When the days seem grim, and these days often do, there is a short term remedy that can take your mind off of all the chaos in the world. (for a little while) Laughter is great medicine!! So I love to read the funnies. Peanuts and Charlie Brown has been my longtime favorite. When the Sunday globe would arrive I couldn't wait to rifle through it and find the comic strips. I love that Charlie Brown! He never gives up. As per the normal, things go bad and then get worse but good 'ole Chuck never stops trying. He somehow looks beyond the past failures and chases that ultimate dream of landing the perfect boot to the football. Always having that little glimmer of hope. Even though, at this point ( 65 years since his debut on October 2, 1950 as a daily funny strip in 9 different newspapers), I have to wonder- will he ever succeed? Through the years the Peanut's comic strip has brought a lot of people laughter and encouragement. Though Charles Schulz' motives weren't implicitly religious, his sarcasm and gritty, poignant honesty has inspired many to keep trying, to be like Charlie Brown and take that chance once more time.
Never Give Up! There is something about always reaching for, yet never fully attaining that reminds me of my faith walk with Jesus Christ. I know because of this worn, limited, very human "tent" I live in that I can never achieve perfection. Never sinning again is virtually impossible- because I am not God. This fact does not keep me from trying however. Seeking God and looking for His answers to life questions. The questions about suffering. The questions about pain and death. The questions about how He made all of these extraordinary, beautiful places (like Maccu Piccu, The Virgin Islands and yes the Ozarks in Missouri in the fall). The question of how He could love such an imperfect, flawed people such as the human race. Inside of me there is a desire to know the Creator of all of this. When I choose to hold on to hope that desire keeps burning on.
Recently my Favorite and I went to see "The Peanuts Movie" which opened on my birthday. After the lights went down the pre-show stuff started (and lasted 15 minutes - Ugh) finally I was delighted to see the beloved Peanut's characters just like I remembered them from childhood. Once again Charlie Brown struggled through the misfortunes of the "kite-eating tree', sports failure, a book report he worked diligently only to have it destroyed in a single moment, forgoing his own talent show debut so his little sister would not be made fun of and mistakenly winning an award because of a mix-up on a test. So many struggles for Charlie Brown. The integrity struggle was intense. There was beauty to be found in these ashes though as Charlie made decisions to that made his character shine. He helped someone else achieve success in flying a kite. His baseball incident with Snoopy ushered in the arrival of his crush (and quickly his embarrassment was forgotten). Time and time again Charlie's kind actions captured the human spirit of the golden rule. My heart was warmed and there may have been a tear in my eye as the movie ended and Charlie Brown took that famous scramble toward the football that Lucy was holding. That guy just doesn't give up!! It reminded me that there is always hope. It reminded me that laughter is great medicine.
Never Give Up! There is something about always reaching for, yet never fully attaining that reminds me of my faith walk with Jesus Christ. I know because of this worn, limited, very human "tent" I live in that I can never achieve perfection. Never sinning again is virtually impossible- because I am not God. This fact does not keep me from trying however. Seeking God and looking for His answers to life questions. The questions about suffering. The questions about pain and death. The questions about how He made all of these extraordinary, beautiful places (like Maccu Piccu, The Virgin Islands and yes the Ozarks in Missouri in the fall). The question of how He could love such an imperfect, flawed people such as the human race. Inside of me there is a desire to know the Creator of all of this. When I choose to hold on to hope that desire keeps burning on.
Recently my Favorite and I went to see "The Peanuts Movie" which opened on my birthday. After the lights went down the pre-show stuff started (and lasted 15 minutes - Ugh) finally I was delighted to see the beloved Peanut's characters just like I remembered them from childhood. Once again Charlie Brown struggled through the misfortunes of the "kite-eating tree', sports failure, a book report he worked diligently only to have it destroyed in a single moment, forgoing his own talent show debut so his little sister would not be made fun of and mistakenly winning an award because of a mix-up on a test. So many struggles for Charlie Brown. The integrity struggle was intense. There was beauty to be found in these ashes though as Charlie made decisions to that made his character shine. He helped someone else achieve success in flying a kite. His baseball incident with Snoopy ushered in the arrival of his crush (and quickly his embarrassment was forgotten). Time and time again Charlie's kind actions captured the human spirit of the golden rule. My heart was warmed and there may have been a tear in my eye as the movie ended and Charlie Brown took that famous scramble toward the football that Lucy was holding. That guy just doesn't give up!! It reminded me that there is always hope. It reminded me that laughter is great medicine.
