Kookie Cut-Outs by Rachel Britz

When Lois Lane met Clark Kent she thought he was a regular ol’ guy. Plain and simple. But we all know that beneath the shirt and tie, Clark possessed a strength greater than any man in the entire universe.

This is my real dad. He’s the real deal.

This year, I’ve spent a fair amount of time observing our cultural view of men. My curiosity has led me to the pew where I’ve wondered how Sunday morning churches have been speaking to, leading, and equipping our men? If my leaning has produced anything I’d say it’s an aching heart. Something’s missing.

Men–this is for you.

I know you are weary from your labor. You are worn out by the list of to-do’s. You are bored. You want to be appreciated for a job well done. You want to lead. You want to be looked up to. You want respect.

What has cut in on you? Those youthful ambitions seem like a distant echo. Life trudges. Somehow, someway, you’ve gotten to this dry and dusty land. Tired. Numb.

Let me speak truth to you.

You are a gift. 

The first born, heir. Distinguished in your abilities. None can compare. You offer the earth, creatures of the air and sea, and your rib-split companion wholeness. Without you, life is incomplete.

My dad was the first man to love me. The first to show me what a strong man looks like.

Showed. Allowed me to see his becoming. I learned early on that the strength of a man was not about perfection, control, or bulging muscles. Rather, through him, I witnessed that good men sometimes fall. Tragedy, induced by human weakness has the potential to bring forth Krypton like strength. No, not alone. Never alone. Oh, but God. The organic supplier of strength. The Gift Giver. The Father who loves to reveal, restore, and transform his sons into authority figures. Super heros.

Men– We want to see your strength!

A strong man. Who can number the qualities? Let’s look at a few.

My main man and my son.

Your Strength in Meekness- 

It’s about putting on a gentle and quiet spirit. Buttoning your shirt and looping your tie. To hide your strength? No. Putting on…to put over, to layer yourself with a garment of Godly confidence.

Your Strength as Defender- 

As lightning bolts from the blackened sky come swiftly, you too, defend the defenseless. Seek justice. Love mercy. Do not be afraid. Pray always.

Your Strength to Lead- 

Oh men, you who are beat down. How can you lead with the onslaught of questions and negativity? I don’t know how…but I pray. God’s great grace. Rise up men of faith.

For your gifts, your talents, and the strength you possess, THANK YOU–you are treasured. So, press on dear brother!

I’m a junkie. Someone who loves the rush of good thrift. I’ve been known to dive into a paper mill of recyclables for last weeks coupons, rescue abandoned road-side furniture, and haul our family’s weekly trash.

And now, my children are becoming junkies. They often hunt ditched cans for coins.

During a recent hunt they made a discovery. I’d seen it before while running on the dusty road near my home, garbage. Piles of waste and cumbersome elements deliberately wedged into the valley, eroding away in the soil. A vintage accumulation recklessly strewn for another generation to clean up.

Except no one has.

      “Why don’t we get down there and pick it up?” My son inquired.

      “It’s not our land.” I explain. “And besides, it would cost us to haul it away.”

So there it lays, year after year, attempting to become one with creation. It doesn’t belong there. It’s crap and it should be removed.

I’ve thought long and hard about this. I’ve thought long and hard because I see a resemblance in this valley to things from my past. A terrain riddled with crap. Most of it I had purposefully dumped. Fleshly desires, unhealthy choices, and sin-stuff taking up space on the soil of my heart. Over time I’ve learned that some of it did not fall by my hand. The extra, this unexplainable spillage, had been dumped by someone prior. Parents, grands, greats, and the so-on line of ancestors that tether between. Theirs is the hand that dropped unkempt spores. Now abandoned, left behind for those who would come after.

I had a choice. Leave it be or get my boots on and trudge through the valley.

Every one of us has a valley of debris. Truth. It’s part of our fallen nature. But, most of us never take time to push our toes to the edge and take a look down. Deep down. There’s this stuff, we know it’s there because it’s unnatural, foreign, and not the way we were created to be. It shouldn’t be there, and so, it makes us feel unsettled. Restless.

I chose the boots.

Why bother cleaning up the mess?

This is your land. Your appointed property at this appointed time. If not you, then who?

Jonathan House Ministries has great tools and resources if you’re interested in diving deeper into the area of your historical and spiritual past.

Cleaning up debris from past junk does come at a cost.

1) It takes time. Sanctification always does.

2) You have to be willing. If you pursue the clean-up, it’s gonna take effort. You have to be willing to use your muscles and sometimes that is hard to do. Your willingness is as simple as asking God to guide you in wisdom, understanding, and the self control or ability to tackle one thing at a time. Every day.

Yet, it’s true, the best things in life are free.

Grace is free. This means that your life doesn’t need to look perfect and you don’t have to get everything cleaned up before you can experience the favor of God. In some ways I’m still going around picking up debris in my life. I believe I always will. This I know, God’s love for me and you is unchanging, steady, and without restraint.

There is more good news.

The reward of a reclaimed land is freedom. For you, yes! Oh, but for so much and so many more. Your children, and theirs, and so on down the line will reap the harvest. So go forth, do not be afraid to dive in, because YOU have been created to enjoy the land of the living.