Caught Up in the Thing

I recently had the opportunity to go on a trip to Disneyland and some of the other parks in Southern California. It was my first visit to a Disney/Disney-type park. Going to Disney was an eye opening experience because all of a sudden I was thrust into a world where everyone was there for the same reason. We all came to see the park and to appreciate the wonders that were set before us. This uniting purpose, this sense of being together for the same reason, strangely opened the door to conversations that I didn’t expect.

In this one place you can meet people from all over the world. While on a bus going back to your hotel you can find other Christians from Australia to the Middle East. You can have a conversation with someone from Ireland about the challenges of postmodernity and the church while watching the fireworks under a bridge with a worn out toddler falling asleep in a stroller. But all of that would be missed if the only thing you wanted to do was follow Mickey around the park every minute you were there.

Experiencing all this came out of being there for a reason and being open to the new perspectives and experiences you might have along the way in order to truly appreciate the wonders of the moment. And I think this is a great expression of what it can mean to be a Christian. We gather for a reason, but there is always more.

Unfortunately, living in the more can be challenging. When the more is excluded from the experience, our myopic focus, our ability to only see what’s right in front of us, is something that can come into life like a lion or creep in without much warning. We begin to lose our peripheral vision and draw our nose in closer to focus on what’s in front of us.

One of the joys of being in a tradition for a long time and having a shared understanding of faith is that you can feel comfortable and at home. You can learn something well and know how to do it well. But it can also lead to barrier building and exclusion where only my view is correct. Don’t get me wrong – I am not criticizing our traditions. My roots formed me and shaped me, they made me into the person I am; but sometimes I feel that I had a very limited view of the world around me because I was so caught up in what our group was doing.

I knew one kind of theology very well. I was exposed to other views to a small extent, but when I stepped outside the box, the world changed. There was so much to read, wrestle with, and explore. It was and is overwhelming sometimes. But, I don’t regret it. New perspective has meant new growth and more well rounded views. And I cherish that.

My recent trip reminded me that this had happened again. Life got intently focused on one thing while the rest of life got put on pause. My window to the rest of the world closed. When life becomes all about one thing, our experience diminishes and we lose sight of everything else that the world has to offer.

Now, I totally grant you that there are times when this is necessary and normal. For instance, new babies tend to cause this, for a very good reason. New jobs can do it. Moving can do it. And all these things are normal and natural things that take a lot of energy and focus.

But at some point in the midst of changes like this, we must move our focus from what is right in front of us, and start looking again at the larger picture. We start adding in more pieces, grasping at a whole picture again, instead of just a corner or detail. We start to see the edges expand and new things enter back into life.

We need new perspective. And perspective only comes when we let it in. If we never move a position, if we never peak around the corner, if we’re too afraid of what might be out there, we limit our ability to grow, expand, and develop. This leads to a life that becomes lusterless and dull.

I’m not saying that we should pursue perspective just for the sake of it; but we should pursue perspective in order to be honest about where we are. You can only look back into your life and see the amazing movements of God when you step past the boundary you are comfortable with. Moving outside these boundaries opens the way for God to show you new things: why a particular relationship is so meaningful, clarity about the turn of events that you weren’t expecting, or just the ability to look back and let something go.

Our perspective can continue to be enlarged and enriched by engaging ideas, authors, and practices, that are new to us and our experience of faith. Not all will be good. Not all will fit. But learning what works, or what doesn’t, is a valuable tool in the journey of faith. We never know when we might have a random encounter that will change the way we see the world, our neighbor, and maybe even our God.

So here is to the casual encounters and chance opportunities that remind us of the bigger world. The moments that remind us of other perspectives. For me, that happened at Disney. I met some princesses, had a conversation with a skeptic, learned to be a Jedi, met new sisters and brothers in Christ, rode a submarine, and had the chance to hug a Minion; all while being reminded of the bigger picture of our world and all the creativity around us that only requires us to open our eyes and see.