Yes Please

Brooke Waggoner "Young Friend" from Paper Beats Rock on Vimeo.

Should I eat the peaches?

I have been thinking a lot lately about the concept of trust.
I remember a sermon I heard in high school on a passage that I can not seem to find at the moment that talked of not being skeptical but instead being trusting.
How sad that we live in a world where we almost have to be skeptical to avoid getting ripped off or cheated.

I was leaving class this morning and walking to my car which I had strategically parked in the Walgreen's parking lot on the strip to avoid getting ticketed since I refuse to buy a $200 parking pass for the summer. As I was getting into my car I heard a woman's voice say "excuse me" pretty loudly from behind me. I turned around to see a middle aged woman holding a grocery sack.
As she walked over to my car I immediately thought of an email my mom had sent me a few weeks ago about people asking you things when you are getting in your car so they can grab your purse. (just for the record.. I hate those precaution emails... I know I need to be safe but I feel like it's a huge conspiracy of anxious and worry wart-old ladies who type those up)
To be honest, I am not a cautious person by any means... I have a bad habit of running towards danger and ending up in the wrong places at the wrong times....but for some reason my red flags went up today.
The lady reached into her bag and pulled out four perfectly colored peaches and handed them to me (imagine me looking confused, one foot in the car -one on the pavement, dropping my keys and phone on the ground). She explained that she was leaving for Florida and the peaches from her garden would be spoiled when she got home and that she couldn't possibly eat them all. I said thank you and got in and left.

On my way home as I processed what had happened and began asking myself if eating peaches from a stranger was a sketchy idea, I realized something about myself.

I am more skeptical of people who do nice things for me for no reason than of disheveled people, wreaking of alcohol who ask me for money on the streets.

What is wrong with this picture?

When Conviction becomes beautiful

I know this is heavy but it really resonates with me. There is something about conviction that is almost beautiful. I guess we could call that "Redemption." There is a song we sing at my church on occasion in an act of repentance and it humbles me more than any other. I often convince myself that I have come so far and that I am living so "obediently" only to be moved to tears at the arrogance and selfish nature of my human heart.


"Father of the nations, You who bless the poor-
We're servants of the endless want and drive for more.
We've made our greed a virtue, while the children starve.
Come change our joy to sorrow, till our lives reflect Your heart."

Pursuit

So I changed the Title of my Blog.
I hope that rather than being a fish in a bowl, maybe I can start to chip away at this face that I so pridefully show the world and get to the grit of who I really am and more importantly the truth that dwells within me.

Father of all that is good and righteous,
Grant me the strength to push through complacency and comfort into complete and utter trust.
Burn away my impurities and my selfish ambitions.
Ignite in me a flame that burns consistently for you: my maker.
May my very life be ablaze- radiant with light and emotion that pours from you: the source of my Spirit.
May I find relief only in you.
May I delight solely in your will.
May my eyes be forever glued to yours, my ears forever tuned to hear your whispers, and my mouth forever tasting your words.