I Carry All That Stuff To This Day

At our Free Store conversation on Thursday morning our friend George Dunn led us in a discussion of Matthew 7:7-12.  The passage is about the instinctive desire of parents to give good things to their children.  George started by saying, "I was a spoiled little boy for a while." He then said, "I learned to be a materialistic pig at Christmas" but one year "I asked for a train set and got a lump of coal instead."  On a happier note he told us about a time that he received a "Botany 500 3G mohair suit" as a graduation present even though his family was poor.  Another friend told the story of when his little sister was born.  He asked his mom, "Where did she come from?"  Mom said, "Jesus gave her to us."  His response was, "Give her back to Jesus coz we don't want her" which made us laugh.

At this point we talked a bit about how Jesus said that if parents know how to give good things to their kids then surely God knows how to give people what they need.  George said, "If I had the means I'd pretty much do anything for my son Jeremy."  He said, "I wouldn't wrap up a Copperhead and give it to him."  We laughed when someone said, "That would be like if Donald asked for a donut and we gave him a raisin instead."  Donald didn't seem very pleased at this suggestion and said loudly, "I be havin blessings.  I help in the church kitchen.  I want to do it because God told me to do it."

As the conversation proceeded George said, "Sometimes we pray to be extricated from things and yet we don't get delivered."  He made us laugh when he said that we should just get used to it because "the NT according to George" says "shit happens."  George then quoted the philosopher Epictetus who said, "It is not the things that happen to men but how they view them that matters."  He said, "There was a time when I had no desire to live anymore.  Everything had gone wrong in my life.  But God helped me through it and I learned from the experience."  Someone said that God doesn't always intervene for us because ultimately we need to learn that we are responsible for our own lives.  Marney said, "I needed to hear that.  I gotta trust God and let my son Marco deal with his own problems."

As we moved on in the conversation Rick said, "I had expectations put on me that were very high.  If I didn't take my school clothes off when I got home that was a mistake.  I became cynical and very unforgiving.  I carry all that stuff to this day."  Marney said, "It's very difficult when you have parents with high expectations."  At this George told us about the Robert Redford character in the movie "The Horse Whisperer."  Although he was bull whipped as a boy he grew up to be a very patient and loving man that had the ability to tame the wildest horses.  It was encouraging to realize that we can overcome traumatic experiences in our lives and move forward in positive ways even with the scars.

As the conversation moved to its conclusion George said, "We ask God for stuff but we need to ask for the Spirit."  At this another friend said, "You can't buy the most important things in life--love, happiness, and life itself.  Look at Steve Jobs who died at 57 years old and with all his money couldn't buy another minute."  In the end we are all equally poor without the gift of life and equally rich with it.