October 08
BLJ - Living with Freaks

BLJ's chapter on community is subtitled "Living with Freaks"----I don't know about you, but when I first read (and thought about) it, it brought me back to a important time in my life....a defining moment that I will share with the core group on October 21, 2007. No, I didn't feel (or believe I looked "freakish") but inside I realized I was, in many ways, living a "freakish" life---one drifting with the flow; my reality was surviving in a hellish situation (Viet Nam) and existing soul-less.

One of the chapter quotes I read the other night is found about the About a Boy movie (quote on p. 180) I confess... I like movies and often will use them (as you will see) as examples we can relate to in discussing our spiritual walk. The lead character, Hugh Grant, is a man living a lonely and relationship-less life although he hasn't realized it yet or, at least, accepted it. As Miller puts it, Hornby (Grant) believes that life is a play about himself, that all other characters are only acting minor roles in a story that centers around him. Miller admits that his life felt like that. In my defining moment, in another season of life, I, too, realized that. In many aspects (roles) of my life, I was in a One Act play---and I felt empty.

This I believe:

Real relationships give purpose; real relationships bring balance to life; real relationships in community bring wellness and wholeness to life. And...it begins with a REAL relationship with Jesus. How about you? Do you relate? Does this make sense. I hope you are willing to share a defining moment with the group next time we meet. ---- Until then---Selah.

Grace, Bob