Simple

"Do you have a light?
No, sorry, I don't have one.
Can I ask you a honest question?
Sure, go ahead.
What do you think about God?
Well, I think a lot of things; He is pretty big.
Yeah, that's true."

You see, Robert Stewart asked me for a light and for about 5 minutes, he engaged in brief, but fitting conversation with me. He asked about my thoughts on God and religion. He stated that he has faith, in fact, he claimed he had not only faith, but knowledge too. As he was leaving he said, "Keep the faith. It's not about the quantity of life, but the quality. It's that simple. My name is Robert Stewart. You know, like Martha, but I'm Robert. She's got the money and I've got bottles and cans (as he points to the cart he has attached to his 10-speed). Keep the faith. See you around."

Recently, I have been desiring to strip away the complexities of life. The drive for success, the need for material possessions, the craving for a higher number in the checking account; these are being challenged. It's a good feeling, actually, to be relieved of this need for stuff. A lot has happened since being in Eugene that has frustrated the societal norm of success. A lot is still happening, for the better I think. I was talking with Staci tonight and I was saying how relevant the Gospels really are in this time. Often it is easy to think, "Yeah, they are great to study, but they did occur 2,000 years ago." But there is more to it than context and chronology, or else they wouldn't be so transcendent. As I think about the ministry of Jesus, I realize that He had no possessions, no home, and no savings account. Oh yeah, neither did those other 12 guys that tagged along. Yet, they ate, were clothed, and had places to stay. Certainly, I must work and earn enough to pay the bills, support my family, and go to the grocery every now and then. But maybe there is something to be learned about the absence of excess. I haven't figured out what exactly that is yet, but Staci and I are willing to journey through it. I have been reading a book by Donald Miller called "Through Painted Deserts," one I have read before, but have a new look on it now. In it, he talks about the societal pressure to have stuff and maybe that not being the way it was intended by our Creator. He writes, "And maybe when a person doesn't buy the lies anymore, when a human stops long enough to realize the stuff people say to us to part with our money often isn't true, we can finally see the sunrise...and know, this is what I was made to do. This is who I was made to be , that life is being given to me as a gift, that light is a metaphor, and God is doing these things to dazzle us" (p. 77).

I didn't initiate the conversation between Robert and I, but I am sure glad it happened. I certainly do not have it all figured out, but I hope that I am beginning to understand the thankfulness of having just bottles and cans.

D