Rabbit

Last night I dreamed of a rabbit.  It was nothing special.  A typical brown Florida rabbit hopping unexpectedly into the scene of the dream from a place that rabbits might live.  It was not even part of the storyline of the dream.  It just occurred as a moment in the dream.  It didn't do anything magical or strange.  Just looked at me and then hopped on about it's business.  This is common for me with dream symbols and I've learned to pay attention to them when they occur.

Truthfully, I didn't even think much about it until my wife mentioned a rabbit today and the recollection of the dream flooded back.  But then she said she also dreamed of a rabbit last night, though in a different form.  That really made me start thinking.

Now, I'm wont to over think everything, so this in itself may be the meaning of the symbol, but since understanding a dream is more about understanding how the dreamer reacted to the symbol and what it means to that person, I thought to write it out and see what occurs.

I looked up typical meanings of rabbits in dreams, in myths, in folklore.  There's a lot there about magic and innocence, and helplessness, and fertility, and cunning, but it really has more to do with the associations I give rabbits, so I wasn't settled on any one thing.

So how do I view rabbits?  I think most of Br'er Rabbit.  They are smart, cunning, elusive, mischievous.  While they can be seen as innocent and helpless, I don't view them that way.  In fact, I'm more apt to see them as kind of mean.  This comes from experiences with real rabbits.  Their cute looks bely teeth and claws.  They fight with each other, bite, and even abandon their young.  But this is part of their nature and secondary in my mind.  We are all of us made up of pleasant and not so pleasant aspects that form a synergistic whole. 

So for me, rabbits are uncatchable without weapons.  Not needing to eat them, I see them as fellow creatures sharing a space.  They are relatively untameable, adaptable.  We find them existing in close proximity to us and often not even known.  Unlike other commensal species, they keep their distance and do relatively little nuisance to us.

I once had an experience with a rabbit as part of a school project to experience 'place'.  I had to visit the same place for a set duration for a set period of time and record anything of note both internal and external.  Then cap it off with a presentation expressing what I had learned of the place.

My place was a little grove where a rabbit just like the one in the dream kept appearing as well.  It would come out and lounge and I began to try to take a picture of it up close.  But this required some stalking with my old disposable camera.  This sparked a silent game in which I would wait for it, then stalk, only to be foiled at the moment of the shutter click when it would bounce away.  By the end of the project I had given up and decided to say my goodbyes and admit defeat.  That very last day, the rabbit appeared again and this time brought out several little ones in tow.  This mother allowed me to see them this once, showed me to them, and quickly herded them back into their lair.  It was truly a moment of understanding for us both.  She had been playing with me all along, protecting her young which were no doubt watching from the brush.

I was reminded of Br'er Rabbit.  The stories I had grown up on told of this tricky cunning nature.  So I capped my project by sketching my rabbit friend as Br'er Rabbit.  And to this day, I always greet rabbits kindly and respectfully when I see them.  This is my primary association with the animal.

But another aspect of understanding a dream is how the image in the dream was perceived in the dream.  What emotions and thoughts did it arouse?  This is difficult and I won't blog all the details since they are complex and very personal.  There is a bit of a revelatory or capstone nature to it.  Sort of cementing or confirming the effects of some good changes that have happened in my life.  And there is a bit of the fear representation element, though it is a subtle care more than a real fear, like the fear of breaking something delicate.  Then there is the aspect of fertility, though not my own or my wife's that is at issue. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly is the aspect of intuition.  The rabbit looked at me and a moment of understanding passed.  Since rabbits can represent intuition, I am confirmed in thinking that it might have been a message to let go of my rationality in certain situations of my life and go with my intuition.  My logic doubts it, but perhaps this dream was telling me to trust it.

The symbol is so complex, but it all rolls into one cloudy sort of point at one particular complex thing in my waking life.  I am becoming more settled on this as I write.  If I dream it again that could confirm or change it.  But either way, time will tell.

Affirmative

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the nature of love and my reactions to certain things in my life.  Overall, things are not bad, and I feel I am now able to take a few steps toward living the life I am made to live.  But this life is increasingly uncertain in that there is not a clear path or plan.  It is an increasingly day by day, moment by moment existence where I am constantly evaluating my circumstances, looking and listening for God's direction.

