Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Sts Sudzi and Tim: Pushing Toward The Unobvious


Chuck Killian, my delightfully and prophetically unorthodox seminary professor (in the appropriate sense of "orthodox"...I mean, doing collages for a seminary preaching class? Sounds obvious to me! See them here) in an old issue of Leadership Journal, told the story of the mystic Sudzi Annatole (must have the spelling wrong...can't google that name..but I bet it's this one) whose spiritual director informed her (or him? ) something like this:

"You know, Sudzi: when you die...the Lord won't say,

'Sudzi, why weren't you Moses?"

or

"Sudzi, why weren't you Paul?"

I fear he might say,

"Why weren't you Sudzi? You would've made a really good Sutzi if you'd just been yourself."




Tim Neufeld
has, in one of his passing comments (literally...in the comments section of his blog) has spoken something hugely helpful to me. So he's a spiritual director in the line of Sutzi's.

In all my (sometimes) confidence and (sometimes) embarrassment about

the "unorthodox" shape of my

call and my (un) orthodox style and job description in the Body and world..

I needed to hear what Tim said. I receive it as a compliment and a gift.

I have even redubbed my MySpace page username in honor..

Here's his word (context here..from a great article about..of course.. U2 ! See Oct 8 comment):



Dave, you know what I like about you?

You always push toward the unobvious!

You are gifted at seeing what others miss.


Tim, thank you. I know your first observation is accurate.
And I'll pray the second observation even more to the forefront, so it's even more so.
"With God's help , I will become myself" -Kierkegaard



3 comments:

  1. Know what I like about you?

    You are always pushing towards the unobvious.



    Keith R.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Dave,

    Here's a favorite quote:

    "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting."

    -E.E. Cummings in Abba's Child by Brennan Manning.

    Here's to "being" rather than "doing" in Christ....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tim:

    Amazing quote for my arsenal.

    Thanks!

    God didn't make human doings.

    ReplyDelete

Hey, thanks for engaging the conversation!