplishment. I had done it! I had climbed a vertical wall! Now I realize that for some people hitching themselves to a rope and climbing an indoor wall would be no big deal. For me...

We were standing near massive rocks at the edge of the ocean on the Oregon coast. There was a sign warning us of the ferocity of the waves, able to catch someone…pull them off the path…and dash them against the rocks. People had died right below where we were standing. Needless to say, we stepped back.  As we saw the surf hurtle toward shore, we almost stopped breathing. Each wave would hit the rocks with a boom, spray would explode dramatically in the air, then the water would recede. And, of course, the rocks simply took the beating. The wave would expend its tremendous force – force that could crush a human being – yet the rocks were immovable. Watching this scene brought to mind the Scriptures in Matthew and Luke where Jesus talks about where we should build our houses. Do we place them on a foundation of rock? Or of sand? I’ve often wondered why anyone would build a house on sand. I imagine that its easier and quicker. You can level the ground fast and cheap...

My shoulder ached. After a few weeks with no improvement, I thought it was time to seek some answers. A week later I found myself with the Physical Therapist scheduling regular visits. I kept hoping that one day I’d wake up and be pain free.  Don’t we all feel like that sometimes? Months went by. The shoulder continued to hurt. I wanted the truth to be different than reality. I wanted my arm to repair itself. To be whole once again without help from a surgeon! It was not to be. I needed the surgeon’s skill to remove the obstacles to recovery.  I think we face spiritual truth often with that same perspective:  Avoidance.  Denial. Procrastination.  Something is wrong in our lives, or causing pain in our hearts. It might be a relationship or a circumstance…and we want to deny the need for change. We hope the problem will go away. Or, if not, that the road to recovery will be easy. That the tension or difficulty will ease by itself....