Lawrence of the Resurrection

I went to a BBQ at a friends house last night. There were quite a few new and interesting people, as well as a couple of good friends that I hadn't connected with in a little while.

Although I love the opportunity to reconnect, I always dread the unavoidable greeting "Ryan, how you doing? What's NEW?"

Could there be a more loaded question? The "How you doing?" question no longer holds any weight. A question that should solicit a 30 minute response, has permanently been reduced to a response of "Good".

And then there is the "Whats new?" Ummmmmmm let me think. Nothing? Well that certainly doesn't make for interesting conversation. But lets face it, my life is pretty boring in comparison to the friends who have just bought new huge trucks are have just gotten back/are soon leaving for some far corner of the world.

That's why I am down with Brother Lawrence. Nothing was ever "new" for him. He worked in a monastery where he cooked, cleaned, and repaired sandals every day. That would certainly make for boring party conversation.

But he wrote a book called "The Practice of the Presence of God". Although I haven't read it, I have read the Wikipedia entry on it (which is almost as good). He more or less argues that "common business," no matter how mundane or routine, was the medium of God's love. In addition, we don't need need to great things... we can do little things for God. For Brother Lawrence " It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God".

It was once he realized that the very things he was doing were part of God's plan, no matter how mundane, his soul had come to a "place of rest".

Now that is something I can talk about at a party.