i know nothing.

right now, me and the team are on a staff retreat in Whistler, BC. it is absolutely beautiful here. there are a lot of mountains and trees! and it is also nice and tourist-y.

tonight we were watching the show 'Intervention' and the one girl, Allison, who was addicted to inhalants, had a pretty rough life.

with Allison, she had become so affected by the circumstances of her life, that without her remaining family assuring her sense of worth, which was altered by the actions and eventual abandonment of her father, she was left to her own devices, numbing herself to the pain.


in christian-world one thing we sometimes talk about is the concept of absolute truth vs. relative truth. I've been trying to decide just what exactly these absolute truths are ... aside from super predictable answers like 'God exists' and stuff. I mean, those are important, too, but I'm looking for something with more meat to it, something substantial.


there was this one scene, and Allison was so earnest! she was high on the computer-duster and cried to her mother, "I just want a father," over and over again.

I think this is an absolute truth that I have realized: that every person has worth - that we are inherently worthwhile and worth loving -- that this is not changed by the actions or words of people around us.

I think what I observed with Allison really reveals a lot about humans. instinctively, we know that we need fathers. biologically, physiologically, emotionally -- all of our facets reveal this and drive us to get our sense of worth in the people around us, especially with that of symbolic roles such as parents.

but symbolic for what?
I mean, I would answer God.

it makes so much sense, and explains aspects of human nature, the human desire to find purpose, meaning, to create, to find renewal, to give meaningless things meaning (superstition?!) and the desire to impact the world around us.

and God is seen in so many ways. man, I love that in the bible it says that his law has been written on our hearts. that's what, to me at least, gives us our sense of right and wrong.

when we see someone damaging themselves we know this is not right. this sense we have cannot just be a social construct. the absolute truth of the endless worth and value of people and things has been written on our hearts and we know it.

because, man, we were made to find deep joy, to experience life fully.
and this is the truth.