Borrowers

There are a lot of things

that work perfectly well

when they're borrowed:

your neighbor's lawn mower,

your mom's wedding dress,

lunch money, a good book,

or your roommate's jacket.

Then there are borrowing disasters:

anyone's identity, 
someone else's dignity,

a vocation for which

you have no passion.

And the thing which is entirely

beyond the realm of borrowing:

another's theology.

I don't just mean your parents'

or your grandparents' or

your neighbor's.

I also mean a church's or

a long-dead theologian's.

Theology is from two Greek words,

"theos" which means God,

and "logos" which means

words or talk.

It's a conversation, then,

between you and God –

an ongoing dialogue about

your particular here-and-now life:

why you are where you are

and what you can do

to make the world around you –

including your very own self –

not just more tolerable,

but also more joy-filled.

Learn from others' God-conversations,

but never try to convince yourself

that their words/circumstances are yours.

Listen.

Talk.

Listen some more.

Grow.

It's what we're here to do;

how we're meant to be.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins