One of the main objections to getting a tattoo that is apparent to all is that it's with you to stay. Duh. But could we not take on a more "eternal" perspective, folks? Since life is a vapor, maybe getting a tattoo doesn't seem as dastardly a move (unless it makes you look really dastardly). That is, if our lives are just a blip on the radar of eternity, then so is that tattoo. So... ink away! Alright, I'm kidding. This is forcing St. James and Epicureus to be ideological compadres they were never meant to be.=+) btw, that's not my arm.
One of the blessings of being transient is the sheer number of friends that you build up over time. One of the downsides of that is that you can lose touch with them. The ones who are really on top of it, keep their address books current and send you annual Christmas cards. My parents had a post-holiday custom that my family is trying to implement. I think it's really easy and practical. Instead of stashing those Christmas cards somewhere or throwing them away w/ a twinge of guilt, try something more "guilt-free": Every night at dinner (or any meal), take one card a night and pray for that family even if you may not know them really well. Pray for marriages, children to come to faith in Jesus, deeper Kingdom commitment and whatever else. Then throw the card away.
One of the most formative life experiences happened four years ago. It was a tough (second) pregnancy for my wife. It was also a "planned" pregnancy. We were both pumped. All of her pregnancy's have been high risk. It's amazing that the effects of the Fall and beauty of creation collide in this 9 month journey for women.
At about 8 weeks, it was discovered that Rachel had a tumor in her abdominal area that could potentially compromise the life of our second child. At the 13 week mark, she went in for major surgery that successfully removed a tumor the size of a grapefruit off of (and including) her tube w/out threatening the life of our child. The OB doc described a moment during the surgery in which he waved "hi" to the expected second-born. Stunning. Rachel is on bed rest for 6 weeks; baby is growing and kicking like crazy!
On Friday night, February 3 (30 weeks), Rachel was feeling unusually uncomfortable b/c she had been second-guessing herself if she had felt the baby move in recent days and hours. I remember sleeping on the couch that night-- concerned and praying but not being prepared for what was coming. Saturday, Feb 4th, I had to work until about 2pm. However, the concern was mounting. I worked begrudingly (we ran a storage facility where we lived on-site; very advantageous on many fronts), and then I just had to leave. We drove to the hospital w/ Haddon (2 at the time). We were ushered in right away for an ultrasound. I had to hang w/ the little dude while Rachel had to endure the next moments of the ultrasound. The sonographer tried and tried to find a hearbeat-- nothing. It was confirmed by the attending Ob/Gyn that Nicolas had met his end, and then I was ushered in to the presence of my shattered Rachel. I fell apart, and the next hours were spent in shock and numbness; waves of sobbing and silence. Our good friends, Phil & Julianna came and got Haddon. The next persons on the scene was my very busy pastor and his wife, Dave & Claudia, who comforted us tenderly.
The irony of grief is that there is always a celebration going on somewhere nearby. The blighted city of Detroit was on the cusp of hosting the Super Bowl. On "Super" Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2006, Rachel was induced for a delivery scheduled at 8am. As God's people rose for worship that day, we had entered a different kind of worship "experience." Instead of hearing the typical cries and struggle for breathing on earth for the first time, we heard nothing. It was like we were shot through, and knew for a fact that our Nicolas indeed perished. The cries that filled the room at this birth were only ours. We got to hold our son who we named after my father's great names (he's Augusto Nicolas Pareja). Thankfully, my dad was able to come later on and hold our dear Nicolas.
I could go on and on about grief, family, the body of Jesus, faith, etc. Maybe another time. In preparation for the burial of NAP, I penned the following dirge:
Holding the broken arrow they would no longer tout.
The wounds of divine severity— though rarely pleasant—
Are lathered in the balm of God’s mercy.
Good Giver of life, we bow the knee
In adoration of your wisdom and right to reclaim our infant.
Notes on the Dirge
The Scriptures above have been formative in our “coping” w/ our trial. They also contain images or themes upon which the poem is written. Figure the meter out for yourself. It is simple.
Stanza 1- Ps 127:4-5 is key to understanding these initial metaphors. “Time when bows bent” can be interpreted elastically. I would understand this to be the process of raising children and preparing them for the break from dependence upon Christian parents to the event(s) that would extend the parents’ influence in this world, e.g., leaving home for college, work, marriage, etc.
Stanza 2- “first arrow” refers to W. Haddon Pareja; The “Big River” is simply a translation of the Rio Grande, the river separating the US and Mexican border.We lived in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico beyond the Rio Grande.
Stanza 3- Stylistically and rhythmically, this is the weakest verse. However, it is a hinge upon which the whole poem turns;this is obvious.
Stanza 4- “the broken arrow” now represents the arrow that God had originally given us. This motif should not be taken as overtures of American Indian themes.
Stanza 5- This last verse is really meant to bring together the moral or lesson, and as it is obvious, the conclusion is the defining surrender.
Had the opportunity to teach again at HTC. This time from the text assigned to me for our stewardship series: Matthew 6:19-34. Audio here. Video here (be warned: it comes in five parts; better for the attention"ly" challenged=+)
John Hantz is one of the drivers behind this phenomenon; a white guy who is rich and still has a Detroit address (and isn't about to leave).
Hantz: "We can't create opportunities, but we can create scarcity."
Detroit has 40 sq. miles of abandoned land and is bigger in land mass than Frisco, Boston and Manhattan combined!
"Where will new ideas for the 21st century emerge? From older, decaying cities, Krieger believes, such as New Orleans, St. Louis, Cleveland, Neward and especially Detroit-- cities that have become, at least in part, 'kind of empty containers.'"
Center city sports attractions such as Ford Field and Comerica Park "have restored, on some nights, a little spark to downtown Detroit but have inspired little in the way of peripheral development."
"Abandonment is an infrastructure problem."
Make pods.
Dave Bing seems positive.
Not trying to reproduce IA. In fact, if anything, this idea realized to an urban phenomenon may unseat "the nation's dependence on Big Ag."
Hantz: "Some things you've got to see in order to believe," he says, waving his cigar. "This is a thing you've got to believe in order to see."
Hantz might win the day with his ideas: "That's the beauty of [Detroit] being down and out.... You can actually open your mind to ideas that you would never otherwise embrace." At this point, Detroit doesn't have much left to lose.
I used to live right outside of the Motown in Allen Park and Lincoln Park. These years in metro Detroit were quite formative in many ways. In a sense, part of my heart is still in this suffering city. I hope that this idea of urban farming will stage Detroit as a 21st century leader in urban renewal (geographically speaking). Religiously speaking, I see great opportunity for the gospel in this blighted community. There are some even tricky ethnic and racial hurdles that Caucasian Christians need to face head-on with some serious thought. I'm thankful for this group of believers (website needs a new design, I know; it hasn't changed in over ca. 5 years) that is attempting to reach Detroit with the good news of Jesus. May their tribe increase even among their own.
