miners

Two miners stumble about in a dark cave, wandering about haphazardly until they, by chance, happen to meet where a tiny but vivid glimmer has caught their eye.

It's a gem, a beauty, but mostly submerged in the hard rock floor.

"This will take some effort to work out, but I think the reward could be momentous," says one miner.

To his great joy, the other miner agrees.

The two miners set to work digging and refining the jewel. Unlike other miners who have found a less submerged rock, this one has no clear end date in sight. Still, the time goes by quickly because the miners enjoy working together and spending time together. One can shine the light while another uses his pick-ax, and the two can trade-off when one gets tired.

As time goes on, the miners start to discover a few imperfections within the rock. Few, if any, rocks are completely perfect, but some of these imperfections make it especially difficult to work quickly, as the angle and the fragility of the rock are somewhat more difficult to maneuver than others.

Over time, the other miner grows discouraged at the sight of these imperfections, doubt creeping in her mind.

"These unforeseen difficulties are indeed not ideal, but I think this makes our jewel unique. The imperfections could even turn out to be marks of salience, making our jewel more valuable because of how much effort we put into getting it out of this cave," says the first miner, perhaps overly optimistic about such matters.

As time passes, the jewel has taken on a certain brilliance uniquely chiseled from the distinctive style of the miners. It's clear that either the miners finish the job, or the rock will be abandoned.

Sadly, more than halfway through their excavation, the first miner is left alone with the pick, and no one to hold the light. The jewel, still partly submerged but now representing a fuller picture of its unique characteristics and potential, is left in the dust.

Perhaps there is a perfect diamond out there somewhere, ripe for plucking without imperfection and without difficulty. Or perhaps that was never the point of mining in the first place.

in praise of hymns

When I was a young child, I used to hang out with my grandma while she would play the piano. She mostly stuck to a few standby staples: a Chopin etude, some other Mozart piece, and two hymns -- "Trust and Obey" and "Great is Thy Faithfulness." (There's another incident where she played some new piece, which must have been an emotional one, because for some reason 4-year old me burst out crying. I guess I was easily touched by music from an early age. Another story for another day.)

I always felt Trust and Obey's lyrics were a little too on-the-nose, but Great is Thy Faithfulness became firmly entrenched as one of my favorite hymns that would bring back memories of that piano room in my old St. Louis house.

(Note: I'm lucky enough to have two Christian grandmas who both play the piano, so this story can be told twice. My other grandma favored "I Surrender All" and "It is Well With My Soul," both which will possess a soft spot with me for all eternity.)

This past Sunday during worship, the worship leader transitioned from a few ultra-contemporary worship songs to "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and there was immediately a change in the energy of the church. People who weren't singing before were all of a sudden belting out the lyrics with conviction, even effortlessly breaking into harmony parts. I was doing the same, filled with a joy that accompanies an unexpectedly familiar and powerful hymn. At a certain point, probably with the last stanza and chorus, I decided to stop singing and just listen, and really soak in every lyric.

It was a powerful and tangible reminder of God's presence. Thank you church for that comfort and joy in a time of sadness and hurt.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

the father-son relationship

There aren't many movie scenes that make me tear up, but without a doubt this is one of them.

The father-son dynamic is a powerful and deeply-rooted component of any man's core. For sons, it's invaluable to step back every now and then and really be appreciative of everything your dad's done for you, even if you don't always see eye-to-eye. For fathers, it's important to remember how much your approval and simply being proud of your son means to him.

thanks be to God

At my most down and emotionally hurt time, praise God for sending good friends and the most random little nice moments throughout my day to keep my spirits from drowning in sorrow. When I wasn't sure I'd be able to put on enough of a front to make it through the day, things turned out better than I expected.

I prayed, and he provided in the most subtle but assuredly-divine ways. God is good, all the time.