I am totally happy to be in this place, but at the same time it offers unexpected challenges.  Namely, I find myself subject to many doubts.  Since I have no clear path immediately before me, I am open to self-criticism.  I have been learning how to deal with this, but one thing I feel a need to do is to affirm what I know to be true about myself.  A friend and mentor once told me that we must forever recount the goodness of God in our lives.  Keep the truth forever before our eyes lest we forget and despair in the moment.  So in that vein, I am writing this.  I hope that it will not seem pretentious or proud.  But considering that only one or two people will ever read this, I don't think that will be a big problem.  Here's what I know:

I am Cav.  I am a child of God.  A sinner saved by unmerited favor.  I did not choose Him, He chose me, chased me, rescued me from my own destruction.  As such I am bound to Him by love and duty.  I am His come flames of hell or glories of pleasure.  I can not be otherwise.

I was born under the vow of Hanna, like Samuel, given over to God before my very conception.  I had nothing to do with it.

I died.  I was given life and forfeit it, despising the gift, unworthy of it.  I gave it up and it was snatched up by my God.  I do not own it.  I am Aragh the wolf, living dead that I might not fear for my life and can exist with abandon.

I am a wild child made for and shaped by the natural world.  I understand it, feel at home in it.  It is a part of my being.  Untamable, infinitely adaptable, unity in diversity, diversity in unity, dangerous and gentle, life-giving and life-taking.

I am a Sheepdog, helping my Shepherd handle the sheep.  Loyal, commandable, responsive, intuitive, brave, self-sacrificing, unassuming, unseeking of glory.  I desire only to hear my master's praise and feel his hand upon my head.  I will not lose one with whom I am charged.  I will give my life for them and in the service of the Shepherd without a second thought.  They are as safe with me as they are with Him, though anyone who would harm them will feel my savage bite.

I am a seer, able to understand and interpret things as they are in Truth, as the Spirit gives me clarity.  This is not a magic power.  This is not a self-aggrandizing thing.  In fact, it is quite the opposite, it comes with a burden.  I will forever be outcast, misunderstood, misaligned with those around me.  Camel hair and locusts are my lot.  This is a fallen world, so seeing more means I cannot ignore pain, I feel the ache of God's heart for his lost children, their pain and sin hurts me and I long to gather them up under His sheltering wings.  Sadly, this is too often rejected as we strive to be well on our own.  Too unfamiliar to people.  This is my burden.  Yet, I will love openly, live openly, speak openly, poor myself out and take in the pain and rejection as Jesus himself was rejected.  I know that though I may suffer, others will see God's love because it does not return void.

I am all of this and more.  Imperfect, broken, punk to the world because I am of a different stuff, for a different world.  And I will accomplish all that He has for me, not in my own strength but because He is my portion and He will not be forsworn.  So help me God.

God did it

I've been saving this up until the entire deal was over and I could safely say so.  Now I believe it is true.  Here's the story.

We bought our house at the tail end of the housing peak.  We were smart enough to avoid the pitfall mortgages and to buy a house that we could afford.  We bought it under value, did lots of work to it, and in a year had it reappraised.  We had gained significant equity which we thought would preserve us during the inevitable crash that everyone with a brain saw coming.  But it didn't.  The values fell so far that we not only lost the equity but the house was valued at less than half what we paid for it.

Now things were still good in that we could afford it.  But the neighborhood, which was not the best in the first place began to slip and we could not sell or refinance.  We were locked into the payment for thirty years.  At the rate of recovery there was no way we could ever make back the money and certainly not within a time frame which we needed to move.

So we debated several things and investigated options and ultimately sat on it until the time seemed right.  Earlier this year, that time hit.  We decided we needed to get out.  Trouble at my son's school, new neighbor issues, the huge albatross of a home investment, family issues all pointed to one thing.  But we knew we had no options before.  but we also know that God is all powerful and works in the world today.  So I asked him to take care of this some way or other.

I called the bank to ask about options, knowing there weren't many for people who were smart enough to afford their homes...why would a bank help someone who could pay?  But they said there were programs for our case.  So I needed a realtor.  My wife knew one who turned out to specialize in short sales, so we signed up with her.  She gave us details about programs and processes and we were in for the haul, expecting this could take nearly a year and cost us money in the end.

But then the bank told us they had a program that was essentially a "no doc" short sale.  We say we need to sell and they work with us to do it.  No financial record search, no haggling, etc.  Our realtor had never had something like this before.  Even her other short sales with far more hardship were slow and painful.

We listed the house and had a buyer in less than a week.  The bank told us how much we needed to get and we had more than that.  It took a few months to work out all the paperwork, etc, but this month we closed the sale, had the balance of debt written off, and even came a way with a nice relocation incentive.  All told about 4 months.

We even found a nice house to rent in a good area with more square footage and for less than our mortgage payment.  I know no one who has had it this easy.  Our realtor doesn't either.  I know others in the process who are struggling through in the typical fashion or through other similar relief options.

