It’s Time to Throw the “Rules” out the Window

I have a crazy idea. I’ve uttered these words to my chosen brother/journey partner more times than I/we can count. He always is eager to listen, and, almost, always goes, with me, down the proverbial rabbit hole. I have a crazy idea I want to share with all of you…this time. The world tells us all we need to work harder, earn more money, get more stuff, so we can be happier. It’s time to rethink this. It’s time to break the “rules.” It’s time to bust them and stomp them to dust. The world also tells us we aren’t alike. We’re different. Yeah, we may come from different backgrounds. We all have different stories & journeys. We should celebrate those differences. We should learn from each other. We should listen. However, we all: laugh, cry, smile, struggle, and bleed the same. Zac Brown Band have a line in one of their songs I can’t get out of my head, today, : “You get what you give.” Yeah, you/I/we do. MercyMe has a song called “Won’t You Be My Love.” It says the same thing, essentially. Jesus has me in His hands, but that doesn’t mean I get to judge or sit on my self-righteous high horse. I repeat: I’m a mess. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing most of the time. I worry when I shouldn’t. I have a temper. It can be vicious if I let it be. I can be mean. I cuss, sometimes. I go running off without regard for God’s plans, sometimes. I do what I want & I get pulled back. God wrestles, with, me. Sometimes, my chosen brothers and sisters are the vessels through which God reigns me in. Other times: Kirk and/or Granny are the vessels.

I overthink. I’m stubborn. I struggle to not get scared. I struggle with thinking I have to bottle everything up inside. I struggle with asking for help & advice from my brother(s) and sister(s). I don’t want to burden anybody. I struggle to balance Stacey/Stace/various nicknames. But the point of this is not to give everybody a laundry list of my imperfections. It’s to tell all of you: there’s still work to be done. When I say we from here on out I mean me, too. We don’t need more stuff. We need more connection. We need more: I hear and I respect you. We need more: I’m not gonna use my faith as a weapon or as some kind of superiority over you or yours. We need more: I love you & you matter to me. We need more experiences. We need to remember we’re promised “No Day But Today.” We need more hands outstretched. We need more charity: We need to give our time, our excess stuff, we need to give more love. We need to stop listening to the “more, more, more” mantra unless it has to do with love, kindness, and tolerance. It’s time. It was past time yesterday, and, every other, yesterday. I’m ready to go play…more than I ever have been. I’m not exactly sure what all this looks like, but what happens if I/we don’t? I’m pretty sure I know, and it isn’t close to good. It’s disaster. So let’s go play ball…together.