As you can see from the date stamp on my previous blog entry, it has been a couple of weeks since I have published. The idea train has been making it's deliveries right on schedule, but I'm waiting for a special delivery. What makes me think one's coming? The freight cars to the future are always attached to the locomotive of remembrance. The very core of liturgical worship is the phrase "do this in remembrance of me". We are only able to move forward in faith when we are given that pass of forgiveness and hope.Just this week, out of the blue logo of [ Facebook ] email, popped [ Jay Young ], one of the key people in the last Youth Group (Redland Baptist n Rockville MD) that I had the blessing to serve. I had not seen or heard from any of these youth since the late 80's, when I had left occupational ministry. I'm not sure why. They, like the Grace Baptist Youth, have turned out to be incredible people for God. Jay asked me if I was the Randy Hurst that was his old youth minister. It was like the slap in the Mennen Skin Bracer shaving lotion commercial, that was followed with the gratitudenous "thanks, I needed that!"
So, there is no danger of becoming a "blahger" here. There are exciting days ahead. Now I am reconnecting with folks from both groups on Facebook. One youth (Ha, I bet they like that title all these years out) teased that their revived, reunioned group had become a cult like organization. Silly sister! One cult association is enough... We are in that rabble rousing offshoot of the Jews... Somewhat deridingly known as "Christians".
By the way... just saw a preview of a new movie that will be out this Christmas, ["The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"] ... the premise is very clever, one that I too have posited several times, I hope they do "my" idea justice: What if we started out old and grew younger over our span of life, re: we were able to possess an older persons wisdom (experience/learning) inside young minds and bodies. Tony, a coworker just reminded me of the pithy saying "Passion rules Reason"( one of the "Wizard Rules" (?)); so this script may have to concede that an old mind in a young body may just be more prone to reckless abandon, knowing more ways to get into trouble and not get caught. Will this will be another "Meet Joe Black" for Mr. Pitt (one I considered a good thought provoker with a very romantic sound track).
In a very real sense we believers and receivers of eternal life through Christ are getting younger as our souls approach eternity and the state of Forever Young.
By the way Forever Young was the theme song at the last Redland Youth event that I attended (can you believe that I crashed the party after having left the church?) Thanks for inviting me back into some of your lives, Redland Youth.
Forever a bit Crazy too, propheT
*[cartoon borrowed from here..which was borrowed from somewhere else] Original site is actually a pretty good site that describes itself as the Mad Magazine of Internet stuff.
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Not blogging much myself lately, just living. But this post of yours brought two ideas back into my active memory.
One is, when we were hiking in the waterfalls area of the Columbia Gorge a few weeks ago, heading for a remote waterfall with Brock (we were looking for a site to use in a movie he's working on), a film idea just suddenly occurred to me, of two older guys getting lost in the forest, and they are out of water and looking for a spring. They hear falling water in the distance and they make for it. But as they approach the source of the sound, they begin to notice their movements are getting nimbler and they seem to feel less stiff, somehow, than they had for a long time. They both stop and, looking at each other, let out surprised gasps… one of them who used to be gray haired has gotten gold back in his beard and hair, the other who used to be bald has now got a full head of hair… But wait, they look a bit thinner too around the neck and, oh my God! They suddenly realise that they're looking at themselves as they were 15 or 20 years earlier.
After a few silent moments, they remember their thirst and they keep heading towards the sound of the water, only now they're both running, crashing thru branches and unheeding of the tears to their flesh that brambles are making as they plunge toward the source of water.
In just a few more moments, it suddenly gets brighter, as sky opens overhead and the trees and brush part, revealing a waterfall coming down a rock wall into a pool.
The now young men make a rush for it, laughing and gasping and almost sobbing all at once. The next moment they're standing nearly need deep in the water, then they both go down to drink in a thunderous splash. When next you see them, they've turned around, their drenched shirts, torn open down to the waists of… two beardless, teenage boys, one with reddish hair, the other with blond.
End of scene, and of story idea.
Being best friends with a screenplay writer and filmmaker has its rewards. Even I come up with film ideas from time to time.
The other idea that came to mind was one that I may have shared with you before, I dunno.
It's the idea that as we approach the end of our earthly lives, we return to being children, and that, when we enter paradise after death, we are in fact received there in the form of children. Two sources for this idea: one, my oldest son as a child telling me that when I died and went to heaven, I would become a little child again. The other, an Orthodox icon of Jesus carrying the soul of His mother up to heaven after her death, as an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes in His arms.
I will look out for that movie you mentioned in this post and go to see it when it comes out.
Greetings, dear brother, from Romanós.
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