I did nothing to make this happen.  I have no special knowledge of real estate, and I am not a holy man.  There is only one explanation for this entire process:  I asked God to do it and he did.  I don't know why he might not do it for other people.  I'm not going to start making theological premises out of it.  Suffice to say it is not by works of righteousness which I have done.  But the credit must go to my God who claims to know and control all things and who promises to give us good things, and he did.

For Fidelity

I want to make a case for fidelity.  Most people don't really use this word in common speech, so it might not even register with clear definition for many people.  Simply put, it is the state of being faithful.  It doesn't necessarily refer to marriage, though that kind of fidelity is probably what comes to mind if anything at all.  It can also mean close reproduction, as in video or sound...remember the old hifi's?  It just means being true to whatever you have committed to.  If you translate a book, it should be done faithfully.  If you deliver a message, if you offer assistance, if you give your word.  In all of these things we should have a high degree of fidelity.

Sadly, it seems this is grossly lacking in our society.  I know far too many people who shift and blow with trends and whims and emotions.  As I believe grace to be the central concept of Christianity, I don't condemn anyone for it.  I know we all have our issues and that God works with us wherever we are.

But I for one, take fidelity very seriously.  I value it.  I can't be happy when a husband or wife or mother or father leave.  I can't be happy when they find someone new.  I can't just shrug when someone leaves their faith.  I have to root for the white knight.  Give me the Princess Bride, not Dear John.  The Four Feathers, not the Watchmen.  I know life happens and we all have to muddle through.  I know good that has worked out after all kinds of bad faith cases.  Like I said, I'm not judging anyone or setting up some sort of system.  But I also can't pretend it doesn't bother me.

I want my words to be true; I don't use them loosely.  I want my commitments to be real; I don't make them lightly.  In this broken world, there are virtuous people who mean what they say and do what they commit to.  They still exist today.  But we don't value it.  We barely speak of it.  Fidelity is a virtue we need to reclaim.

As You're Told

I think I have come to a conclusion.  These things don't happen lightly for me.  It takes time and lots of consideration before I can really decide that something is strong enough to rest on.  I used to be much more impetuous about these things, but after seeing so many of my constructs torn apart, I sort of naturally fell into a pattern of reserving judgement.  So I'm talking several years of consideration on this one.

Even then, it could turn out to be false, so I defer always to the truth (dictionary) and the Truth (philosophical), as the case may be.  So ask me in 10 years and I may have walked away from this one.  But I am starting to think it's a sound idea.

This idea is that we each only have to do what God tells us to do.  I know that sounds stupidly simple.  But I mean each of us has only to do what God individually tells each of us personally to do.  Now I'll caveat that God speaks in different ways.  Always revealing in the way that we can best understand.  So, obviously we have to look circumspectly and evaluate and not be foolish about it.  But seriously, I'm not you, nor any one else.  As Jack said, we each only get our part of the story.  So why should we expect them to all match up?

Ok, I can hear the various religious archetypes screaming about it already, so I'll elaborate.

One might argue that we need to rely on the Bible.  We can't just strike out on our own whims!  Yes.  I agree totally.  So you and I can read the same verse and it will mean different things to us.  Who's right?  This argument is too often used to justify a proof-texted agenda.  And of course, everyone knows that your interpretation is actually plain and clear.  I'm talking about everyone else's.  In this case, I can only take what I am hearing from it.  You might get something else.  So my point is made in that you can assume your interpretation is for you and mine is for me.

Well that's just universalism!  No one's wrong, so no one's right!  No, it isn't.  I didn't say everyone would be right.  Just that we are where we are and that God will deal with us individually.  At times we might agree.  Sometimes people might all come together with a similar notion and accomplish some collective goodness.  At times we might not.  At times most of you might be on one page and one of you won't be.  So is that person supposed to defer what's on his heart because the majority, or the "authority" know better?  Or is this a Daniel, Elijah, John the Baptist moment where this one man is to stand against the majority and the powerful?  How could you tell?  If we are each free to act as God tells us, then this will never be a problem.

Well what if we are wrong?  Don't we need the covering?  If we're relying on God to guide us how deceived do you think we can get?  Is God so weak that he'll sit by while any liar corrupts His name and leads those who genuinely seek him astray?  You called on Him because he's able to do what you can't.  Well, time for him to make good, yeah?  Or is he so vindictive that he will point in a direction, leave us to get there on our own, and smite us if we get lost?  Not so!

