Remembering Tammy Faye Messed up

Excuse me for slaughtering the last name of the dearly departed loved one. The gift of mercy left me for a moment. But is there any doubt that Tammy was...well a little messed up? I mean come on, she didn't exactly display the kind of life that most people would want to live. She definately had her share of ups and downs. Truthfully, I could never really figure her out. Most people couldn't. Maybe that's why so many people followed her. Talk Show host, Larry King stated that when he announced that Tammy Faye would be a guest on his show he received over 200,000 e-mails. Now that's pretty incredible for a woman whose only claim to fame was her 30 year marriage to Televangelist, Jim Baker. But somehow she made a name for herself even though she never had a hit television show, didn't sell that many records and never had a best selling book.

Here's why I think Tammy Faye intrigued so many people. She was messed up! And in a wierd way there's a whole segment of our population that can identify with that. In fact, we have an insatiable appetite for people who are really out there...if you know what I mean. We almost like watching them suffer and then miraculously pull themselves up by their bootstaps and jump into the circus of life again. In kind of a wierd way we enjoy the drama. And so it was for Tammy Faye. She had life drama to offer people and not just big eye lashes! In fact, you never knew where she was going to pop up next. But she always did. In fact, she seemed thrive on the attention it brought.

On a spiritual level, Tammy Faye puzzled even the best of us. It was almost impossible to know what she really believed. Her life was filled with a series of contradictions and oxy morons. For example, she would seemingly disappear from the Church scene, then suddenly reappear with all the zeal and faith of her previous years. I'm not trying to be judgemental here or anything. I'm just saying, that she kept a lot of us guessing. And once again, in a wierd way, a lot of people could identify with that on-again off-again pattern. Strangely enough it seemed to represent what a lot of people typically goes through in their struggle to believe.

So your probably wondering where I'm going with all this. I guess I would just like to say that we're all messed up in one way or another. Afterall we were born in sin. We're a fallen race. Today we would call that being dsyfunctional. And then someone like Tammy comes along and puts it all out there with no inhibitions whatsoever. And we celebrate her life. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Tammy's way of life helped us see reality. This is the world we live in. People today are as messed up as they come. And because we live in such a messed up world, we need Jesus more than ever. Yes, even Tammy confessed her need for Jesus and we certainly can't fault her for that.

The good news is this: there is hope for the Tammy Faye's of the world. And if there is hope for the Tammy Faye's then there is hope for messed up people like you and me. So let's get a hold of the one thing that will unravel our messed up ways and conform us into what we were meant to be, Jesus!

Not as messed up as I used to be,

Bob

Canyon plunge

Yesterday we left Yellowstone National Park after a being there for a week. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing that place is. We visited every major attraction the Park has to offer, yet we feel we've barely scratched the surface. One of the Park Rangers informed us that we really have only scene about 1/5 of the Park. There are about 1,000 miles of trails that cover the Park. Some of the trails are so dangerous the Rangers will not issue permits for them because of the rising bear population.

Anyway, yesterday we visited Fire hole canyon not far from West Yellowstone. The canyon is breathtaking. Fire hole river, a river that is geo-thermally warmed, cuts through the canyon like a knife. The cut outs are deep and treacherous. Not much wildlife to speak of since much of it is uninhabitable. Actually, we did see a Mule Deer Doe.

In any case, a little ways up the road before the river enters the deeper part of the canyon is one of Yellowstone's unadvertised specials. A place called Fire hole Canyon swimming hole. I got to experience it for myself yesterday. It's actually kind of a dangerous place to swim. In fact, we made our first attempt to swim in the canyon a week earlier but it was closed due to a technical rescue that was going on. Apparently someone jumped off of one of the cliffs and had a pretty ugly landing on a submerged rock.

When I first laid eyes on the swimming hole I knew I had to jump in. It's kinda hard to keep me away from a good swimming hole. So I grabbed my goggles and jumped in to scan the bottom of the river. It didn't take me long to spot some bull trout. In fact, I had a couple of them right under my feet and right in front of my nose. Nice 12" inchers too! Of course I savagely tried to grab them but had no success.

But the highlight of the day was swimming through the "chute." The chute is a narrow passage along high canyon walls through rushing waters. You have to do a walk around on some slippery rocks to get there. But the plunge is pretty incredible. Swimming through chute was so awesome I want to do it again. And if ever in Yellowstone, I will not miss spending a day in the Canyon. Incidently, we fly fished the river not far from swimming hole hoping to latch on to one of those trout. We didn't have much luck there, apart from seeing a few jump. Although, we did in fact watch a doe Elk come down to the river and keep us company for a while. How cool is that?

As I thought about my plunge into the Canyon, I thought about how many times I've nervously attempted something new in my life. Life is a series of firsts. It's about taking a risks and stepping out in faith. Just like swimming through the chute. I've never done it before, I'm a little uneasy about it. I wonder if the current is too swift? Will it push me into the rock wall? Countless others have turned away. All these thoughts run through your mind. But like doing anything for the first time, it involves a bold a step of faith.

That's kinda where I'm at these days, I'm seeing life as one big step of faith. A series of firsts. God is always moving us in a new direction. He's always setting us up for something else. With Him there is always more. Nothing is the same. He pushes us to the limit. That's where I'm at in my walk with God. I'm pushed to the limit. And I have no choice but to hold on as I leap into the unknown.

Have you ever felt that way? Pushed beyond limitations into a previously unknown place? If so, we have a lot in common. And maybe we're all closer than we think to what God has in store for us. Have a story? I would love to hear it: bob@plungefaith.com