Keeping Your Faith in Dark Times

I always enjoy having the opportunity to hear an author speak about their work. This past Sunday evening my wife, daughter, and I heard author, Laurie Short, present at the Author Series at the Gateway Church South Campus in Austin Texas. Her focus was on her new book, When Changing Nothing Changes Everything. We all had read her previous book, Finding Faith in the Dark. The women’s Bible study my wife goes to used it as a study, then my daughter read it and enjoyed it. I read it last which is odd as usually I read a book first and the other two read it. The time hearing her at Gateway Church was an insightful evening listening to Laurie. In person she is as honest and open as she is in her writings.

In my blog this week I want to share a couple of reflections on her book Finding Faith in Dark Places. In our life journey we have bright and cheerful times as well as dark and bleak times. The bright times are full of happiness and joy while the dark times fill our hearts and minds with despair, sadness and questioning. Unless your purpose in life is to out-gloom Eeyore of Winnie-the-Pooh fame, we all prefer and enjoy the bright and cheery times. But the reality of life brings to each of us dark times. How do we react to them? Do we cave in to despair or rise up to victorious faith?

Laurie in Finding Faith shares multiple stories of people’s times of traveling through their dark times. She also shares throughout the book her own dark faith journey. I won’t say what it is to keep you in suspense to read her book.

One of my favorite portions of the book was the chapter “God of the Present Tense”. Her thoughts here were a positive reminder that we too often neglect being attentive to the present moment. We dwell on the past that we cannot change or spend too much time wishing about the future. It is making wise choices in the present that help us obtain the future we want. I emphasize that often in my book, Living More Than OK. I like how she says it on page 57 “Most of our emotions are tied to something that was or will be—until that rare moment when something demands all our attention, propelling us to live in the now. These can be the most promising moments, for it is in the now that God can be found.”

She illustrates this with the story of Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3. Moses finds himself in a wilderness time as a shepherd when in his past he was in the palace of Egypt. I wonder how often he thought back as to why he was out in a nowhere land of wilderness when in the past he enjoyed the glories of the palace. In this Exodus passage Moses is forced to be in the present as he hears his name called out from the burning bush. “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said “Here I am”. “Do not come any closer.” God said. “Take off your sandals you are on holy ground.” (verses 4 & 5). In that moment God was calling him while he was in his wilderness experience. In that time God was with him and came to him with new direction for his life. The passage reminds me as many other parts of Laurie’s book – that God is with us in our dry desert experiences of life when we feel all alone.

Further in the book she brings out a thought from Henri Nouwen. She brings to light Nouwen’s thought “that at every turn, we must open our hearts to the voice of God. This is the voice that whispers to us in the dark,’I have a gift for you, and I can’t wait for you to see it’. When we listen for that voice… every choice becomes an opportunity to discover the new life hidden in every moment, waiting to be born.” (pg 86). If we are mindfully aware we will be ready to hear God when he speaks.

There is so much more in the book to learn from for those who look at life from a Christian perspective. If you have stopped by this blog and you are not of a Christian worldview there are still principles in her book that points to what we can learn by mindfully being aware of the dark times in our lives. Every person no matter their worldview has dark times and the important thing is to not cave in from the darkness. Instead we can have the faith to keep on keeping on and resiliently move into brighter times in our lives.

Reflection: Reflect over a dark and dry time in your life. What did you learn from the experience. Who or what helped you bounce back into a brighter movement in your journey?

Insights From Case For Christ

I remember reading Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ, back in the 1990s so I was surprised to see a movie out about the book. The book is about his spiritual journey from being an atheist to becoming a Christian. There were numerous interviews in it with Christian theologians and philosophers, therefor I wondered how that would come across on the movie screen. There are not many people who want to go to a movie just to see a bunch of interviews with religious scholars.

We went to see the movie, The Case for Christ, on Easter Sunday and it turned out to be the highlight of the day. Instead of a dull series of interviews there was a driving narrative of his personal journey to disprove Christianity with the passion of a journalist seeking truth. In the narrative there is also a legal reporting case that goes on so the viewer can see the consistency of the drive Lee put into his journalistic work and the drive he put into his personal quest for spiritual truth.

In the movie there is a particular reason he was emphasizing Christianity that also explores personal relationships. That was another addition to the story that kept personal interest in the movie. The movie did not go into all the interviews included in the book. Instead the movie focused on a number of very important interviews that helped shape the change in his thinking.

In my book, Living More Than OK, I emphasize our worldviews and personal spiritual journeys are an important part of our lives. There are a number of religious faiths and each person travels their own journey. Mine has focused on Christianity. I never had an antagonism towards Christianity like Lee had but I have had my times of doubt. I believe it was C.S. Lewis or Francis Schaefer who points out that God does not make it so clear that we are forced to believe in him. Instead there is some room for doubt so that we may with our free will step out in faith towards God or away from Him.

I liked in the movie how it shows his one atheist friend who admits both sides- God believers and atheists need a leap of faith. I have always been upset with those who simply call Christians “believers”. Christians are guilty of the trap as well. “Believers” – what does that mean? Everyone believes in something. The leap of faith for the Christian is a leap into the arms of a loving God. The leap of faith of the atheist in my point of view, is a leap into random nothingness of chance chaos. The choice is a no brainer for me.

The movie reminded me of a debate I heard online between John Lennox, a mathematician/Christian apologist and an atheist at a European University.. The atheist argument brought out that Christianity is like a fairy tale believing in Santa. Mr. Lennox had a powerful thought in response. He reminded the audience that no one comes to believe in Santa Claus as an adult. Lee Strobel’s skeptical journey that led him to a rational faith in Christ began and ended when he was an adult. He used his professional skills as a journalist in his search so he was not caving to a fairy story.

There are many things that can be learned in the movie. It can help anyone of any religious faith system, (and I include atheism as a faith system), to understand the important of thinking through why they believe what they believe. Our differing faith beliefs shape our worldviews which shape how we live in this world so the Case For Christ can help in reflecting on that part of life. As you watch the movie listen for the line “you didn’t want to know the truth”. Think about how that line relates to more than just his interaction with that character in the movie.

Reflection: What faith tradition are you a part of – atheist, Judaism, Buddhist, Christian? Why do you follow this belief system? What are the factors that shaped your faith journey? Make it a point to see the movie The Case for Christ

The Myth of Nonbelief – You Gotta Serve Somebody

This week a thought came to my mind over an article on The Blaze I read recently. The link to it is listed below the reflection. It was about a student at Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Oregon. Eric Fromm is the student body president of the school and came out recently stating he is an atheist. I have no problem with that as he can be whatever he wants to believe. What concerned me was some of the descriptors in the article.

The descriptor that troubled me is seen first in Eric’s statement “For those of you who didn’t already know about my nonbelief, this news may be a bit shocking, but I was an atheist long before I came to NCU.” He speaks about his “nonbelief”. Then later in the article comes the statement, “Fromm took aim at some of the Christians on campus who have treated him differently since they found out he’s a non-believer.” When I read statements like that in news articles I always think to myself -- what is it with this “nonbelief” or non-believer status. Probably the only person who could be called a non-believer may be an occasional honest agnostic who doubts everything therefore they would be non-believer in the true sense. Someone like this young man who states he is an atheist is a believer. He has a belief system. An atheist has a strong faith belief that God does not exist. This is a belief as they have no proof so they have to go on blind faith that God does not exist.

Matter of fact even in the article it states: “Fromm went on to explain that he was baptized a Lutheran and raised a Methodist, but that, over time, he began to develop the belief that “God wasn’t real’”. He states he developed a belief that God was not real. It did not say he had solid scientific proof that God is not real. No one can say that, because belief in no God has to be taken by faith. Just as belief in God has to be taken by faith is also true.

I wish reporters would think through and use the right terminology. Atheists who stress their so called “nonbelief” try to promote that they are more rational that Christians and those in other religious faiths. Instead they are simply being disingenuous as it takes a strong faith to believe that there is no God with no proof. Christians are also to blame for the misuse of terms as I have read many Christian articles that speak about non-believers. I usually cringe saying to myself “No, they are believers. They are just believing differently.”

As I was thinking this through the old Bob Dylan song “Gotta Serve Somebody” came to my mind. Take a look at the lyrics and think what he is saying in relation to what I have been speaking about.

Gotta Serve Somebody by Bob Dylan ( click on the title to hear the video of

Dylan and his band )


You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might be a rock'n' roll addict prancing on the stage
Might have money and drugs at your commands, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be an young turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody's landlord you might even own banks.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be working in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Jimmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say.

You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Like Dylan says we all gotta serve somebody. The Buddhist serves the principles of the Buddah, the atheist serves the principles of atheism, and the Christian follows the life of faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone’s serving is based on their belief system. I am glad to see from what I have read most on the NCU campus students and administrators are trying to be understanding of the young atheist’s faith journey. Also from the article and other related articles I have read the student is showing his true colors by crying like a victim about those he perceives as being against him because he is an atheist. Yet if you do read the various related articles and student comments the truth is even those who are coming out against him, are not concerned about his atheism. It is more about his deception and hypocrisy of not being honest about his worldview while running for student body president. If you critically think about it, those students have a good point. Believe what you believe but be honest and open about it.

In the world where we live we need to understand there are many various world views based on a variety of beliefs. There would be less strife if we could learn to respect each other’s beliefs. The ancients seemed to have a better command at having open dialogue than we do today. The Apostle Paul in the times of the Romans could speak and debate openly for example in Acts 17, to the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in the Areopagus in Athens. He was not told to shut up. The other philosophers listened to him. Some thought he was mad or crazy and others believed while others simply said they would think over his statements. Why can’t we have that open dialogue today?

Reflection: Do you have a firm understanding of your worldview and why you believe what you believe? Are you open to agree to disagree with those of differing worldviews?


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/08/christian-colleges-student-body-president-issues-shocking-admission-in-campus-op-ed/

Savoring Butterflies and Flowers

A week ago we took a family vacation to my home state of Ohio. Having a chance to go away is always helpful to gain new perspectives and take advantage of must needed rest from the busy routines of life. We stayed with my third grade teacher, Verna Clifford, in Norton, Ohio which borders my hometown of Barberton. Spending time with her, other friends and family made for a pleasant time away from Texas. We also took time during the week to experience various sights in Ohio. One excursion that stood out was a visit to the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio.

The Franklin Park Conservatory is a horticultural delight of designed flower gardens and green houses. When we visited they were holding a special feature on butterflies. They had a window display hatchery where you could view the butterflies emerging from their cocoons. Then they had a large green house area of lush flowers with butterflies. This is where we spent most of our time. We each had cameras and were watching the butterflies to see where they would land. Everyone in the green house had the same agenda of taking pictures of the butterflies.

Butterflies must have the highest levels of ADHD of all insects or maybe it is just the nectar. They flit to and fro and when they would land -- just when you were ready to snap a picture off they would fly. It did not help much that there were a few unsupervised girls running around chasing the butterflies. They were not content to watch they wanted to touch the delicate creatures. Thankfully for the butterflies they remained elusive to the annoying trio running through the greenhouse. I was able to obtain a few good pictures while some of the butterflies were resting on plants. I took the time to observe their beautiful designs on their wings. It is amazing in considering how delicate the wings are. It is more amazing that those wings can transport these wonderfully designed creations from Brazil and Mexico up to Ohio. As I was savoring the uniqueness of the butterflies in the created order of nature I also observed the other photographers who gazed at these insects with a sense of wonder.

In this greenhouse there were many flowers to observe and enjoy. We took time to go through several other greenhouses that looked at desert , tropical, and rainforest flowers. We did not have time to cover all the outside gardens but saw quite a few. There were such a variety of flowers to view. From a photography standpoint the flowers are easier as they are not moving away from the camera. But as with the beauty of the butterflies I could not just quickly glance and walk on by. To capture the full beauty of the color and design of the flowers you need to take time to observe and savor the intricate delicate beauty of them. So many colors and shades of colors along with the variety of petal designs.

Taking time for the butterflies and flowers in nature is a relaxing way to spend a day. Absorbing the mind in observing their beauty is a de-stressing activity and you can feel the calmness sweep over your inner being. From time to time in living more than ok I believe everyone should take a day to visit a park, a botanical garden, a nature conservatory and take time to savor nature. It is a positive way to recharge the inner being by literally taking time to “smell the roses”.

Also from my world-view perspective as a Christian it allowed me to have a greater awe filled savoring in my mind about God as Creator. I see the beauty and variety of flowers and can see the artistic mind of God behind them and the butterflies. It is interesting as I was thinking of writing this week on this experience by happenstance, I came across an NPR article about the author, Stephen King. In the interview with National Public Radio, he states on the topic of God, “"I choose to believe it. ... I mean, there's no downside to that. If you say, 'Well, OK, I don't believe in God. There's no evidence of God,' then you're missing the stars in the sky and you're missing the sunrises and sunsets and you're missing the fact that bees pollinate all these crops and keep us alive and the way that everything seems to work together.” That is how I look at it as well. I choose to believe in a Creator God as it makes sense from my observations of the intricacies and complexities of life and nature. I admit it is on faith but a reasoned faith as I look at the created order. I respect the atheist to hold onto their blind faith on the unproven theory of macro-evolution. I often find that those who bark the loudest against those who believe in an Intelligent Designer will act like Darwin proved evolution as a fact. When pressed they often admit they have never even read Darwin’s, The Origin of the Species. I read it and still have it on my bookshelf. It was not convincing to me as he does not prove evolution in the macro sense. It is still a just a theory. I look to the butterflies and the flowers and they seem to be shouting out clearly concerning the Creator God. He is there and not silent.

Reflection: Take a morning or afternoon to enjoy a park or flower garden in your town. What are the flowers and nature saying to you? Stop by a flower and spend a few minutes to observe and savor the experience with all your senses. Does the experience relax and calm you?


Link to interview with Stephen King -- http://www.npr.org/2013/05/28/184827647/stephen-king-on-growing-up-believing-in-god-and-getting-scared

Who Is Your Hero?

In the beginning of each semester in the College Success course I teach I ask the students a question, “Who is a hero that you look up to?”. Some students look quizzically at me so I explain further what I mean. Who do they admire and respect to the point that they would like to be like that person? Often the response is a family member or relative. Some mention historical figures or religious figures. Every now and then a comic book hero comes up. It is an important question as it is helpful as to how we shape our lives. Often a significant person has an effect on how we shape our lives. As we view people or read stories of people of high ethical character, courage, and creativity their stories and life examples can encourage us to improve how we live our lives.

I mention the importance of heroes as I just finished reading the book – The Heroes of Faithfulness by Steve Barckholtz. He is a former Pastor who has followed a career path that he feels God has called him to as a full-time writer. His book is an in-depth look at Hebrews chapter 11. Over the years I have heard many sermons on Sundays about Hebrews 11. Often the messages call the chapter the Bible’s Hall of Fame. The chapter is a listing of many of the famous Biblical cast of characters: Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David and many others that people often look up to from the Old Testament. Is this chapter simply about hero worship of these people?

Steve in his book offers a twist on the often considered thought that this is a chapter concerning the heroes of the faith that we should look up to. He takes the reader through a personal look at each of these biblical characters showing their human failings. He reminds us that they are people just like us not to be worshiped. He then shows though, how God had a unique plan for each of them that was developed not by their own greatness but by their faith in a Faithful God. The book opens the reader’s eyes to the real hero of the chapter. The hero we should be following is God. He is the faithful one who will not disappoint and faithfully be there in our time of need.

Steve Barckholtz, by reminding us to keep our hero eyes on Jesus, we can trust Him to work out God’s plan for each of our lives. The stories that we are reminded of in Hebrews 11 are of people who followed the faithfulness of God with a deep faith and accomplished amazing things for God. Moses a man on the run for murdering an Egyptian became the man who led Israel out of bondage. David started out as a shepherd and youngest of his family but became the great King of Israel. One of my favorites, the story of Joseph who endured abuse and injustice throughout much of his life, was one who would have had every reason to turn his back on God with a chip on his shoulder. Instead Joseph kept his faith in God and was lifted up to a position to preserve Egypt and God’s people Israel during a great time of famine.

I was struck by Steve’s description for the type of faith God desires in our lives. He taps into Jesus’ parable of the Mustard seed in Matthew 13. He reminds the reader what Jesus was getting at, was not to simply stay with faith the size of a small seed but the listener in those times would understand the mustard seed would grow as he describes it, “an outrageously large, wild and unkempt tree.” (page 225). He goes on to say the God does not want us to live with minimal just getting by faith but a faith that is “large, crazy, wild and out of control”. Meaning -- out of our control but living in God’s faithful control. Living out God’s plan for our lives. That is a very challenging thought on how to live our life but it fits well my thinking which has been the basis for my blogging – Living More Than OK. We are meant for living a great life for God.

Reflection: Reflect over who is a hero in your life? What Bible character have you especially connected with in your reading of the Bible? What does it mean to you to have God as your hero? What does it mean to have a large wild and crazy faith?

Learning From Failure On The Road To Success

This semester in my lectures for the College Success course I teach, I presented a new story to inspire the students in their college struggle. It came from the book, From Failure To Promise: An Uncommon Path To Professoriate. It is the life story of Dr. C. Moorer a business professor in the Chicago area. He also is President of Dr. C. Moorer & Associates. It is an organizational foundation that is guided by the thoughts behind this quote -- "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They offer students and educators scholarships and work on issues related to global poverty.

I shared Dr. Moorer’s story with my college students as it is a story of a young man with dreams of success interrupted by failure. Sad to say over the years I have seen failure derail college students from reaching their dreams. Some of them just give up and that mentality is the basis for much of the statistics concerning people who do not finish their college education. There are not too many people who move from high school to college and then on to business success without any periods of failure in their lives. All of us experience failure at some level. The key is what do we do when we fail? Do we just give up and spiral down into more difficulties or do we rise up and move forward?

Dr. Moorer shares how after high school he left for Engineering School with a dream to be an engineer. His background was that of a good Christian home with supportive parents. Educationally he went to a Magnet School in Detroit and he admits it was in a poor crime ridden area. In the story though the reader understands he had a strong Christian faith that bolstered him and that gratefully came from sincere Christian parents.

He had the passion for engineering and was even given an opportunity to intern at an auto company. Yet he states that he flunked out of GMI Engineering Institute after being placed on suspension. I have been on Suspension committees in the past so I know what he went through. He honestly shares what I have observed in a number of students over the time I have worked at colleges and a university. His public school education had not adequately prepared him for the rigors of an engineering education. There were concerns of his parent’s health as well that weighed on his mind during the semesters that added stress. There is also a statement in the text as he was going into his finals pictures well his fear of failure which is often a self-fulfilling prophecy no matter how hard the student studies in the end.

What was refreshing about his story is he is honest instead of trying to pass blame on a professor or the system. He could have blamed God as he mentions he was praying not to go on suspension. But he did not. That is a testimony of his parents’ faith and the depth of his personal Christian faith. He could have given up and simply went for a menial job or worse with bitterness gone into a spiraling down life of trouble. Of course from the book title we know he did not do that. With faith that God had more for him in life he moved forward. He started at a local community college to retake the courses he failed. This time he had much better success with his grades. He also captured a new passion of Business Management so had a shift in his career direction.

Educationally he finished a Bachelor degree and then moved into success in the Business world. He then finished a MBA degree in Organizational Management. Finally he finished a PhD in Business. By this time his career path had shifted to desiring to be a tenured professor in a Business school. He shares how this came to be as well in the book. When he reaches that point in his life he also begins to have this dream of acting on the quote listed at the beginning by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That dreams is where he presently is focused on helping build up young people who care about the people suffering around the world.

Who would have thought a College flunk –out could have a continual spiraling upwards story such as this? Dr. Moorer is a testimony that when faced with failure one does not need to stay in that state of mind and station in life. For him he kept dreaming and moving forward. The story shows the persistent hard work he put in to keep moving forward. At the same time another key to his success is his steady faith in his God that was a foundation to keep him moving in a positive direction. This is a story if you are an educator that should be shared with as many young people as possible. They need to be aware that failure will come but they need to be aware they can move from failure to success. It is also a powerful story to help anyone dealing with failure to encourage them to keep moving forward with renewed dedication and new dreams.

Reflection – Think over a failure in your past or maybe you are enduring a time of failure presently. What did you learn from the failure experience? How did it change your future? Also take note that Dr. Moorer’s story keeps growing with new dreams and advancements. Is there a new dream that you have that you would like to pursue?

Hold That Line To Your Victory

Having a presentation coming up at a conference I was looking for a Todd Rundgren song to play and came across his greatest hits CD on sale. As I was listening to the cd the song, Just One Victory, came on. Then I went to YouTube to watch a few of the videos pertaining to the song. I noticed in the comments several people who were battling with cancer or addictions had used the song as a motivator for their struggle. This is one reason over the years I appreciated and enjoyed Todd Rundgren’s songs. Of course there is his amazing musicianship and talent but his messages in the songs he writes have a positive feel about them. Well -- there is Bang On The Drum All Day. I am unsure of the philosophical message behind that.

Just One Victory is a great song looking at the issue of Resilience. There are thoughts of battling with weakness and struggles in life. With true perseverance and prayin’ there is no sign of giving up or giving in. As usual take time to listen to the song and meditate on the lyrics before going further. As you click on the title I have embedded a live concert link of Todd Rundgren and his band performing the song.

