Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Starbucks Thoughts

I just finished Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I enjoyed the book, but it took me until the end to truly appreciate it. The following are a couple excerpts from the book, that provided a reminder of great truth, about marriage and life, for my life:

(this is another author's response to the question "is there one true love for every person?" and then Donald Miller's commentary following)
"[the other author] essentially said no. And she said that with her husband sitting right there in the audience. She said she and her husband believed they were a cherished prize for each other, and they would probably drive any other people mad. But then she said something I thought was wise. She said she had married a guy, and he was just a guy. He wasn't going to make all her problems go away, because he was just a guy. And that freed her to really love him as a guy, not as an ultimate problem solver. And because her husband believed she was just a girl, he was free to really love her too. Neither needed the other to make everything okay. They were simply content to have good company through life's conflicts. I thought that was beautiful.....All of this may sound depressing to you, but I don't mean it to be. I've lived some good stories now, and those stories have improved the quality of my life. But I've also let go of the idea things will ever be made perfect, at least while I'm walking around on this planet. I've let go of the idea that this life has a climax....And the thing is, it works. When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. And when you stop expecting material possessions to complete you, you'd be surprised at how much pleasure you get in material possessions. And when you stop expecting God to end all your troubles, you'd be surprised how much you like spending time with God....Do I still think there will be a day when all wrongs are made right, when our souls find the completion they are looking for? I do. But when all things are made right, it won't be because of some preacher or snake-oil salesman or politician or writer making promises in his book. I think, instead, this will be done by Jesus. And it will be at a wedding. And there will be a feast."

(back to Tyler Crosson's thoughts) I'm not entirely sure why I'm posting this, other than the fact that I was in Starbucks today from about 3p-6:30p(ish) and I felt overwhelmingly struck by this truth. I hope that you allow yourself to marinate on all this. Maybe Miller's words are just hitting me where I am right now...but maybe you can see some truth through this as well.

I got much love for you...