too many passwords....

i had such a difficult time getting to blog today....different companies require different types of passwords, and i had to land on the correct one for this account; passwords are ok, except this account added another security word that you have to type, so that they know you are really human, and not a machine. honestly, i think you have to be a machine to figure out that word, don't you?

anyway, i really meant to share that i had the pleasure to celebrate the renewal of vows for a couple married 60 years this past week-end. they had kept their original vows, and we used them, with a slight adaptation. what a powerful affirmation to know that couples can stay married for over a year or two. 60! i'll never experience that, sadly enough. but what a powerful witness that in this day and age, it can happen!

i also had the opportunity this week to witness the opening of the new wesley center at u.c. berkeley. for those thinking about attending school there, this housing/spiritual center is directly across the street; eight suites of 12 students each, provide a safe haven for study and growth.

here in merced, we are excited to have a wesley house with six students living in an intentional community for growth and nurture in a spiritual way. how excited the wesley brothers, john and charles, would be to know that their little societies from their oxford days, have lived on and developed into intentional living communities! and we are excited to anticipate with the goto family this week, the birth of campus minister jennifer's daughter....prayers for baby girl goto!

spiritual growth is a life-long process. perhaps the complication of too many passwords could be eliminated, if all of us could use the same word...believe. i realize this defeats the security of a password, but the concept is the same. if the only password we needed was 'believe' -- even when we didn't fully understand what we believed -- at least we would be able to profess that we believe -- something!

with wesley, believing was something that came to us -- and still comes to us -- by means of grace; "prevenient grace", meaning, god is there before us, yearning for us to learn and grow, and to learn to be faithful. we can be faithful in so many ways. we can believe in so many ways. maybe the password 'believe' is our entry into saying, 'i'm not sure what i believe, but i know i have to believe something'.

be it from childhood, into our teens and young adulthood years, or far into our maturing, god's grace is there, ready and waiting for us to find our belief. even discovering jesus doesn't mean that be all believe the same way.

i'm excited to witness the merced college and u.c. merced students find their way onto their spiritual path. and it makes me hopeful to know that, while i have not been able to sustain a 60 year loving relationship with someone else (well, i am only 52!), that god has maintained a (so far) 52 year loving relationship with me. i'm still on the journey. i've learned to appreciate women and ethnic diversity in ministerial leadership; i've learned that my own white-maleness of privilege has caused hurt and oppression; i've learned to breathe in the spirit of prayer, and that i don't always have to be 'right' or 'in charge' or 'the center of attention'. maturity has its advantages!!!

so, what have you learned on your spiritual journey so far, that you would be willing to share? you never know how your journey will make an impact on someone else!