Contrasts

CONTRAST:
put in opposition to show or emphasize differences;
the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared
the act of distinguishing by comparing differences

This weekend Dh and I had the privilege of staying in a 5 star hotel in Oporto, Portugal. Wow, wow, wow! Yes, indeed! It was a special gift certificate from my dear sis in law for Christmas! All we had to do was: get there...which we did...using Ryan Air (for next to nothing!)

The hotel was, naturally, out of this world! Our room was an Executive Room, decorated with modern style geometric furniture, very fashionable chocolate brown curtains and accessories, plus "sink your feet into it" luscious beige pile carpet. The bathroom had a Japanese flavor, with heated marble floors and towel racks!

We mustn't forget to mention the two hotel bathrobes and matching slippers that hung invitingly in the bathroom (reminded me of Pretty Woman) and the twice a day chambre services which included a special "pull the bed down" treatment at night with ferrero roches on the pillows! There was of course a plasma tv and other typical hotel commodities that made "the cherry on the cake" to this nothing lacking hotel stay experience.


On a lighter note, I must add that the wall to wall mirror in the bedroom and bathrooms, although giving a feeling of expansion and light, made one somewhat self conscious and not very flattering to say the least! After all, I am no longer 18 !

We arrived at this destination of dreams around lunch time and then later on in the afternoon we discovered a Lidl (very economical supermarket chain - to not use the word cheap!) and bought a few little bits and bobs like water, nuts etc) We smuggled this back into our room and enjoyed our treats while watching the travel channel!

It´s amazing isnt it? Here we were in the "lap of luxury" sipping down sparkling water that cost 40 cents and not the 4 Euros 4 0 cents that the minibar service offered! I couldn't help but ponder the contrast of our situation and let out a little giggle!

We both knew too well that we really didn't "belong" to the typical 5 star hotel profile. We aren't part of the jet set who call for room service, use the hotel bathrobes or drink the sparkling water without batting an eyelid! Yet here we were here enjoying every detail of this amazing situation! What a contrast! What a contradiction!



Yes, life can be full of contradictions! You can be sad and happy at the same time (especially women have this capacity during pregnancy and monthly hormonal fluctuations!) poor in finance and rich in family, dreams and reality, living on earth yet belonging to heaven, servant and king....

Jesus was a servant... yet a King.... what a contrast, what a contradiction! At least to our human thinking, our "limited" dimension. In the Spiritual dimension these apparent contrasts and contradictions begin to make sense, take on real value and make possibilities out of problems.

It makes me think of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-11

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are thos who mourn...for they will be comforted
Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth...
etc.....

God calls blessed what we would call the opposite.... God sees everything in the light of who HE is and what He CAN DO.....I am reminded today that even though I felt uncomfortable with the contrast of drinking my Lidl sparkling water in a 5 star hotel, God does not feel uncomfortable or limited with the impossibility of my life´s contrasts.....my life´s questions...

Sadly some of life´s contrasts cause us pain. It´s inevitable. But there is a place where every tear will be wiped from our eyes and there will be no more pain. God does say that on this earth we will suffer all kinds of trials, but he does promise us not only that he will be with us now...but also that he has gone to prepare a place for us..... and it for sure is better than any 5 star!!!!!

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father´s house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am"......... John 14.-3

Football

A sport where the players
actually enjoy getting hit in the head by a ball.
~Soccer advertisement, published for the MetroStars Major League Soccer team, 1997

Who would have thought that I would be the one in the house to create a frenzy about the World Cup? Amazing.... yes....me!!!And just to prove it I have my football calendar with the scores all marked up and I scream the loudest when the occasion calls for it. The best part is that I have 4 teams I can rally for:



Spain, Germany, Brazil & England

--- And 4 chances of winning!


There have been some great matches and some really slow, waste of time matches! Now the excitement mounts with the rounds of 16 and narrowing down the "to be" winners. The tension and thrill just seems to mount as we close in on those final games.



I can understand that some see it as just a game, 22 men (plus referee) running around after a white ball on a stretch of very well cared green grass! But on closer inspection, one has to admit that there is ALOT more to the world cup than meets the eye.

It´s a question of national pride .. a cultural experience that unites as many as would join together in one cause, one vision, one goal... (ha! no pun intended!!!!). When a team wins.... it isn´t just winning for its´team players, manager/coach or the mere game in itself... it´s winning for the country, defending it against other countries, standing for the nation to which you were born: the very essence of who you are.

For that very reason, something very deep inside of every spectator rises to the surface when a match that involves their country, even if they usually are not at all interested in football.

The roots of our Soccer Tribe lie deep in our primeval past. ~Desmond Morris

It isn´t so much that sport of soccer is at the heart of the issue, but rather what happens inside of us that makes it so earth shattering. Yes, that sleeping lion, is awakened when our competitive spirit is challenged, making us stand together as one to fight and to conquer. Having one common goal (there it is again) that touches a unique fiber, all too close to every human....that of "belonging." The world cup touches our sense of belonging and makes out of the least inspired football fan.... a warrior who defends his country as the knights of old!
It also makes out of men: beings capable of expressing such unbounded emotion that even they are caught by surprize at letting their hair down.... (hey, this kind of emotional outburst is generally considered "acceptable" among our male counterparts) reminding us that there must be a God and that there is hope of an emotional connection between Mars and Venus after all.......

“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team,

I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team,

not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”

Just to close:

Passage Philippians 3:14:
¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Our price is not just a trophy but eternal relationship with God and we have NOW the joy of BELONGING to Christ!!