"Carry the slinky around for next 48 hours, it will be your physical representation of Jesus. Don't over apply this, just bring it around everywhere you go and see what happens."
I sat on the other end of this phone conversation humored by this idea as well as utterley shocked.
"So, I'm supposed to carry this slinky around to every class?" I asked, thinking that my spiritual guide would rethink this absurd assignment and give me a more practical one.
"Yep."
I laughed but the next morning I got up for class and took this slinky with me. I put it in my pocket and it akwardly stuck out. I tried to hide it throughout my whole class, ashamed, that a 19 year old had brought a toy to class. After the day went on though I really considered it to be a representation of Jesus. No I am not a idol worshipper, but when I was holding it in my hand and having a conversation I weighed my words more carefully, when I forgot it(which I did three times) the significance of it weighed more deeply in my soul. When I was in public and I was holding it and got wierd looks I thought differently about the situaiton.
And then I headed out for a Preacher's Retreat and left my slinky behind. The whole weekend my professor taught about silence, solitude, and the significance of listening. He gave us ample time on Saturday morning to go out and explore the camp while remaining open in hearing what God was about to say to us.
I ended up going down to a bench that was on the edge of the pond. I walked over to the area and sunk in mud. I got mud all over the bottom of my jeans and my shoes. I couldn't concentrated because my feet had sunk into the ground.
"Lord speak I am listening," but I wasn't because I was too distracted by the mud. So I got up and walked a little to a field. I sat down in the middle of the field and tried to position myslef in a way where I wouldn't get any mud on any more of my clothes. No such luck. I got it everywhere and when I got up I felt more mud sink in on my backside.
Frustrated I walked some more and tried to quiet my mind. As I was walking down a road I noticed a split tree. It was so big that it was cut in quarters and some of it was cut down for fire wood. I had an urgency to climb it. I found a spot for my legs to hang and for my back to rest on and sat there and tried to listen.
"I am the vine; you are the branches" That verse kept repeating itself and I couldn't get away from it so I opened my Bible to John 15 and started reading. I read it multiple times and kept returning to 15:5
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
God revealed the idea of true dependecny to me in that tree. I can do nothing without Christ. This is not just a ministry application, but a life application. I can't breath without Christ. I cannot sleep without Christ, I cannot get up in the morning without Christ.
God seemed to rip my pride down in one single whoosh and spend Saturday morning spending time with me and teaching me what he has been trying to teach me all year.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
A slinky, some mud, and a simple climbing tree are things God chose to use to teach me a ground breaking and life changing message.
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