Buttercups in Bloom

In my part of the world, the Cicadas are present.  It's as if the trees themselves are talking to one another, the cicadas have made their home high in the leaves, and are all moving their wings in such a way that leaves you feeling as if some foreign language is crying out upon you.  If you were to walk outside you would be bombarded with noise.  The noise itself is a bit irritating.  Their left-behind shells leave you with an eery feeling and perhaps an insight into what it must have felt like for the Israelites during the plagues that reigned down upon them. As I've been thinking about how loud and irritating these cicadas are, and amid the noise I've been reminded of the breathtaking ways that God forms and shapes my own life.  99% of their lives are spent underground as immature insects, anywhere from 13 to 17 years, let that sink in for a moment.  Thirteen to seventeen years to not yet fully formed to growing into who they were destined to be.  God has created these c

It happened because of tough conversations.  It happened through brokenness. It happened despite our human frailties. Hope was held. It began in the murky waters of the Jordon. It made room for the sinners and the saints, the haves and have nots. It took shape in the breaking of the bread. It came to life as dawn gave way to the resurrection.  Love was present. It happened today. Each person seen....each person valued.....each person whole. It happened today. The work is just beginning. It happened today. Revival is ours for the taking. It happened today. Today, almost 26 years after I knelt at altar of my ordination my denomination has allowed the murky waters of the river Jordon to flow over them and held onto to Jesus in a way that we have not dared to do before.  Today with a 93% approval we removed exclusive language that kept the doors of ordination shut to our siblings who openly professed their 'homosexuality."  Today in what felt like a blink of an eye, the over 700 d