When we hear that someone has become disillusioned, the response is usually one of sympathy and condolences. I wonder why that is? 
To be disillusioned is to be free from illusion or to lose naive faith and trust. You believed something to be good, valuable, or true, but have now come to realize that it was only an illusion – something that looks or seems different from what it actually is, or an idea that is based on something that is not true.
In the 1999 movie, The Matrix, real life was dangerous, bleak, and often hopeless. However, the majority of people lived in an illusion of plenty and freedom not even realizing it was an illusion. Some knew, yet chose to continue living in the illusion because it offered an experience of fulfillment and comfort. Morpheus gave the protagonist, Neo, a chance to choose when he said,
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.”
I’d like to think I would always choose the red pill, though I can’t say for sure. I certainly don’t want a rosy life that’s comfortable and “perfect” but not genuine. I want the truth. I want the raw. I want the real.
Then the days got shorter and the air began to cool. We sensed summer coming to an end. A new school year was just ahead with autumn right on its heels, bringing the excitement of new teachers and classrooms, old and new friends, and the exhilaration of crisp fall winds blowing puffy white clouds across the cornflower blue of a midwestern sky. Crunchy brown, yellow, and red leaves littered the sidewalks, and children threw on sweaters and hoodies to skateboard and bike home from school. The smell of decomposing leaves and damp earth, the chilly air, and the scent of burning logs from a bonfire kindled memories of seasons changing in years gone by.
When Christianity is reduced mainly to a get-out-of-hell-free card, it is almost entirely missing the point. If instead it is the opportunity to walk in sync with the creative force behind our extraordinary world, it is wonderfully appealing. When the focus is on behaving well and being submissive, one misses so much of the potential joy and beauty of growing a relationship with the divine. The results may look similar, but in the deepest part of one’s heart, the difference is incomparable. Certainty is the enemy of faith as it makes faith about being right rather than about revelling and trusting in what cannot be seen.
Families are the building blocks of human life and relationship. They connect people that would never choose to be friends and bind them together in interesting and challenging ways. Once one thinks they’ve figured out how things work, something changes and one must begin the figuring again. One can choose to opt out of active relationship, but one can never break the ties of blood.
When I was in elementary school, I shared a bedroom with my older sister. Our second story room was spacious, and its large windows overlooked the front yard and street. I remember watching out those windows on a cold, snowy night, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my two older brothers. They were away at college and were expected home for Christmas. There was a streetlight nearby illuminating the swirling flakes of sparkling snow. My sister and I had gone up to bed as it was already late, but we weren’t sleeping. We were talking dreamily, listening for a car to approach, occasionally pulling the curtains back to take a peek at the snow.
Jamaica is an amazing tropical paradise. The high temperatures on the northern beaches are consistent year round at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the third largest Caribbean island at just over 4200 square miles: 146 miles long by 51 miles wide. For comparison, Connecticut is the third smallest state in the U.S. at 4845 square miles, but is larger than the island nation of Jamaica. Jamaica has gorgeous white sand beaches on its northern shores, is totally surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, and also has seven mountain ranges including Blue Mountain Peak at 7402’ from which we get the world’s best and best-known single origin coffee in the world. Montego Bay, Jamaica, is a little over 500 miles from Miami, Florida – just a quick 40-minute flight away. The island also has lush rainforests, over 120 rivers with breathtaking waterfalls, and some of its native produce includes avocados, bananas, spices, and limes.
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