Stretched for Resources

The name "At Wit's End," is pretty cliche' for a blog, I know. Why did I name it that? Great question. I was stumped at what to call it, I asked Google to spit out a cheesy title, and Google delivered! Mission accomplished! When I named this blog "At Wit's End," I didn't think of how truly accurate the title was going to be. At one point, it was called "Life's Little Lessons" or something cute along those lines, but "At Wit's End" just described it so much better, so the name stuck. From the day that I started writing this blog to the day I am publishing this latest post, nothing has slowed down or gotten easier - I always feel that I am on my wit's end! And today is no exception.

Type in "busy" into Google news search. Today's search results bring up busy elections, busy baseball teams, busy hurricane seasons, and the arrest of a man dressed as the Hamburgler (not even Google can be pinpoint accurate all the time!). We live in a busy world with busy stuff doing busy things! So what happens when you are convicted to do something for somebody but you have no time or resources to do anything to help them?

I think in college, the value of a dollar sky rockets. Heck, today I bought a blazer for only seven dollars, SEVEN DOLLARS! Only in college! I also think that the value of time becomes increasingly important with age; after all, every second we've lived is one less second we get to live- we should make the most of the time we have now. However, college is also a period where time and resources are scarce. All your money is going to overpriced textbooks and all your time is going into reading those overpriced text books. But I have to say, just because time and money is scarce doesn't mean that heart is - in fact, there's never been a time when I've seen heart bigger. 

Maybe it's because we live out of Raamen noodle cups and hand-me-down thrift stores, but college students, to me, have a better understanding of what it means to have each other than what it means to have things. And this week, I've looked around and seen folks that have needed a miracle now more than they've ever needed one before. But what is different about college students than a lot of people on this earth is that selfless, genuine college kids are typically a community that gives what they have, if and when they have it, and supports each other in a very real and physical way because they understand what it means to not have a whole lot. No checks to a non-profit group. No donations to charity. No pamphlets on where to get help. 

Real, physical help.

But so often, we are quite literally too busy and too conflicted to actually help out everybody who needs help, which leads us back to the question - what do you do when you are moved to help out this world but have neither the time nor the resources to be able to help?

Community.

Which is quite literally all around us. Often the people we see everyday are people who are just as in need as we are, but neither them nor us care to let it be known that we need each other. But in truth, we all do. Psychological studies have shown that people perform better, stronger, and more efficiently when their peers encourage them. We are all given the chance to do that- to uplift and encourage. That takes little time and effort, even less money, and a heart for each other. So this week, when your heart is convicted and your time and resources are conflicted, encourage and uplift each other. Be a community built to uplift each other. I think if we did, we'd be surprised at how valuable it turns out to be!

Oh and if you ever wanna send a starving college kid a check, don't hesitate!

KB

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

The Why

Over the year and a half that I've been blogging, I've talked about a lot of things. Most were senseless, like my explanation of God killing teenagers for making fun of bald men. Some were actually pretty interesting to write, like the guy who has seen over 300 state executions in his life. Others, like this one, mean a lot to me. And over the course of my writing and blogging experience, I've spread my wings over a multitude of topics and ideas and I gotta admit, it's been pretty fun. One thing that I have not talked about, though, has been why I write what I write. Or for that matter, why I write at all. In order to understand that, it must be answered with a question.

What does it take to write?

Answer: a finger. You don't even need them all! Just one will do. Any one of them, just pick one, and start typing away at your keyboard with it. Write whatever is on your heart with it. That's really all you need.

The reason I write is simply because I can. In starting this blog, I never thought it would gain very many readers. Today, there is a steady following; more than I could have ever imagined. And even still, I'm a blip in the radar of writers out there. According to one site, there are over 126 million blogs out there and still another site said that 18.6 new blog postings go up each second, equalling roughly 1.6 million per day. Consider today's little blog posting one in a million (pun intended)!

I love the readership, so thank you for killing time on my blog today! But what I think I love even more than that is writing itself. This is what I do. This is who I am. This is what I love. But I am not alone.

As I've said before, we each have a story within us itching at the bit to be told. And what I love more than readership, more than writing, and yes, even more than rootbeer, is hearing someone tell their story in their own way. It doesn't take much - really it doesn't! It just takes you, being you, telling the story about how you became you. For those redeemed by the blood of Christ, our story is all the more exciting, and redeeming! We have a message within each of us that far surpasses anything that we could conjure up with human minds or earthly creativity. We have a story that is bigger than us, and is orchastrated by the greatest story-teller of them all! That, my friends, is an epic story, far better than anything off broadway or television or (gasps) JERSEY SHORE!

So tell your story, in the way you write best - whether it be with words or actions, letters or numbers, smiles or grins - and listen to the stories being told every day by every person. By doing this, you get to leave the imprint of who you are and where you've come from on others and get to be molded by the life of those around you as well. It's what makes humans who we are, so go out there and experience story.

