weissblog

Since Amanda left me back in July, I’ve been given all sorts of advice (and ignored pretty much all of it). But one thing a lot of people have told me is that I need to find me. Find the person I was before Amanda. Find the person I am without Amanda. Find the person God wants me to be. Well, I wasn’t sure how to go about doing that. Those who know me, know I want a formula or equation for everything. But no one could provide a formula for how to find myself. Read the rest of this entry »

As some of you know, I’m looking for a new job. Today I was on a phone interview with a potential employer and they asked me an interesting question; “If you could be anyone in the world for a week, who would you be?” My first thought was Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. But then I thought about all the stress those guys have to deal with, all the people they have hanging on them. So  I started running various people through my mind and eliminated each one before their name fully formed.

Finally I told the lady that I couldn’t think of anyone else that I wanted to be. I told her I didn’t think I could be as happy being someone else as I could being me.

After I got off the phone I sat and thought more about that question. And it struck me kind of odd that, after the way last month went with me losing my wife* and my job within weeks of one another, that I still love my live. I might be sad or bummed out sometimes, but overall I really like my life. I know it sounds corny, but to me this was an important realization. While I have much to learn, I am who God wants me to be and I wouldn’t trade it for a thing.

Oh, and I completed the phone interview and then aced the face-to-face interview this afternoon. I have a second face-to-face interview next week. Praise God!

* By losing my wife I mean that she left, not that she died. I should have been more clear there, it seems.

A thought occurred to me tonight. There are a few places in the Bible where God is referred to as a gardener of sorts. I’m going to expand on this analogy a bit. Indulge me if you would.

Whenever I’ve seen someone plant tomatoes, they put a stake in the ground next to them so that as the plant grows, it can be tied to the stake for support. In our lives, Jesus is that stake. He’s the perfectly straight marker that one day God will use as a standard when judging this world. As we grow in our spirits and strive to be more like Jesus, we’re essentially tying ourselves to him for support, to help us to be straighter. Sometimes in life, when we go through a rough patch, it’s just God tending to his plants, putting another string around us to pull us upright. Just as with tomato plants, this upward growth is unnatural for us. We find it uncomfortable and limiting. But, like everything a gardener does, it’s for a purpose.

As my mind processed all this, I realized that every rough patch in my marriage could be traced back to a point where one or both of us were fighting against this upward growth. Where we wanted to grow at a more comfortable angle, where we want to cooperate with gravity and just take it easy rather than striving to go straight up. But, just like a tomato plant, doing so will eventually lead to tipping over completely. Thankfully, every time we’ve reached this point, we’ve turned back and asked the master gardener for help. And every time he’s picked us back up and started working to straighten us out again.

Thank you Lord for always being willing to help straighten us out.

Recently some guys from church started going back and forth on The Pirate Bay which then branched off into talks about the music industry, law, and ones walk with God. This post is essentially just me throwing my 2¢ worth in. I’m going to break this down into sections and go through it piece by piece so that I won’t leave anything out. Want to make sure you get all two cents worth.
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‘All sins are equal’

It’s a phrase that’s real easy for Christians to quote when they’re talking about something that doesn’t hit home. But let someone’s sin interfere with their life and all the sudden it’s a major sin. Of course I’m generalizing here. But you get my point.

Recently a family member of my wife’s was accused of breaking a law. When word of this reached us, it greatly distressed my Amanda. For several days she was tense, couldn’t sleep, and all she seemed to be able to talk about what this situation and how she couldn’t believe this person broke this law again. At first I tried to stay out of it as best I could while still providing Amanda with some emotional support. After a couple days I started distancing myself from the situation as all the emotions from Amanda’s family seemed to be spiraling out of control. At the center of all the emotion was disbelief and the disgust. They couldn’t believe their relative did THAT. Because THAT was such a great sin.

Before I go any further, let me give a few facts. The law that this person is accused of breaking is not minor at all. And most people would describe it as sick.

But the point I’m trying to make here is that a sin is a sin. And that the revulsion that we feel when confronted with a situation such as the one Amanda’s family has been dealing with… well, God doesn’t see it any different than when you said that last curse word. It’s on par with that ‘little white lie’ you told your boss last week. There’s no difference from His perspective. We humans try to make these things difficult, but it really isn’t. Sin is sin. And no matter the sin, it all does the same thing. It separates you from and hinders your walk with, God.

So, I challenge you, and I challenge myself, to stop grading sins. Stop comparing your sins to the sins of those around you. Instead, put that effort into making changes to your life so that you can walk even closer to God.