I have been traversing some dangerous territory as of late in battling my insecurities and listening desperately for God's voice through the chaos. So, I decided one thing I could do was simplify and focus my energy on this monologue and getting into the skin of John. I'm learning more and more the art of elimination in life. One thing at a time.
I connected with the monologue in a pretty profound way. John's arc through the prose was centered on what he "could do". If you don't already know, John was one of two brothers named "the sons of thunder," which sounds a lot like a rock band. They were named this because they were incredibly impetuous and passionate. They were the type of people who would all of a sudden say "Hey! Let's start a production company even though we have little to no experience in running one!" He starts his speech with an excitement to do great things for God. All the miracles and "cool" things. He ends at the foot of the cross realizing the true greatness of Christ's calling. "To show that kind of love in his darkest hour. And Jesus believed that I could do that."
That is what I need to hold on to. All the miracles in the world don't hold a candle to the simple act of loving another with Christ's love in spite of all the hurt and pain.
On Friday, I got a small taste of what that means. It was preteen night and despite being an emotional wreck, I was determined to give and to love those kids and give them the best opportunity to experience God's love even when I felt distant from it.
I am glad that the performance made an impact on Sunday. To be honest, I didn't feel as connected to my performance as I did in the rehearsals. Still, it's not about me and if it made one person stop and think a little differently about their relationship with Jesus then I did my job.
So when you think of a son of thunder tell me do you imagine
This... 
OR...Just checking. Don't know what those renaissance codgers were thinking.
The first picture for sure :)
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