Why is Parenthesis? What is Parenthesis?

WHAT FOLLOWS...

The following is not an answer; it’s a question to trigger dialogue. Not a distraction from my work serving the many fronts in which I am engaged. Not a “rabbit trail” like the perceived many I have, admittedly, pursued in my years of sojourning. A moment of realization that I believe God has illuminated for deeper consideration, prayer and reflection. It is submitted to you, those that God has brought into my path to speak into what I feel is crystallization (some night refer to it as calling) defining each and every seemingly disjointed path I have taken thus far. It is also continued obedience to the model I have embraced from Henry Blackaby while in pursuit of experiencing the fullness of God: 1) be in the Word regularly, 2) be in prayer regularly and 3) surround yourself in community with other followers.

The following is so given for your consideration.


THE VERY MOMENT

A cold day in Iowa. Early winter. A 2-hour walk in solace and sanctuary across 60 acres of rolling hills. My whispered question: Lord, what do you need me to see, hear and know? How do you need me to pray to you?

Off in the distance, behind me and to my left I heard a soft moaning. I stopped and looked over my shoulder to identify source. A wounded deer? Farm dog? I didn’t see anything. I walked a few more steps and heard the sound again, but this time it sounded like a gentle, sugary voice. I stopped and looked over my shoulder to identify source. I didn’t see anything. And this time, before I resumed my walking I heard the sound, and there it was, revealed in a sacred moment of pause: the frosted breath of wind moving two gnarled oak trees so that the barnacled skin of their trunks rubbed against each other. A moment. A pause. An emphasis.
And then I knew.

What follows is the writing that I composed while sitting on a fallen body of oak. The ink defined; the punctuation mark placed on my life:

A MOMENT IN THE PARENTHESIS

My Question: What do you need me to do with this moment you have given me?

I do not need to hear the sound of your voice. Your heart speaks.
I want you.

I do not need you to figure out the path to take. Follow my footsteps; breathe in the intoxication of my dust.
I want you.

I do not need you to understand each other. Like when I move through the forest, I will whisper amongst you; when the bark of your lives rub up against each other it will fill me with the perfume of song.
I want you.

I do not need you to teach my words to my children. Let their letters, sounds and
pictures dance and play and embrace them; then they will feel, know and keep
dancing.
I want you.

I do not need you to judge each other in my name. I Am.
I want you.

I do not need you to do everything you think you need to keep doing to make things better, stronger, faster, holier. In your weariness you miss the quiet shoulder of my love. The ivory cradle of my arms. The pillow of my heart.
I want you.

I do not need you for anything.
I want for you everything.

Your Answer: Seek the parenthesis in every moment.

WHAT IS PARENTHESIS?

· An inserted moment given for emphasis;

· An insertion for emphasis within God’s narrative for life, living out the anointed part we are called to play;

· Pausing to fully experience the parenthesis’ Paradox of Faith and Life through

1. Gathering (Come together)

2. Sanctuary (Be still)

3. Prayer (ask, listen, act)

4. Prospecting (dig deeper and mine)

5. Activate (Do and Be)

· FIND (find yourself) LET (let others) GIVE (give it a way)

· Added emphasis found at the intersection of Faith and Life;

· A symbol of paradox; what’s found and known in between the extremes;

· A ministry expression of Pause, Insight and Release;

· An expression to Discover, Define and Deploy The Power of (The) Story;

· A gathering point/place for Hi Impact leaders, innovators, activators “doing their lives in faith;”

· Hi Impact defined by 1) presence, 2) vision, 3) capacity, 4) resource, 5) activation.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Have you experienced moments of parenthesis? Share one of those moments that were clearly "inserted for emphasis" in your life.