Just One Victory by Todd Rundgren (click on the title)

We've been waiting so long. We've been waiting for the sun to rise and shine
Shining still to give us the will, Can you hear me, the sound of my voice?
I am here to tell you I have made my choice
I've been listening to what's been going down There's just too much talk and gossip going 'round
You may think that I'm a fool but I know the answer
Words become a tool, anyone can use them Take the golden rule, as the best example
Eyes that have seen will know what I mean
The time has come to take the bull by the horns We've been so downhearted, we've been so forlorn
We get weak and we want to give in But we still need each other if we want to win
Hold that line, baby, hold that line Get up boys and hit 'em one more time
We may be losing now but we can't stop trying So hold that line, baby, hold that line
If you don't know what to do about a world of trouble You can pull it through if you need to And if you
believe it's true, it will surely happen Shining still to give us the will
Bright as the day, to show us the way Somehow, someday
We need just one victory and we're on our way Prayin' for it all day and fightin' for it all night Give us
just one victory, it will be alright We may feel about to fall but we go down fighting
You will hear the call if you only listen Underneath it all we are here together shining still

From the beginning phrase “We've been waiting so long We've been waiting for the sun to rise and shine” along with other phrases; “We've been so downhearted, we've been so forlorn” “We get weak and we want to give in”. I see the picture of people going through struggles, cancer, addictions, and depressions make people feel this way. The sense of waiting and wondering if the sun will ever shine again in their lives. I have had those times in my life. As I stated many of the YouTube comments related to cancer patients and addicts but I believe those going through the grief process of losing a loved one can find encouragement in this song. Any of these struggles make the person going through them think with a forlorn heart, “Is it worth going on??” “Maybe I should just give up and give in?”

That is where I appreciate the football analogy that comes in – “We get weak and we want to give in But we still need each other if we want to win Hold that line, baby, hold that line Get up boys and hit 'em one more time We may be losing now but we can't stop trying So hold that line, baby, hold that line.” Those lines made me reminisce back to high school days back in Barberton, Ohio being in the marching band during football season. I could visualize in my mind the crowd shouting, “Hold That Line, Hold that line.” Think of the analogy. If a football team is down by two touchdowns at halftime. Does the coach tell the team during the break, “Boys, you look pretty tired and we are behind. Let’s just give up and call it a night. I will tell the other coach we give up. There was a good movie on tv I wanted to see anyway!” No way! He motivates them with “The time has come to take the bull by the horns…” and “we still need each other if we want to win”. “We need just one victory at the beginning of the second half to get us going now go do it!!!” When going through life struggles we need to be our own coaches giving that kind of a pep talk. It also helps if you surround yourself with friends that can give you that kind of pep talk as well. The key to resilience is to keep on fighting for that victory!

We need to be disciplined and do our part, but as you know from my Christian worldview, I believe there is a spiritual element to our battles. I do not know if Todd Rundgren meant it this way, but with my spirit colored glasses I want to point out a few spiritual ideas I see in the song to consider. From the very beginning I see it with the phrase, “We've been waiting for the sun to rise and shine. Shining still to give us the will.” Granted physical sunny days can brighten our moods but does the physical sun give us the will to go on. From my view the Son, Jesus Christ gives us the will to go on through the battle or struggle. Of course to someone else reading this blog the phrase may relate to another spiritual force. I am just stating where I come from.
The same spiritual idea for me is found later in the song, “You can pull it through if you need to And if you believe it's true, it will surely happen Shining still to give us the will” If you believe it is true makes me think of the principle of faith and belief that is vital for our relationship and walk with God. The light of the Son continues to shine to give us the will to continue the fight. Right after those phrases is the phrase “Prayin for it all day”. Prayer is an instrument to being resilient in life’s trials for those who believe in a spiritual side to this life journey. We need to work hard for the victory and pray hard for the victory.
The last spiritual element I wish to point out is his mention of the Golden Rule early in the song. Todd Rundgren says, “Take the golden rule, as the best example” as to show us how to act as we fight through the struggle we may be facing. It is not do whatever it takes to win, instead it is act in an ethical manner. In Mathew 7:12 Jesus states, “So in everything, Do to others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” Living that life helps us keep relationships strong through the difficulties of life. Words are easy -- it is the actions that are important.

In the end how we deal with our life struggles comes down to our choice as Rundgren states in the song, “I am here to tell you I have made my choice.” To gain that just one victory we need to make the choice not to give up in the middle of the game.

Reflection: Think over a victory you had in your past. What actions did you do to win the struggle? Who helped you during this time? Are you battling with something in your life right now? How are you going to hold the line to gain your just one victory?