Noise Breaks Upon Us

So tell me why I should run for cover
At the sound of the coming thunder
All I hear is the cry of my lover, So take your shot, I won’t turn back .   

Needtobreathe

Some sounds suit the way we live and some sounds jar the psyche.  The wind chimes in their tinkling rhythm kept me awake.  Now I feel their fit with the ocean breeze and night-time fog.  The dog next door barks.  I hear its yelp at six a.m. I enjoy dogs and have no quarrel with the occasional bark. This early I’m in REM and the bark finds its way into dystopian dreams. The ice-cream-man is a universal sound.  The calliope bell, Farmer and the Dell, means popsicles in every neighborhood.  Other easily recognized noises are not so pleasant.

Downtown Pasadena working with Dr. John Perkins (Let Justice Roll Down) Erik slept to the sound of sirens and police helicopters.  In Joshua Tree, near the Twentynine Palms Marine base, local bombing practice shakes the basin.  Late Summer is monsoon season. Hard rains and wind-slanted showers pelt the aluminum bathroom fan alerting us to present storms.  One such storm washed away our front yard, changing ever my response to downpours (Oh, Texas!).

A simple sound; the two-a.m. phone call can change everything.  That same sound mid-morning confirming a new-employer has a completely different tone.  Perception of noises determines my response.  What I hold to and what I let go.  Camping outdoors I sleep terrifically.  Those who fear bugs, bears, snakes and storm won’t find rest in a tent dependent on nature.  Though perfectly secure; when focus is on fear the peace won’t come. 

Noise breaks upon us from the outside-in. May we hammock (resting with full-weight) in the sounds we hear as symphony.  Let us not fear in chaos and cacophony.

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. 

Selah.

No Years Resolutions

So tell me why I should run for cover At the sound of the coming thunder All I hear is the cry of my lover So take your shot I won't turn back                                                                                            ---NeedToBreathe

 Seasons come with blessings too rich to count and trials that, if possible, push me into bed, under the covers to stay til safe to come out again.  The problem is that fully entering into life brings both the pain and the blessing.  They come at me side by side accompanied by each other.  I am forced to live life battling my fears, banking on my hope, “But hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?”

There are life’s question marks.  The death of my father-in law.  Miscellaneous stuff.  I drive to work with anxiety---assured I will get beat up.  Why fret?  I am a man loved by my wife, loved by my Jesus, by a daughter and by a rich circle of friends.  The anxiety comes.  I cling to bible verses.  I choose.  The new year’s resolutions help.

I’m doing it different.  No year’s resolutions.  Just January.  New goals in February. One month at a time.  Not doing a long list (though one exists). Mostly what I can carry in my brain.  Not doing the whole Bible in a year.  Just Matthew and Mark this month.  Not stressing about work-out goals.  Just trying to fit it in.  Not trying to get it all done.  Just moving in a direction.  Not perfection.  Just more Jesus.

Well I know what's right, I got just one life In a world that keeps on pushin' me around But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down                                            ---Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers