Changes - part 1

I have always been a big fan of the Indiana Jones films. So, when a fourth film was released I made sure to go and see it during its first weekend at the theater. My first thought when they finally showed a close-up of Harrison Ford was "Wow, he looks old." I am not sure what I expected to see. It had been almost twenty years (that's two decades for those of you playing at home) since the third film was released. Surely, even in the age of computer imaging and touch-ups a man in his mid-sixties is going to look like a man in his mid-sixties.
Why did Harrison's Ford age and appearance matter? Well, for starters, our culture glorifies and worships youth. In some parts of the world you are not taken seriously until you have a few gray hairs and wrinkles on your face. Not so in the good ol' US of A. We value things that are new, fresh, unblemished even if that means untested and inexperienced. To see a sixty year old man up on the silver screen trying to play an action hero just seemed wrong. The key word here is seemed. There are no laws that say you can only save the world if you are under fifty. But our culture sure acts like it is a crime.
Another reason an aging Harrison Ford bothered me was because by getting older he had messed up our relationship. Indiana Jones and I started hanging out in 1981. My girlfriend at the time won tickets to the opening night premier of the movie. The theater was packed, the movie fantastic and I developed a serious love for that character (The girl? She and I broke up a few months later). I have all but memorized the lines to each of the first three films. Indiana Jones was always supposed to look like a handsome, rugged man in his thirties. Now he looked different, even sounded different. I want my original Indy back, the one I always wanted to be like (who did not qualify for an AARP card).
I have been thinking a lot about how relationships change. The person I married 17 years ago is not the one I woke up with this morning. My children are in a constant state of change and it seems I have to reinvent my relationship with them on a daily basis. All around me, everywhere I look in my life, relationships are changing. The question I am wrestling with is what to do about it. And is there any guidance that my faith can provide me as I attempt to be in a thousand every changing relationships? That is what I will be writing about over the next few days. Feel free to add your comments throughout the week.

Waiting, Part 2

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin' me late
Is keepin' me waitin'

"Anticipation" Carly Simon

Way back in the 1970s, Heinz ran a commercial for their ketchup (sorry, the original is not on Youtube. I know, I was also shocked and dismayed) in which it takes almost 30 seconds for the ketchup to leave the bottle and pour out on a hamburger. The point of the commercial was to show that Heinz 57 was not some watered down tomato product but a thick, wholesome ketchup. The good folks at Heinz paid to use singer/songwriter Carly Simon's popular song "Anticipation" in the ad. The waiting, the anticipation of what that burger will taste like smothered in Heinz ketchup, is part of the fun of eating. Or at least that is what the people who produced slow pouring ketchup wanted us to believe back in the day.

Anticipation is supposed to increase our desire and appreciation of a particular event of experience. The logic goes something like this: if we get what we want whenever we want it, then it loses its significance in our lives. But if we have to wait for it (and "it" can be a football game or a date or the birth of a child) then it takes on added value. This way of thinking helped produce the old adage "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and the use of cliffhanger ending to movies and television shows.

I'm not convinced. I routinely have to wait to see my doctor even though I have an appointment. When I finally get back in the examining room I get to wait some more. Does the anticipation of finally seeing the medical professional I was supposed to meet with thirty minutes ago make me value our time together? No. It makes me ticked off, late for my other appointments and on an endless quest to find a doctor who can keep time!

Do I love my children or wife less because I see them everyday? No. In fact I think our relationship is stronger for all the time we spend together. Do I love food less because I eat every day (a look at my waistline will answer that question for you)? Star Wars is still one of my favorite movies even though I can watch it whenever I wish. Granted, having Christmas every month might get a bit old. There are somethings that we want to be "special" occasions and anticipation plays a useful role in making that happen. But not everything. Not God.

God is at work in the world. Right now. The question is whether I can see it or not. Anticipation is my waiting to see what I want to see; God acting the way I want God to act. Faith is seeing what God is already doing. I can wait a long time for God to do what I want. To catch a glimpse of what God is actively involved in at the moment takes no waiting at all. It does, however, require me to change. More tomorrow.