A Start

Here we are at the start of a new blog--one more new thing among many new things.

Leaving our old house, moving to a new town, finding our place within a new community and figuring out a new rhythm to our lives are all things that are new to us. This is a time of "new" for us and for 2nd Street. I hope this becomes a place where we can process all this newness together.

We live in a time and a culture where decisiveness is seen as a virtue. We're in the middle of a presidential campaign right now, and I'm guessing that most Americans--at least those who care about the election--are watching the candidates to see which one can make sense out of the overwhelming questions and issues facing us and form a decisive agenda that moves us forward.

However, we come from a tradition--a wise one I think-- that believes there is more value in paying attention and discerning than there is in deciding.

A friend recently asked me how I felt about the place Debi and I are in our lives. I had to think for a while, and then I told him, "I feel like we're in a long, dark tunnel and all we can do is move forward. There is no place to go to the right or the left, and the very one who is in front of us leading us through the tunnel is blocking our view so we can't see where the tunnel comes out."

If our future (what house we end up living in, how we make the transition, how we reorder our lives to fit our new situation) depended on us making decisions based on what we know, we're in big trouble. The wisest thing we can do is to stay attentive and follow in the footsteps of the One leading us through the tunnel. Eventually we'll see where the tunnel comes out.

I think 2nd Street has been, and in many ways still is, in a similar tunnel. And, the same one is leading and obscuring the view ahead. If we were to try and make decisions about our future (what the music ministry is going to look like, what the youth ministry is going to look like, what our role is in our community and how do we live that out...) based on what we know for sure right now, it would be like playing darts in the dark. Two things are likely to happen in that scenario: 1) we'd miss the target,and 2) someone will get poked with a dart.

It would be wise of us to remember that what-to-decide is not our responsibility. Following is our responsibility.

What I think we should do is pay really close attention to the one who is leading us, and step by step place our feet in the next available footprint.

What are your thoughts?

Bruce