During this pandemic, I’ve been tempted to enter one of the many immersive online gaming communities. I think it might be fun to assemble an avatar and dive into the action ... and it certainly would be a diversion from all the problems of this present dark time.
But then I remember ... I already have another life.
It is a different time ... actually, it’s a different timeline. People there dress in clothing that looks a lot like steampunk costumes, great dirigibles ply the skies, and automobiles look much as they did in the early part of the 20th Century.
In my imagined life, I am in service to the Queen of England; her personal Paladin. My friends are people like Nikola Tesla and Harriet Quimby. I have many adventures, drive and fly interesting vehicles, and often "go undercover" to ferret out enemies of the Crown.
It's all in fun, a harmless exercise of my imagination. My alternate history lives on a Pinterest board where, by pinning photos, I tell a kind of story about a life where there's ... well ... just a bit more swash in my buckle than in my real life.
And that brings me to something important: We don't always like our real lives. Sometimes, we don't even like ourselves.
We struggle with how to live a good life, often fighting inclinations to do things we know we should not, and sometimes losing that fight. In a pretend life, we are completely in control. So, it's nice to pretend from time to time, to "get away" for awhile from the pressures of this life. It can be fun, and even a relief.
But we must not allow ourselves to spend too much of our time in these retreats. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in his poem, A Psalm of Life:
“Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not thy goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.”
Each of us does have another life, a different life; the one that continues after this one concludes. Scripture says we get a new body ... and adventures so amazing they can't be described in terms we can understand ... at least, not now.
For the time being, we must follow the teaching in this week's scriptures from Matthew and Romans. We must allow The Lord to place us in light harness so we may be guided; and we must trust God to rescue us when we live a life contrary to what we know is good.
I cannot imagine a better way.
_________________________
If interested, you can view my Pinterest Board, "In Another Life,"
HERE: http://pin.it/b1n2j5U (NOTE: my board instructions say “read from the bottom up,” which is correct. It’s just that Pinterest has placed other pins below mine. So, scroll down to the photos of Harriet Quimby and the ornate spiral staircase: that’s the bottom of my board. Then, start up)
_________________________
Slightly different versions of this reflection appeared in July 2017 and July 2014.
_________________________
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 9 (14) (July 5, 2020)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=149
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 145:8-14
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
_________________________
I wish we could all join together for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast, Friday morning, as has been our practice for many years. But, alas, the increase in COVID cases continues to prevent that.
In the interim, keep reading, keep praying, and keep safe.
Many Blessings,
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment