Thursday, August 23, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Who Am I
The fair maiden and fiance to the prince was in a deeply troubled posture as she asked a question that could very well confirm her deepest longing,
"Who are you?" she posed in quiet conviction.
To this, her masked rescuer, turned villainous tormentor, known to her only as 'the man in black' replied,
"No one of consequence."
It's not important.
If you have not seen the movie "The Princess Bride" then stop reading, rent it, watch it, and fall in love. It's probably funnier and more beautiful than anything I'm writing anyways.
The beauty of the scene I just described is that his statement is true. All the while, the audience knows that behind that mask is the man whom our fair maiden 'Buttercup' had given her heart and devotion to years ago. Inside that 'man in black' is Wesley, the one that she has desperately missed and longed for even for years after his rumored death.
But the man in front of Buttercup is not Wesley; it is another man whose only purpose is to reunite the man inside him and the woman he loves.
The 'man in black' is of no consequence; and neither am I.
I am just a villainous creature in whom Christ dwells as he cries out to the world, and often to me, to be reunited in a love that we know even deeper than our understanding. A love that goes deeper than our sins.
But too often, I try to steal His Glory for my own. I want to be remembered. I want to prove myself to God; show Him how cool I am.
I was challenged as I read the story of the returning of the 72 disciples.
These men had just traveled the country side preaching in towns as they healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and any other miraculous thing you can imagine. And they are excited. These men come running up to Jesus saying 'look at this!' 'look at all of these cool things we did in your name!'
And my heart echos in an eight year old voice, 'God, look what I can do. Am I special now?"
Jesus' response? 'Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'
(I already love you.)
His love is not dependent on the cool things we do. Whether I am a spiritual mogul or just a bumbling vagrant still chasing apocalyptic candy, God's promises do not change, His love does not waver.
My walk can't save me, Jesus already has.
Only God knows why I am on this journey.
I am no one special.
Most days, I would challenge Paul to an arm wrestling contest over the title, 'the worst of all sinners.'
But
here
I
am.
Christopher Andrew.
"Who are you?" she posed in quiet conviction.
To this, her masked rescuer, turned villainous tormentor, known to her only as 'the man in black' replied,
"No one of consequence."
It's not important.
If you have not seen the movie "The Princess Bride" then stop reading, rent it, watch it, and fall in love. It's probably funnier and more beautiful than anything I'm writing anyways.
The beauty of the scene I just described is that his statement is true. All the while, the audience knows that behind that mask is the man whom our fair maiden 'Buttercup' had given her heart and devotion to years ago. Inside that 'man in black' is Wesley, the one that she has desperately missed and longed for even for years after his rumored death.
But the man in front of Buttercup is not Wesley; it is another man whose only purpose is to reunite the man inside him and the woman he loves.
The 'man in black' is of no consequence; and neither am I.
I am just a villainous creature in whom Christ dwells as he cries out to the world, and often to me, to be reunited in a love that we know even deeper than our understanding. A love that goes deeper than our sins.
But too often, I try to steal His Glory for my own. I want to be remembered. I want to prove myself to God; show Him how cool I am.
I was challenged as I read the story of the returning of the 72 disciples.
These men had just traveled the country side preaching in towns as they healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and any other miraculous thing you can imagine. And they are excited. These men come running up to Jesus saying 'look at this!' 'look at all of these cool things we did in your name!'
And my heart echos in an eight year old voice, 'God, look what I can do. Am I special now?"
Jesus' response? 'Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'
(I already love you.)
His love is not dependent on the cool things we do. Whether I am a spiritual mogul or just a bumbling vagrant still chasing apocalyptic candy, God's promises do not change, His love does not waver.
My walk can't save me, Jesus already has.
Only God knows why I am on this journey.
I am no one special.
Most days, I would challenge Paul to an arm wrestling contest over the title, 'the worst of all sinners.'
But
here
I
am.
Christopher Andrew.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Alarmed and Dangerous
Okay, so I'm not exactly dangerous, but I do find myself suddenly victim to the world of alarms or time in general. And it's a feeling that will take some getting used to.
I am still in Gettysburg much to my surprise. But the community that I've found here has been so generous as to let me stay as long as I would like. And as of three days ago, I am locked into this town for longer than I thought. And here comes the alarms.
I turned in an application, more by fluke than anything, to a little ice cream parlor in a very tourist oriented area of town. Three days later, the owner called to request an interview. Even after I explained the fact that I was only to be in Gettysburg for a month at the most, he still offered me a position but not at the ice cream parlor.
He also owns several tourist shops in the same area including a book store centered on Civil War History, a Civil War gun and sword replica shop, and I currently work at the Battlefield Souvenirs. Like any souvenir shop, it has all of the necessary cheap and poorly made anything with Gettysburg on the front. With the express purpose of giving tourists a cheap thoughtless gift to make their friends back home believe that they were thinking of them. In a desire not to be partial these Chinese imports support both the blue and the gray.
I tossed the idea around for a night but finally realized the rarity of a vagrant getting a job at all, so I took the position. And now I find myself utterly paranoid about time. I have no watch or cell phone and the batteries are dead on my sun dial, so I am constantly searching for a clock to make sure that I will be on time and it's such a strange sensation. I have been free and untethered by those ticking hands, and now they've come and slapped me upside the head. They don't like to be ignored.
It's an incredibly simple job that leaves me begging to read books all day but that would be against store policy. In the first day of training, I was left alone for a couple hours to work the register and explore the store. All was going well and I'm pretty sure that I could run the place through an REM cycle, but in one moment, I was nearly brought to tears.
I picked up a shot glass, a staple at any tourist trap, that described in detail how 'yellow bellied yanks' couldn't hold their liquor. As I looked up from that two dollar joke, I realized how everything in this store represents a war. Every figurine was someone real, someone's son, brother, and most likely someone's murderer. These toys meant for kids 'ages three and up' wouldn't exist if not for the deaths of thousands of people.
For the rest of the day, and even still now, it is hard to look at the dolls, toy guns, even American flags without seeing a bloodstained field. No matter how innocent they look. I am suddenly amazed at how cold and calloused we must be to capitalize on such tragedy.
And I am working there all the same.
However, I have some time off this weekend for a trip to the fabulous destination of Philadelphia, PA. That's right! I get a sneak peak of what's to come.
The group I'm staying with has invited me along on their three day trip to work with Circle of Hope Ministries in Philly. I am really very excited to see the city for the first time and make some connections But yes, I will be coming back to finish out my tour in the cruel war memorial store and spend some more time with the folks here.
I really do enjoy this town. I'm not sure if I could live here, but that is not a decision I have to make quite yet.
I will certainly be here through the end of August and hopefully I will still have some interesting things to write about. If not, I may have to make up some authentic Gettysburg Ghost Storied (another interesting industry here) to post so you don't think my life is bland.
Thanks all for reading! I'll post again after Sunday to let you know my first response to Philadelphia.
Love you all!
P.S. Jeremy, if you're following all of this, there are several Irish brigade flags hanging up in the store and I never go a day without thinking of you!
Christopher Andrew
I am still in Gettysburg much to my surprise. But the community that I've found here has been so generous as to let me stay as long as I would like. And as of three days ago, I am locked into this town for longer than I thought. And here comes the alarms.
I turned in an application, more by fluke than anything, to a little ice cream parlor in a very tourist oriented area of town. Three days later, the owner called to request an interview. Even after I explained the fact that I was only to be in Gettysburg for a month at the most, he still offered me a position but not at the ice cream parlor.
He also owns several tourist shops in the same area including a book store centered on Civil War History, a Civil War gun and sword replica shop, and I currently work at the Battlefield Souvenirs. Like any souvenir shop, it has all of the necessary cheap and poorly made anything with Gettysburg on the front. With the express purpose of giving tourists a cheap thoughtless gift to make their friends back home believe that they were thinking of them. In a desire not to be partial these Chinese imports support both the blue and the gray.
I tossed the idea around for a night but finally realized the rarity of a vagrant getting a job at all, so I took the position. And now I find myself utterly paranoid about time. I have no watch or cell phone and the batteries are dead on my sun dial, so I am constantly searching for a clock to make sure that I will be on time and it's such a strange sensation. I have been free and untethered by those ticking hands, and now they've come and slapped me upside the head. They don't like to be ignored.
It's an incredibly simple job that leaves me begging to read books all day but that would be against store policy. In the first day of training, I was left alone for a couple hours to work the register and explore the store. All was going well and I'm pretty sure that I could run the place through an REM cycle, but in one moment, I was nearly brought to tears.
I picked up a shot glass, a staple at any tourist trap, that described in detail how 'yellow bellied yanks' couldn't hold their liquor. As I looked up from that two dollar joke, I realized how everything in this store represents a war. Every figurine was someone real, someone's son, brother, and most likely someone's murderer. These toys meant for kids 'ages three and up' wouldn't exist if not for the deaths of thousands of people.
For the rest of the day, and even still now, it is hard to look at the dolls, toy guns, even American flags without seeing a bloodstained field. No matter how innocent they look. I am suddenly amazed at how cold and calloused we must be to capitalize on such tragedy.
And I am working there all the same.
However, I have some time off this weekend for a trip to the fabulous destination of Philadelphia, PA. That's right! I get a sneak peak of what's to come.
The group I'm staying with has invited me along on their three day trip to work with Circle of Hope Ministries in Philly. I am really very excited to see the city for the first time and make some connections But yes, I will be coming back to finish out my tour in the cruel war memorial store and spend some more time with the folks here.
I really do enjoy this town. I'm not sure if I could live here, but that is not a decision I have to make quite yet.
I will certainly be here through the end of August and hopefully I will still have some interesting things to write about. If not, I may have to make up some authentic Gettysburg Ghost Storied (another interesting industry here) to post so you don't think my life is bland.
Thanks all for reading! I'll post again after Sunday to let you know my first response to Philadelphia.
Love you all!
P.S. Jeremy, if you're following all of this, there are several Irish brigade flags hanging up in the store and I never go a day without thinking of you!
Christopher Andrew
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