California Kindness

Hello faithful family, friends, and followers and welcome to our travel blog from San Diego, California. For those of us from Minnesota, we are all familiar with the term “Minnesota nice.” It is an often referenced and debated term. Are we Minnesotan’s really nice or is it just a well practiced form of passive aggressiveness we like to think of as nice? In the end, it is probably a mix of both. But this week on our travels to San Diego, I would have to say that we have been blessed with genuine California kindness. We have met some of the most delightful people from front desk staff, to waitstaff, to strangers on the street, to informational volunteers at the zoo, parks, and elsewhere, who have been gracious, kind, informative, and encouraging. Not only have they uplifted us, but often Joy has been especially encouraging to them. I am so proud of her and her gracious kindness she so naturally shows to those she meets.

As I shared last week, this is our first trip since our return from Florida to Minnesota at the beginning of April 2024 via a Learjet MedFlight. Joy was rather apprehensive about our trip, needing to navigate TSA security, the press of people in the airport and plane, having to depend on me for every twist and turn of our travels. We jointly chose San Diego as our initial destination, because we have been here before, enjoyed the area and the city, yet, it was still a challenge for Joy. However, I can unequivocally say and she would agree, that she has handled all aspects of the trip tremendously well.

Her courage, not only for our trip, but more importantly in the long road of her recovery, reminded me of a passage from Jeremiah which was actually in our Bible reading this week. In Jeremiah 12:5 we read: “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?”

Eugene Peterson, pastor, author of many books, and of “The Message” paraphrase of the Bible, actually wrote an entire book on this verse entitled, “Run With The Horses - The Quest for Life at Its Best.” His premise in the book fits so well with the courage I see in Joy and it is also a significant motivation for me in perseverance for living out the day to day of our “new normal.” While this is an extended quote, I feel Joy models this so faithfully that I wanted to share it and I hope it can encourage you as well. Peterson writes:

This memorable passage concerns Jeremiah's life when, worn down by the opposition and absorbed in self-pity, he was about to capitulate... He was ready to abandon his unique calling in God and settle for being a Jerusalem statistic. At that critical moment he heard the reprimand: "So, Jeremiah, if you're worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can't keep your wits during times of calm, what's going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?…

God basically confronts Jeremiah with the statement, “Life is difficult, Jeremiah. Are you going to quit at the first wave of opposition? Are you going to retreat when you find that there is more to life than finding three meals a day and a dry place to sleep at night? Are you going to run home the minute you find that the mass of men and women are more interested in keeping their feet warm than in living at risk to the glory of God? Are you going to live cautiously or courageously? I called you to live at your best, to pursue righteousness, to sustain a drive toward excellence. It is easier, I know, to be neurotic. It is easier to be parasitic. It is easier to relax in the embracing arms of The Average. Easier, but not better. Easier, but not more significant. Easier, but not more fulfilling. I called you to a life of purpose far beyond what you think yourself capable of living and promised you adequate strength to fulfill your destiny. Now at the first sign of difficulty you are ready to quit. If you are fatigued by this run-of-the-mill crowd of apathetic mediocrities, what will you do when the real race starts, the race with the swift and determined horses of excellence? What is it you really want, Jeremiah? Do you want to shuffle along with this crowd, or run with the horses?

It is understandable that there are retreats from excellence, veerings away from risk, withdrawals from faith. It is easier to define oneself minimally ("a featherless biped") and live securely within that definition than to be defined maximally ("little less than God") and live adventurously in that reality. It is unlikely, I think, that Jeremiah was spontaneous or quick in his reply to God's question. The ecstatic ideals for a new life had been splattered with the world's cynicism. The euphoric impetus of youthful enthusiasm no longer carried him. He weighed the options. He counted the cost. He tossed and turned in hesitation. The response when it came was not verbal but biographical. His life became his answer, "I'll run with the horses."

Like Jeremiah, we all face daunting life realities, but despite the oft felt fears of inadequacy, I am encouraged, and I hope you can to be too, to trust God’s provision as he challenges us to gather our courage and determination to “run with the horses.”