Quest

We have stretched arms to the heavens

  in hopes of touching

  the holy face of God.

We have traveled the seas unrelenting,

  in hopes of finding the Spirit

  that would carry us as the waves on which we were carried.

We have walked the earth unforgiving,

  upon rock as hard as hearts

  in hopes of finding the Rock that would not be broken.

And within the fleeting efforts of our toils,

  we laid our heads to rest.

And in the quiet and still of night,

  with arms drawn in,

  the waves stilled,

  the earth cooled,

 We have found the essence of our seeking,

  to be closer than the breath in which we breathe.

Run With Me by Jennifer Luitwieler: A Retrospective Review

Have you ever wondered what your life would look like if told through a story?  Imagine if you had to chronicle your life up to this moment, what would it look like?  How would it sound?  What would you choose to include?  What would you leave out and why?  What would you highlight, and why would that be interesting to others?  What people would stand out as characters in the story?  What would be the plot?  How would the story rise to a climax and then end with every aspect coming together to complete the wonderful tale that is your life, all the while keeping the attention of the reader?  Seems a bit overwhelming, doesn’t it?  Maybe a little humbling?  After all, most of us don’t live crazy, exciting James Bond kind of lives, right?  So why would someone want to read “our” story?  Good question.  But rather than attempting to solve the seemingly impossible, let me tell you a little about a book and someone who seems to have figured it out.  And with near perfection, I might add.

In Run With Me: An Accidental Runner and the Power of Poo, my friend and author, Jennifer Luitwieler takes all of the ingredients listed above, tells her story in a way that instantly captures your attention, and all the while creates a cohesive narrative that remains adjoined in seamless perfection.  And she does this in one of the most simple ways possible: she takes you on a journey.  The vehicle she uses for the journey is running and the fuel that gets you there is poo.  Yes, poo!  Dog poo to be more specific.  But you’ll have to read the book to find out why dog poo is so significant to this book.

As Jennifer states in the beginning of the book, Run With Me is not only a book about running.  And it really isn’t, although in a strange way, it is.  Again, you’ll just have to read the book to understand the dichotomy.  In realty, running is only the cohesive gel that holds the story together.  It’s the common thread that keeps it going and unites aspects of a life, just like yours and mine and packages them together.  Although running has become a significant part of her life, she uses her passion to link ordinarily life together in an enjoyable story.  That is what is so powerful about this book.  Jennifer creates a story telling model that reveals that each and every one of us has a “story”, we just have to find the vehicle that carries it.  If you’re runner, you’ll get it.  If you’re not a runner, you’ll get it.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is it’s simplicity and holistic flow.  In a society that compartmentalizes every aspect of our life, Jennifer is able to blend life realities into a refreshing story that is intertwined at almost every point.  Each theme that she emphasizes and each point she makes, remarkably connects to the entire essential theme and leaves no loose ends.  The story is organic and flows naturally without confusion.  You never get lost in the story or find yourself wondering where a particular point is going.  Whether she is describing her spiritual journey and frustrations with the Church, or the details of her first half marathon, she makes her point while making sure that you’re connecting with her.

Run with me is fun, refreshing and uplifting.  In fact, having somewhat of a melancholy personality, at times I found it too uplifting!  Through the story, Jennifer is like the friend that keep telling you jokes or tickling you until you smile.  You do your best to remain in self-pity, but you finally submit, realizing that your attempts are futile.  You WILL smile.  You WILL laugh.  You WILL end up having a better outlook on life. Curse you, Jennifer, and your motivationally themed memoir!

In all honesty, Jennifer leaves it up to you.  She has no agenda and no preconceived notions that she will change your perspective on life.  She simply shares her journey.  Run With Me leaves you feeling that you just had a great conversation with a friend, she shared some good stuff with you and hopes you took something from the story.  You get the impression that if she made you laugh, at least for that moment, she accomplished her goal.  Although, if you want to run with her, just a little farther, she’s ready to go!

Read Run With Me and run with Jennifer!

Article also published in Provokotive Magazine, 11/10/2011         

Construct

We are all born into a spiritual construct. My spiritual construct is different from your spiritual construct, and your spiritual construct is different from mine. A spiritual construct is basically the building blocks of spirituality that have been set in place since the day you were born. They consist of things you are aware of, and may consist of things that have been subliminal throughout most of your life. Your spiritual construct reveals your spiritual personality and determines how your spiritual life will flow.

I was born into the Roman Catholic faith, and although I now follow a Protestant theology, my spiritual life has been developed to a great extent by my Catholic upbringing. Spiritual elements like Christian icons, stained glass, candles, meditation and observing long periods of silence are a big part of how I delve into a deeper communion with God. Although Christ is the center of who I am, these are elements that are part of my spiritual construct.

For many years, I rejected anything that was in any way related to Catholicism. In my mind, I felt that anything connected to the rigid and religious structure of the liturgical church was only going to hinder my growth as a follower of Christ. I felt as if I had become "enlightened", whatever that means, and freed from the overly structured and methodical way of faith that I grew up with. But then I went to seminary, and came out feeling as if knew less that I did before, and I became "enlightened" to the fact that I was dead wrong!

What I began to realize is that Christianity is somewhat of a mosaic that makes up the Church as we see it today in 2010. Some of us grew up with the structure of the liturgy, and some of us grew up with the freedom of a congregational church setting. Some of us grew up with structure of conservative spiritual upbringing, while others grew up with the idealism of a more liberal faith. Either way, our spiritual construct was set by those early stages of faith. Right or wrong, good or bad, our spirituality has been developed by where we've been, and that's not a bad thing.

What I have learned through my journey of faith, is that each of us need to embrace our spiritual construct. The mold that has been cast is not necessarily one that needs to be broken and reconstructed. The early path we took in our spiritual development, does not mean we're going in the wrong direction. Construction does not always mean demolition. And If we're honest with ourselves, we can look back over our spiritual lives and see that the building blocks that have been set are elements that have brought us to the faith we have today.

In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul alludes to Timothy's Spiritual Construct. "I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God," We have no idea of the details of Timothy's upbringing in the faith. We know nothing of the traditions or spiritual disciplines practiced in his household. But we do know that his Mother and grandmother were Jewish and his Father was Greek. He grew up in Lystra, which was located in modern day Turkey, and heavily steeped in Greek culture. Both of these backgrounds would have been part of his accepting the truths of Jesus Christ when the Apostle Paul first began spreading the gospel in that area. In fact, it's very significant that Paul found it important enough to mention that both Timothy's Mother and Grandmother had an influence in Timothy's strong faith. Both being Jewish, the faith of Israel would would have been a filter that he used in accepting the Christian faith.

Like Timothy, you might have parents or grandparents that influenced the development of your spiritual construct. You may have other family members or friends that have affected your growth, or there might be life events that have added building blocks to your faith. Still there may be some of you that see nothing in your life journey that has had any influence in where you are spiritually. But I encourage you to spend some time meditating on what your spiritual construct might look like. See if you can determine what factors have influenced it. Once you have, embrace those spiritual aspects. Ask God how you can utilize them in your walk of faith this week. Seek how they might become regular practices to draw closer to God, and enjoy your place in the mosaic of Christianity.