Inside Switch

By Traci Hubbard

Isaiah 40:27-31;

Matthew 18: 1-4:

II Cor. 4:16-18

When my girls were little, they were constantly asking me to play barbies with them. Over their childhoods, the girls received 152 barbies. I purchased eight of them. Each Barbie had a beautiful outfit, some came with a wardrobe and shoes that almost killed me when I stepped on them with my bare feet. The Barbies had a three-story Barbie house, bathing suits and rafts, and a pink Barbie jeep. One day, while we were playing, Sarah held up two Barbies and asked me, “Which one should be the Mommy, and which one should be the daughter?” I looked at them – I noticed both had smiles that never quit, no matter if they were being hung off the balcony, like many of Sarah’s Barbies experienced, or if they were swept off a sandcastle by a wave and their hair and clothes ruined, they were still smiling, and I resented their plastic vitality. I pointed at the barbie in her left hand and said, “This one should be the Mommy.”

Sarah looked at both barbies and then said, “Why? Because she looks worried?”

Sixteen years ago, I was sitting in a large reception hall and a man sat down beside me. I could feel his energy – before I turned to greet him. I knew the person I was going to meet was a soul that chooses joy – it was like feeling sunshine on my shoulder. I turned to see a man with a Hawaiian shirt on, a pair of rolled up khaki pants, and wearing runners without socks. I put out my hand and said, “Hello, I’m Traci, the new minister here, and you look fantastic!” He looks deep into my eyes – like right into my inner space, smiling like a child who just swiped a cookie from the cookie jar and said, “Hey, I’m Jack, I’m 88 years old and I’m just getting started. Let’s get this ship sailing. How can I help?” His handshake was no joke. Jack had a gentle swagger and at the same time a little edgy. It felt like he carried a CARP card and at home I imagined he had a frame full of half concert tickets to bands like Van Halen and Simon and Garfunkel.

I was speechless – I know, at times I can be speechless. Jack looked like he was in his fifties, and his energy was genuine. His soul was childlike – it felt like I was making a new friend on the playground. As it turned out, we did a lot of playing together during my nine plus years in that congregation, and our playing was key in strengthening our connections, building relationships, partnering with agencies in our community, and nurturing and growing the church. Jack and I played a lot of Ping Pong and Mexican Train – looking back – it was the seniors who welcomed me and fanned the flame of every creative endeavor or change in direction we needed to make to remain tethered to our vision and mission as the culture changed around us. Their childlike wonder and “let’s try it and have fun doing it” attitude was the wind in our sails.

Jack had a successful career in finance – helping people with their money. He was integral. Everyone trusted him. Everyone liked him. We all loved him, but oh my gosh, we liked him – we enjoyed being with him. It was like being on a swing next to your best friend, going higher, and higher, laughing all the way.

Children on average laugh 300 times per day. Adults, 20 – 50 times per day. When I read these stats I thought the soul has no age limit, why such a huge difference. You and me, every human on the planet, is a soul wrapped up in blood vessels, tendons, bones, flesh, you know, all the parts that make us human. One of Mystery’s sweetest gifts to us is our humanity, however we humans, we evolved from nothing that sparked our universal physical beginning. Our soul’s have been given a form so we can touch, taste, smell, feel, hear and experience human sensations that feed our souls, that make us mingle, tingle, hurt, feel, love, grieve, create, cry, and laugh, and so much more.

Most of us will never experience the physical, mental, and spiritual abuse Paul speaks to in II Corinthians chapter 4:7-12 where he writes: “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.  So, death is at work in us, but life in you.”

The first time I met Jack, I did what anyone would have done in that moment, I took a selfie with him. Like Paul, Jack had gone through some stuff too, but he chose to turn on the light switch inside of him, he chose joy, he chose life, he chose love, he laughed his heart out and he caused everyone around him to laugh theirs out too. Jack was a soul electrician, and this did not shock anyone. His soul charged our souls with energy beyond this world. Like Paul, Jack was in the personal business of renewal day by day by day.

I ran into Jack in January 2024. It had been seven years since I had seen him. I was in a funeral home getting ready to preside over my mentor’s Celebration of Life – like Jack, she was another soul who practiced inner renewal – connecting to the light day by day by day.  It was ten minutes before the processional, and suddenly, I turned, and there he was. It felt like I was running towards him, maybe I did run, I don’t remember. All I know is that we hugged for a long time, looking back and forth into each other’s souls – smiling – and then we began to laugh. I said, “See ya after the service.” He said, “Yeah kid. Can’t wait.”

I turned to walk into my office to get my notes, and as I walked, I thought, “He looks older, but his energy feels even younger – more alive since the last time I saw him.” That was the last time I saw Jack. He’s still alive, caring for the love of his life in Calgary. She made him wait five years before their first kiss, but that’s another story.

Rob Bell writes, “Eternal life is less about a kind of time that starts when we die, and more about a quality and vitality of life now in connection to God. Eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts now. It's not about a life that begins at death; it's about experiencing the kind of life now that can endure and survive even death.”

You, me, all of us, we are a spiritual life. Yes, we have a body, but we also have so much more to us. Folks, after we have exhausted all our resources, after we have come to the end of ourselves, if we choose to connect to a power beyond ourselves, we are renewed on the inside, we grow younger on the inside as our souls expand. In this expansion, true strength and divine vitality emerge when we acknowledge our limitations and look for strength beyond our capabilities. When we embrace this truth, we begin prioritizing what really matters, revitalizing our energy for participation in the eternal – in the kin-dom connections and opportunities around us.

This Lent, as we consider how to walk through the dark, I encourage us to remember that we are timeless souls... eternal is our age. We are not the form in which we are physically experiencing our lives ... we are ageless beloved souls. And friends YOUR best days, are not behind you. There is a saying that says if one is lucky, growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. No wonder Jesus teaches us to come as a child. I think George Burns understood all of this when he said, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” He said, “When you’re 98, it’s good to be anywhere.”

What a great way to start the morning… turning on our inside light first and saying, it’s a great day to love and laugh, and I’m going to laugh 300 times today! May we choose renewal day by day by day. Now, go create some fun and take some selfies with people. Go take a walk and dance with your shadow. Study a ladybug – let her crawl all over your arm. Blow a dandelion, your neighbors may not like it, but I guarantee you that your soul will. And don’t forget to be nice to the barbies. They cannot help they are plastic. They were made that way. Our souls were breathed into human form. We have been made this way. While you still have time to KAINOS – decide to create space inside yourselves to connect to your inner child and become a soul electrician. You may shock some people, but who cares. Some people need to be shocked back to life.  May it be so, amen.