Like Licking Honey Off A Thorn

My wife says that, although my writings of may often deal with "church", to her, they are not very "churchy". And she's the brightest bulb on the family tree. In truth, my "pouring out" here in this book is testament to my search and my struggle for truth, peace, and, if I am lucky, a sliver of joy. Life's hard! Sometimes it feels like we've jumped inside a clothes dryer for a "tumble dry". And around and round we go! Or, maybe it's like the title of this book. Any way you look at it, life's a struggle. Get used to it! But the Good News is that struggle is not necessarily our adversary. It is rather, more often than not, an asset, once we stop trying to reject it and to obliterate it, - and turn our efforts towards embracing it. Its then that we begin to grow in ways we never knew existed. So read up! I bet the struggle will do you good, as it does for me.

Some might venture to say that I have had a "love-hate" relationship with the church, but I would respectfully and heartedly disagree. It has been total love on my part. But love is not always about daffodils and pansies, flowing and fluttering in the warm spring breezes. When one risks loving, one not only opens oneself up to the possibilities of moments of wondrous ecstasy, but also to the very real possibilities of deep, cutting hurt. So anyway, in my love for, and in my life of service to the Church, I was often hurt and deeply wounded when I witnessed her (the Church) resembling a shivering recluse hiding in a politically correct dark corner, abandoning truth while embracing cultural norms. Indeed, the church so often seems to settle for so much less than she was commissioned to be, seemingly seeking to bask in the great illusion of safety. It makes me sad when I so often witness the church actively working towards being boring, languid, rigid and arrogant. But it does brighten my soul when I realize that the life of Christ sure as hell isn't any of those things! Read on!

Jeff Craw is a retired Ordained Christian Pastor, who resides with his wife in Rhode Island. He is a graduate of Bridgton Academy, Springfield College, and Duke University Divinity School. In his retirement, he enjoys writing and driving Tractor-Trailers.