The more I think about it, the only people who stand to lose from this mentality are the ones who build their lives around getting others to do what they want them to do.  I'm not slamming churches here.  If God told someone to go start a big church and to do it in a certain way, then I'm not going to stand in his way.  God will send the support and workers he needs to do it.  He won't need to coerce anyone.  Just make the need known, share the vision, and do what God's telling him to do.  But just because God told that guy to do what he is doing doesn't mean he's telling me to do it the same way.  And if I am not on the same page no good can come from forcing me.  I'll either do it for the wrong reasons or neglect what I'm being told to do.  This will only harm both causes since someone who doesn't get it can't possibly further your cause, and if I do get it, but am supposed to be doing something else, your cause has become a stumbling block for me.

Any way I look at it, I'm safe if I am responsible only for what God tells me in my heart to do.  He might say it through someone else.  He might split the sky with a debilitating vision.  He might whisper it in the depths of my soul.  He might make it known in a thousand ways.  But if I follow what I am being told to do, how can anyone ask me to do otherwise?  Our role should not be to guard and control people, but to teach them how to hear for themselves.  My problem with authority isn't that I don't want to follow it when I should, it's that you keep trying to be it when you aren't, bro.

Obstinate

Very often my own life illustrates Truth to me.  Often my relationship with my child tells me many things.  Just recently, as is her bent, she was getting an attitude when I tried to talk about something important for me, but which she doesn't care about or want to think about.  Now, I realize it was over her head somewhat, but not so far that she couldn't engage with me on some level.  But instead she chose to make it as difficult to proceed as possible.  To so ruin the moment that I didn't even want to talk any more.  So was I to force the issue and win the battle of wills?  Sometimes I do, but not in this case.  So I stopped talking.

That's when it hit me: that she was treating me very much like we treat God.  I wanted to share something that was from a deep part of me.  I wanted to reveal my heart to her and to know hers and to experience the real joy of close friendship.  But she was more interested in what I could do for her and nothing more.  Don't bother her with anything else or she'll do as poor a job and make it as miserable as possible until she gets her way or hates me for forcing things.  It's a fight that truly can't be won...not really.  I can enforce my will but I can't in the least make her love me...make her want to know me.

All the blessings of clean clothes, good food, shelter, protection, entertainment that I bestow upon her are lost.  They just are what she has always known.  They don't make her love me, though of course I would not stop them...sure check them from time to time, remove luxuries when necessary to coax behavior.  Of course, I will feed her, clothe her, comfort her, protect her always, even if she doesn't acknowledge it or deserve it.  But what I really want is the open and free relationship of enjoying each other's company.

I think God wants nothing different from us.

Padded chains

Today I was confronted with a scenario that makes me very angry.  Not angry at any one person, though it is tempting to assign blame to someone.  It's more an anger at the results of the situation which I'm sure no one wants.  People just can't often see how their words can be taken by others.


Someone was talking about people's lack of responsibility.  About how we often see things that need to be done and push them off on others, either intentionally or inadvertently.  This speaker fancies himself the one responsible for those he speaks to and because he has a burning desire to do certain things a certain way, feels others should follow suit...that it is all of our God-given responsibility to do things this way.  They aren't bad things in themselves, and his motives are to help people I think, but it's that sort of subtle poison that really gets me fired up because it is the most damaging.  Here's why:

I know for a fact that there was at least one single parent listening who is constantly struggling to get by.  This parent has her hands full working and taking care of the family and trying to make it look like she's half-way together.  Throw in some messy personal circumstances and you have an all too common mix for a difficult life.  This parent finds solace in good friends and in helping others.  How great is that, rather than alcohol or other destructive behaviors!  Yet it is still a means of dulling pain that cannot yet be addressed directly.  So here she sits listening to this same talk of doing more and how God expects us to use our very last breath to do everything we possibly can for him.  What!

No way, man!  I won't buy it.  This lady needs less burden not more.  The first speaker was lamenting how God's people don't get up and do...well that's because you're trying to motivate them with whips and chains, Bro!  You can't just wrap the irons in velvet pads and call it Christianity!  Jesus set the captives free, his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  We could debate the interpretations of this all night, and I don't want to engage in that.  But I can say this.  No one is responsible for me but me, and you for you.  None of us have to do anything more than what God tells us each to do.  And that's different for each of us because we come from different places and need different things.  Try genuinely meeting needs instead of whitewashing your walls, man!  That's what people need.

No where did Jesus ever tell anyone, to go and join a team in some big organization and make sure they devote every last bit of energy to do menial tasks so some guy can preach at some self-righteous yuppie who cares more for clean carpet than the state of the people whose sweat and tears got it dirty in the first place!  It's all still working for God's approval!  This is twisted and this is what people hate about Christians!

And to my single-mother out there, I pray you forget every word.  Take some time, spend it slowly.  Be Mary instead of Martha.  God has it under control and doesn't need your help.  This guy wasn't talking to you.