Hemmed In by this Mystery

It's been awhile, as always...one day I will have time to write freely for hours :) I'm believing the Lord for that. In fact, this past week I actually wrote out in my journal, "Today I just want to be a hippie for the rest of time; get a tattoo, live downtown, become a writer, own a used book store with all the old classics, drink hot tea (which I hate, but I feel like I could learn to like), and wear vintage clothes." Maybe it was a weak moment in the midst of my never-ending studies. Ha...but don't put it past me. Speaking of studies, here I sit at a local book store/coffee shop...with a final exam to take in a few hours....and I'm reading everything but my notes getting particularly excited about Malachi 4.

"For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the Lord of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I will do this," Says the Lord of hosts.

Amen. Need I say more? He's coming.

Back to the title of this blog. I love mystery, who doesn't really? I love mysterious people. Seriously, I kind of have this weird love for people that I cannot quite figure out. Hiddenness, it's such a beautiful thing...I love the unknown more than most. I love not knowing what's next. . . It envokes searching, longing, wonder, and devout focus. I love the chase. Yet, at the same time - I want to KNOW. My mind is analytical, I'm typically a pretty black and white person, and I love figuring stuff out. I know all that seems contradictory - but I'm weird like that. I think what I'm trying to voice is that in some areas of my life I destroy the wonder of the unknown Mystery in my mind for the sake of logic. Pondering all of this, I came across one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings about this concept:

"Living without mystery means being ignorant of the mystery of our own life, of the mystery of other people, of the mystery of the world. It means passing over our own hiddenness, the hiddenness of other people and the world. It means being superficial. It means taking the world seriously only in so far as it can be calculated and exploited, not going behind the world of calculation and utility. Living without mystery means either failing to see or even denying the decisive matter of life. It means failing to see that the roots of the tree lie in the hidden darkness of the earth, that everything that lives in the light comes form the darkness and hiddenness of a mother's womb, that all of our ideas, all of our spiritual life comes from the same hidden, mysterious darkness of our body, as all of life. That is something we don't want to know. We do not want to be told that mystery is the root of all that can be understood and revealed and explained. And if we are told this, we want to quantify this mystery, calculate and explain it, dissect it. And, the result is that we kill life and do not discover the Mystery."

Enjoy the Mystery today. Quit being so logical. Put aside theology for a moment and simply enjoy Him. Let your heart sing a new melody. May you be lost in intimate wonder, the freedom of searching, and Heavenly imagination this day.