Waiting No More...

Tom Petty sings:
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

While I like to think of myself as a patient individual, waiting has not often been a strong move of mine. I'm chronically "just a little bit late" everywhere I go (which  is frustrating for those who spend much time with me). After giving it considerable thought, I finally figured out why I'm "just a little late." The reason is I don't like to wait unnecessarily. That...drives me crazy! I'd rather just rush in at the last second than stand around "killing time." Waiting is really difficult for me.

I am fully aware that waiting is part of the game of life. My Dad once acquired a cool branded T-shirt from a drag-racer friend of his that he then gave to me. I was about 9 years old at the time and the shirt was a Men's XL! When my Dad threw it to me I was elated! Roaring with joy, I dropped the shirt over my head and promptly disappeared somewhere between the letters STP (a racing oil brand popular back in the day). I was so bummed! I wanted to wear the shirt SO badly right then. I think I finally wore it sometime in high school and even then it was still too big for my (then) skinny frame. However, the shirt was equally cool (and almost vintage) some 8 or 9 years later. I just needed to wait for it. I've read, "There is a time for every purpose under heaven."

Trying to become a better waiter (both the food delivering variety and the "wait for the right time" kind) is no easy matter. It is a discipline that comes only one way...by waiting. Sometimes the wait is for a very long time. But eventually, like when your beloved "cool" T-shirt almost fits and you get to wear it for the first time, the time finally arrives. Today is, again, one of those moments for me.

I am joyfully pleased to announce the emergence of something that has been in my heart and mind for over 15 years. I have been waiting a long time to welcome people to something God planted in me while sitting on the patio of a coffee shop in northern Phoenix, Arizona around the turn of the 21st century (sounds like a hundred years ago, doesn't it?) This idea has been brewing in me ever since. At times it was almost as dormant as a Crepe Myrtle in the dead of winter and at other times, I thought the idea would burn a hole in my soul. Time...waiting...more time...more waiting... there are things in life that simply can't be rushed. Peter Block once wrote, "There is simply no way to shorten the time that depth requires." I suppose that's correct.

I've shared this burning thing God planted in me on many occasions and frankly most people just didn't get where I was coming from (many still won't and I've come to accept that). Then one day God sent a few people my way who did understand where I was coming from and, not only did they understand, they were willing to partner together in growing the idea into a reality.

Following a series of challenging events, our seed idea was forced to sprout and the Creative One push it up through the heavy ground of painful circumstance. Today... the waiting is giving birth to something new...yes, a new beginning is coming upon us. With the partnership of a team of amazing and passionate people, something is emerging from the wait.

I introduce to you...THE POINT. 


 "What is THE POINT?" you may ask. And that would be an excellent question, indeed. "What is the point?" What is the point of you, me, us...at this moment...at this place...in this season, for what reason? Those are some very good questions, aren't they?

Please take a moment and visit this FaceBook link. THE POINT 

Though far from comprehensive, the words you find on the Facebook page may whet your interest (see the "About" section). You may even want to grab a cup of coffee and prayerfully dream along with us toward what on earth we might be planning. You might see it as a little bit different, yes. But the more we've worked on the concept, the more we are finding others who share similar thoughts. Some of those are farther down the road than we are (they're waiting ended sooner than ours) and we give thanks for their courageous trailblazing. There are a few of us now...and likely many more to follow (they're just waiting for their wait to come to a close).

If you are inclined to pray, please join us in praying for THE POINT and stay tuned for ways you can participate in this newly emerging urban experience.

Redefining Rain

Finally...rain is falling on the parched dry land I've called home for nearly the past decade. North Texas is experiencing a record-breaking drought and the 2+ inches of steady soaking we are receiving today is an answer to some prayers. By no means will it singularly cure the drought, refill the reservoirs or lift the land-locked boats slips in the area lakes, but...it is a start.

As the rain falls, I wonder about the implications. The disparate contrast of record dry days kicks me into a reflective state. How necessary water is for our existence. As living creatures we're good for about three days without it and then we're done! How truly dependent we are. Dependent on a Provider far greater than ourselves and when drought comes, isn't it convincing that we can't create anything to remedy the dryness ourselves? There are not enough bottles of water to heal the distress. Only One can provide what we need.

Over 1" has fallen outside my window this morning...and I find myself ironically drafted into this dry season. Life as I've known it for nearly 32 years has effectively dried up. The title, the position, the business card, the phone number, the email address,  the (office) space to call my own...evaporated. Only traces of it remain like footprints left when soil is damp. Things of that life increasingly seem like the miles of fallow shoreline around Lake Ray Hubbard. It was with the subtlety of weeks upon weeks of glorious sun-drenched days...that circumstances came in quietly, against preference, at the volition of others and a cost to many. Dry...parched...cracked...thirsty...I wait...for rain to fall.

Dry seasons are desperate. We want to continue on as we did when the reservoirs were full and there was plenty to go around. In fact, we could even waste a little here and there and nobody seemed to care. But droughts call for restrictions and we soon discover every little drop matters. So...today the rain falls but the drought isn't over. Perhaps more rain will come?

Though desperate these drought-filled days are, there is glorious anticipation that the rains will come. Boat docks will float again and lawns will grow lush and green and all those "Stage 3 Water Restriction" signs will find their way back into municipal storage once more. But when those anticipated days come, things won't be like they used to be. You can't live through a drought and ever see rain the same again.

Yes...I hear the rain falling and it causes me to dream. But not of a time before the drought for that time is all too distant and behind me now. No...I dream of a time to come. A time when the land is soaked with a new kind of goodness and every dew-filled morning is new...refreshed by the rain that has finally come and in abundance.

Today I'm redefining the rain...or is it redefining me?