we do the hokey pokey and we turn ourselves around

So the first thing that I can really remember this morning was standing in a line, and then someone over an intercom, telling us it was time to get ready for the hokey pokey. . .

no i wasn't at a skating rink . . . and no this wasn't the twilight zone.

I actually spent half of my day at the Indianapolis children's museum. and there is nothing like starting your day off then doing the hokey pokey with a couple hundred little kids.

(tangent)
if for some reason you are thinking about having kids . . . your first step is to spend a day at any children's museum . . . it maybe the most effective form of birth control known to man . . . just food for thought.

(anyways)
so I went with my sister, and my nephew and nieces. It was really fun, and so much had changed since I had been to the museum. What I really enjoyed was watching my kids (Blake, Blair & Bree) enjoy themselves. Watching them discovering things, and putting on costumes, and being creative was such a good thing for me.
it made me think of this one conversation that Jesus had.

Matthew 18:1-6
1) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2) He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3) And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4) Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5) "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6) if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

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after I recall this story I always wonder what part of being like children was Jesus getting at. was it being messy ? was it about playing games ? was it about being cute ? or was it about something else ?

the common thing I have heard, and I'm pretty sure I heard it the whole time i was growing up was, that Jesus was talking about faith. That we need to have faith like children. Which most people who don't know God, see this as a blind faith, or an unreasonable faith. Then this leads into debates about what kind of faith we should have . . . but I have come to the personal conclusion (and I say personal because I'm not telling you to think this) that Jesus is not talking about faith.

there is something else I think he might be getting at.

there is a certain innocence that children have. you know what I mean, they haven't been corrupted. not that kids don't do bad things, I'm talking about a different kind of corruption. it is a corruption of civilization.

(i think) the reason jesus tells us to be like children to enter the kingdom is the same reason that at 9am there were 100 kids doing the hokey pokey.

their hearts have no been corrupted by the civilized-ness that we have created. When the hokey pokey started this morning the first thought in my head was "oh come on" . . . why was that. It is because i have been civilized. I have been told so many times, that I should act like my age or group up, or fit in, or don't stand out . . . that I have lost the innocence of being uncivilized.

maybe I am crazy but what Jesus' conversation stemmed directly from someone basically saying . . . Jesus how can I be the greatest . . . what steps do I need to do . . . what are all the right moves to get me to the right place . . . what is the right path . . . what is appropriate for me . . . this kinds of questions come from a conforming nature. This nature says how do i fit in and do the right things so I get what I want, or think is important.

I think Jesus wants us to live lives that are uncivilized. Lives that don't focus on fitting in, and "doing the right things" as much as he wants us to know him, and live OUR LIVES passionately for him.

you know jesus did more than answer the question . . . he went on to say that if you steal this innocence from someone, if you civilize them, then you would be better off drowning with a giant stone around your neck. (nice jesus) He was pretty blunt, about not stealing someone's innocence.

So this morning as I was looking very awkward about the hokey pokey, i noticed one of my nieces stopped participating. It was clear that she was thinking, I am too old to be doing this.

I think in that moment, my heart broke a little bit . . . I don't want her to loose that passion for life, and for living in the moment. so in that moment I decided to put my right arm in and shake it all about. I did the hokey pokey and I turned myself around

that's what it's all about.

a life tunnel

If you are like me then when you go on road trips you play games. Because no matter how fun the destination you are attempting to get to, the hours sitting in one spot turn out to be horrific if you can't make your own fun. I don't know what games you play, but I have played a lot of different games. And I'm not talking about the "hey lug your huge (original) game boy with the attachable night light " type of games. I'm talking about game that involve the group of people you are traveling with.

When I was a kid, my dad would play license plate poker with me. The way this game worked, was whenever a car was about to pass you, if it was your turn you decided if you wanted that license plate. And whatever was on the plate, those were your cards, and who ever had the best hand won. This game could last for hours. Another game we played when I was a kid, involved my parents telling us little tongue twisters or limericks and seeing if my brother or I could actually repeat them.

When I was in college I took a road trip to Florida for spring break. We took three vehicles and obviously walkie talkies. My favorite game, was when my friend marcus would get on the walkie talkie every 15 minutes and say "All is clear on the Eastern Front". I was one of the drivers so I found that to be quite enjoyable (everyone else didn't enjoy it as much). In my car we played a version of name that tune, and who could spot the weirdest people in the cars traveling around us. And of course whenever we came to a tunnel we would all hold our breath lift our feet and touch a piece of metal. Or some combination of the three.

I didn't play the tunnel game when I was a kid. Now that I think about it, I think it was because tunnel's were scary to me as a kid. They were dark, and cramped, and everyone in the car seemed a little more edgy when we were going through a long tunnel.

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today I was reading in Jeremiah. I was learning how God had called Jeremiah, and how basically God using him was a symbol of God saying "This is from me, not some guy" because Jeremiah was a nobody. I was kinda looking at an overview of the book, and realizing that when Jeremiah was going around doing his prophet thing God was using him to tell the people to repent from the wicked ways and turn to him, and then they wouldn't be destroyed.

but at some point God's message changed, it was no longer repent, it was because of the things you have done, Jerusalem will be destroyed but have hope I will restore those who are faithful to me.

At some point, it was decided that the Judeans were going to be taken from their homeland and there was nothing they could do about it. They had already missed their opportunity, and now their hope could only be found in God's restoration.

I was thinking about how this translates into my life today. . .

I think we all go through life tunnels. Times when things are dark, and life is scary and we have no control over what is going on. This is exactly what the Judeans were experiencing. They were in a dark tunnel while they were in exile in Babylon. And just like most tunnels they couldn't see around the curve . . . they didn't know how long this would last.

I am in a life tunnel right now . . . I didn't see it coming and once I was in it, I lost all control. I can't see around the curve, and I don't know how long this is going to last. But I am reminded of God's promise to the Judeans . . . he would restore them. There would be light at the end of the tunnel.

I don't know what life looks like in the light at the end of this life tunnel. But I do know one thing, God has promised to give the light. To restore my sight, relieve my pain, and ease my fears.

so today may you realize that as you experience your life tunnels (those dark times when you can't understand why, or don't think life could ever be good again) that your God is bigger than all the world can throw at you, and that he has promised you light at the end of the tunnel