Pottery, music, helping people,
I'd like to meet:
People who are honest and can love others from the heart without expecting anything in return.
Are We Expecting Too Much?
During a time of silence the other day the above question about expecting too much unexpectedly bubbled up into my consciousness, and I had to reflect on it.
D&C 161:3c pleads with me to "Be patient with one another, for creating sacred community is arduous and even painful. But it is to loving community such as this that each is called." I really don't want to take that literally. I want God to just create in this institution a loving, perfect community that doesn't require pain or ardor on my part. In that, I think, I am beginning to realize, I expect too much.
I want the path to be easy and choices clear. In that, I think, I am beginning to realize, I expect too much.
So, what can I expect? I can expect better of me. I can expect that this road of transformation always begins with me and not with someone else. I can expect in the depths of silence to hear the voice of God, sometimes still, and sometimes in power, to lead me in directions and in relationships that will not be pain free, but also will not need to be borne by me alone. I can expect in the words of Ben Campbell Johnson that "Christ has the power to sustain us when the monster within us breaks loose, when the structure gives way, when the mask falls off, when our weaknesses are realized and exposed, and when our story is interrupted. Christ will walk with us through the deep, dark corridors of our soul and will restore us to wholeness and life.†I can expect that to be true both for myself and for the institution of the church, which is in reality not the same as The Church. I can expect to be "receptive to what God desires to do with me/us." I can expect, even trust, in stillness, to begin a deeper relationship with God.
Peace and Wholeness,
Rich Kohlman
Movies:
My favorite movie is 100 First Dates. I guess the fact that each day would be a fresh start appeals to me.
Books:
I don't think I will ever read again after I finish seminary!!!!
