What good can come from Medicine Hat?

I went shopping today in Medicine Hat to get some "tourist" gear (just because I found it to be such a random place to visit, I had to leave with something to commemorate the trip!) - and laughed when the lady selling me the MH hoodie (it's NOT a super touristy item I PROMISE!) asked me "So what the heck brought you to the Hat?". It's almost as if even the locals question the possibility that there would be anything there to draw people in. Outside of their giant teepee...what good can come from Medicine Hat?
And I was reminded of a phrase from the Bible "What good can come from Nazareth?"...Christ came from such humble beginnings and roots, and yet impacted the world in such a profound way. Staying in the Hat has been a definite change of pace for me - a real time to quiet down everything from the busy hub of the big "O" to hear God's "whisper". Back to humble beginnings...
Tonite I attended a Bible Study with our host...and was seriously BLESSED! It is amazing to be a part of a family where you can meet with total strangers and have a fellowship and connection through the common thread of Christ. Two streams of thought seemed to weave the evening together - how diverse we are and the unity within the body, both exemplified through love. We chatted for a bit on the divisions thru the denominations...and yet we represented church (the gathering of people) - all from different backgrounds, denominations, cultures and ideas - unified in spirit and in the common goal to seek truth and the life of Christ.
How often do we allow our own personal opinions, feelings, traditions or religions define who we are or who we fellowship with?! How many of us humble our thoughts and earnestly seek out what the ONE source of truth (aka the Bible) says about something. Maybe, just maybe our thoughts or convictions are a little off the Bible's mark! Have we ever considered that?
Or how about our weakness in filtering the Bible through our religion, instead of our religion through the Bible. So often we read with "rose coloured glasses" and take scripture to support our ideas and opinions instead of emmersing ourselves in the Word of God and using that as the starting point.
And then there's the aspect of love (or lack of it!)...the two greatest commandments deal with loving God and loving our neighbour...how is that working itself out in our lives or how we deal with others (especially other denominations!) There is diversity within the body: not everybody is an eye, not everybody an arm, not everybody a foot...and yet we have been busy trying to amputate our "part" from the body because we are starkly different from the other parts. But have we come to the point where we can appreciate and function with the other parts even tho they are "different" from us?
"There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Ephesians 4:4-6
I don't know if you got the point there...but I kinda picked up on the word "ONE"....Now before you get your knickers in a twist, I do want to clarify that I am NOT saying we should blindly accept where everyone is coming for the sake of unity. Truth is of utmost important and needs to be upheld...however, I AM challenging that you exemplify love and wisdom in working out your faith with fear and trembling...making your source the WORD OF GOD...not the word of man! Line up your wisdom with the example written in James 4:17-18...
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, than peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
And so what good can come from Medicine Hat? If it only be the lesson of unity and fellowship amongst the family of God, I am blessed for having the opportunity to experience it. May God continually draw us together, and deeper into the understanding of who He is and what He has created us to be.
ps. And to all my new friends in the Hat - you guys are the best! Thanx for showing me (without you even knowing) I'm an Ontario snob in desperate need of finding humble continuings...

The Cat in the Hat!!!

So I'm sitting in Medicine Hat right now...I know - RANDOM! I'm here dropping off a friend who just got a job...in the middle of nowhere! The last couple of days have been a bit of a blur, and I am still trying to collect myself (impossible task, I know!) Our trip consisted of a completely loaded down honda - itty bitty living conditions for an extended period of time (it doesn't help when you're "blessed" with height!) Our first 3 hours consisted of that lovely white fluffy stuff making the roads (and ditches) an absolute mess! There were over 50 cars (including an emergency vehicle) parading the embankments as a friendly reminder that speeding wasn't the wisest choice on the menu for the moment. We made it safely through - and after hitting some smoother road conditions, decided to go for broke and drive thru the nite. Bring on the extra large coffee...
After almost landing in a ditch ourselves, and being introduced to the Wisconsin highway patrol (very friendly chap - quite understanding of the looooong trip still ahead - without making it a tear jerker!) the sun finally poke into what seemed like endless darkness. That's when the fun started...hello prairie land!
What does one do for entertainment on those long straight stretches of field upon field upon field upon field of wheat? Well, one could hit a scraggly black cat that mosies across the road RIGHT infront of you (I didn't kill it immediately, but I wasn't about to go back and assess the damage! Bring on the bad luck!) OR, for all you Dog River fans, you could happen across the set of Corner Gas and have a little photo op - including falling flat on your face and spraining an ankle (I'm beginning to think that swollen bruised ankles look rather becoming!) OR you could use the lack of sleep and balanced diet while being crammed in a very small space to create interesting conversation...yeah - the disclaimer remains on anything said inside the vehicle! But bring a camera and deprive yourself of all the things that keep you sane, and ANY road becomes interesting!
But in truth, I have always enjoyed going thru Saskatchewan (although I don't know if I would survive here very long!) There's something about it that is very peaceful and striking. Maybe it's the endless sky that domes around you...or the golden fields that "shine" in the sunlight...or the starkness of singular objects that rise out of the overwhelming sky and field surrounding. It was good to be back, that's for sure!
So we arrived in the Hat and got the tour...their claim to fame is the world's largest teepee. This place is going places! I am so proud of Mary's courage in taking a step out of the comfort zone. Picking up and moving to the prairies of all places is not the easiest decision in the world. And yet stepping out in faith and believing that God has awesome things in store for those who trust Him will NEVER be disappointing or boring!
As we were driving through we pondered on the differences in the communities and people we met. Definitely a different culture and mindset of the locals than what I'm used to...but it is a challenge in accepting the fact of diversity within our Canadian culture. I LOVE IT! Where would we be without prairie farmers, or Albertan ranchers, or BC tree huggers...And it reminded me of what it means to be part of the body of the Church. We are each unique, each serving a different purpose within the body...each equally as important - no matter our station - in allowing the body to function as a whole. If we were all hairy noses, how depressing would that be? Or chattering mouthpieces - what a headache! But God has given each of us different abilities and talents, and when we are unified, we can accomplish more as a body than on our own. No matter how extremely different we are - may we learn to appreciate the "prairies" in our lives and the gift of diversity that God has given us to do AWESOME things to glorify His Name!