And that is why I write!

my small story

here is my small story,

smallest and meekest of all.

some of the details are gory,

and others will enthrall.

it is my small story which i will tell,

with a conclusion that i get to spell.

here is my small story,

smallest and meekest of all.

and if you look closely at my story,

you'll find it was HIS glory, strongest of all!

KB

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men." - Colossians 3:23

Freeze Framing

My nose itched, my foot trembled, I was crushing my friend Morgan under the weight of my dress shoes on top of her heels, a guy just stabbed himself, and I had to go to the bathroom.

And this was the third time this situation happened this week alone!

I've never been in a musical before. I've never really thought about looking to be in a musical for that matter. And it wasn't like I had much time to think about being in a musical before I was given a costume and props and told to sing in front of several hundred people. Apparently that was the strategy used by my directors to get me on stage, and it worked devilishly well I might add! Now, I was standing in front of several hundred people in a freeze frame on stage, pretending to hold back a bunch of "townspeople" from intruding on the climax of the musical. All I can remember, though, is how bad my nose itched... and how bad I had to use the bathroom!

Frozen and contorted in the most awkward positions, my fellow actors and I did our best to stand still while the leads played out a dramatic death scene. I can't tell you what the scene looks like. Not because I don't want to give away the ending of the play, it's just that I've never actually seen this scene before. My back has been turned to the scene every time we've rehearsed it. And somehow, I managed to place myself in such a way that exerts the optimum about of physical pain on my body. Either someone's stepping on my foot, clawing at my arm, squishing me between someone else, or is falling on top of me. Twenty-five rehearsals later and I'm thinking that worker's compensation is a bright alternative for me!

It's the most important scene in the whole performance, and as an extra for the scene, frozen and contorted in painful glory, it's easy to forget what the scene is going on behind us. Much like our lives, we play our part, the same one we've played hundreds of times before, and easily lose sight of the greater picture behind us. We feel contorted and awkward, with noses itching and people stepping on our toes. But we can not lose sight of the greater picture.

Even though things may feel boring and tedious, awkward and clumsy, or repetitive and dry, there's very possibly an incredible climax going on right behind us, changing hundreds of people's perception of the greater story. At work, at school, around town, the simple and small things we do often have a profound impact on the people watching our "performance." It's easy to forget that we are constantly under the scrutiny of other people and that we are contributing members to a greater story. But in those tiring and sometimes dull moments, a great climax is taking place right behind us! So keep standing, keep giving it your all, and if you have to itch your nose during the middle of a performance, avoid scratching it at all costs!

"Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as his sanctuary; be courageous and act!" 
I Chronicles 28:10



KB

Well, I'm Back!

3 months 14 days 15 hours and some 45 minutes.

That's how long it's been since I've updated by blog. Sad, I know...

But I can't say that taking a hiatus for a while wasn't bad. It was actually kind of therapeutic. Writing, and art in general, should never feel tiresome or boring or obligatory. It should be free. It should be compelling. It should avoid keeping me from watching Lie to Me Season 2 in the wee hours of the morning and should allow me to enjoy what some people refer to as a "social life." Unfortunately, this blog became my ball and chain... bleh.

Pumping out a fresh, new, witty idea once a week got to be tedious, I'm not going to lie. I starting pulling stuff out of thin air there for a while (i.e. March 17, 2010's posting entitled "Pimp Master Patty." Wow, even my title was lame...). So, after my 3 month, 14 day, 15 hours and now some 46 minutes later, I am returning to the indie publishing that we internet junkies call blogging.

As of right now, I've been writing and publishing blogs for almost a year and a half and although I have yet to seal the deal on my book deal (oh it'll come... eventually...) I continue to write. If you were to stack my blogs end on end at this point, you'd have nearly 40,000 words equaling over 130 pages of sarcasm and sardonic wit. On average, from what I can tell, an average person speaks roughly 6,000 - 7,000 words a day. So, basically my blog postings would take you almost a week to recite if you only read them during casual conversation.

Mercy.

I didn't know I was that wordy. In fact, I seriously doubt I speak 6,000 words a day. I have a hard time believing certain people only speak 6,000 words a day. But whatever the number of words, those words all add up to something - a story. A story that is unique to us as individuals, that no one else can recite for us. No one else can take our story from us. It's an epic story spanning the course of a lifetime with interconnecting plot lines and side stories that intrigue us even more into who we are. Our story is ours to tell, so we might as well do our best to tell in the most epic way possible!

So I'm back to writing I suppose. Somewhere between work, college, responsibilities, and being a ladykiller, I'll find some time to jot something down on here. In the mean time, may you find a way to retell your story in the best way you know how. Don't recycle the same story that everybody's heard over and over again. Don't let your story become stale or boring. Certainly avoid entitling it "Pimp Master Patty" for sure. And, of course as my mantra would say, love to live life.

(Sigh) It feels good to be back blogging.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation; old things have passed away; behold ALL THINGS have become NEW!


KB