A few months ago, I was driving through the desert in Joshua Tree National Park with five of my closest friends. As I looked at the sand, rocks and sparse vegetation, seemingly ravaged by the sun, I remarked, "This is beautiful desolation." We gazed at the deep, far-reaching emptiness, which nevertheless appeared to be so artfully crafted, and I considered the parallels between the beauty and wonder we observed and that which exists within us. I believe us to be broken creatures. We struggle against selfish ambitions and strive to fill voids in our lives every day. The amazing thing to me is that there is an even greater truth behind this brokenness. What we have become and what we struggle with does nothing to discount the image we were created after and what we were designed to be. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thus, I considered my own beautiful desolation and considered it as a possibly poetic and fitting title for my blog and my story.
Then I gave all of this some more thought.
It's true, we're broken and we fall short of the creation we were meant to be, but there is nothing desolate about man. Additionally, there is nothing desolate about my story. My story, just like that of creation, is one of being fallen, but also of grace, love and redemption. I am in the process of Becoming and being reclaimed. Oswald Chambers shares the following profound insight:
"The profound thing in man is his will, not sin."
Whether or not you prescribe to the same belief system I do, this is a pretty awesome revelation. We are not defined by our fall, we are defined by the risenness we have the opportunity to choose. This choice leads to a wonderful process, one I am choosing to call my Beautiful Reclamation.
Another reason I love the new name is that it takes me out of the equation. My story is part of a greater, more comprehensive one. The full story of God is far more fascinating and has far more implications than my own. There is a far greater reclamation happening. When we live out the tenets Jesus taught, we help to bring the kingdom now. Whether it affects the way we treat other people, our work, money or the earth, we can help to reclaim creation for it's rightful purpose. This blog is merely the lens through which I view this reclamation (admittedly, I screw around and make jokes here a lot as well). Ultimately, this is not about me doing work. It's just a retelling of a minute part of The Beautiful Reclamation. I'm in it enough. There's no need to have my name up top.
I anticipate this new name precipitating some other changes. A different URL could be in order. Blogger has not proven to be a 100% successful platform, so I'm also thinking about making the jump to tumblr. This all prompts me to recognize the biggest reason that I am a crappy blogger. I am lazy and get overwhelmed easily. While I think there are other items that could improve the experience and accessibility here, these changes are not nearly as easy to make as simply changing the name of the blog. As a result, I simply pulled up the text box that allowed me to type in a new title and will wait on everything else. As time goes by, I will probably get overwhelmed by the idea of making these additional changes and shelve the ideas altogether. This may or may not be the exact same reason that it has been so long since I last posted. I was lazy and failed to type anything for awhile. Then I started to get overwhelmed. It became clear to me that whenever I came back, my first new post would have to be the best thing I had ever written. I mean, if it's taking me so long to post, it must be for good reason, right? But I knew I wasn't capable of posting the best thing I had ever written. According to your views, this is the best post I've ever written and I frankly don't know if I'll ever top it for pure entertainment value. The interest my readers have shown in a ridiculous post with different, creepy facial hairstyles is actually extremely discouraging. You guys are weird.
So, you're reading the blog of lazy person that is easily overwhelmed. I'm not going to make any promises about turning over a new leaf or any such idea. Maybe I'll post again this week, maybe I won't. Maybe this will be the last post I ever type. Okay, it won't be. I didn't mean that. Please check back often. Some really awesome things have been happening lately that I would love to share. If I don't get too lazy and overwhelmed. Just remember that the blog's got a new name, and that's gotta count for something.
Adelante!
