Tie up your camel!

"A young man went to a great master of wisdom and said to him, 'Master, so great is my trust in God that I didn't even hitch my camel out there. I left it to God's providence, for him to take care of. And the wise master said, 'Go back outside and tie your camel to the post, you nincompoop! There's no point in inconveniencing God with something that you can do yourself."
Fr. Anthony de Mello, "Walking on Water: Reaching God in Our Time"

I giggled when I first read this last night. We absolutely don't use the word "nincompoop" enough! But it's true. As much as I feel God is active and lively in each thread in the fabric of my life, I also realize that I should meet God halfway and do what I can do on this side. As we celebrate a nearly-really-summer weekend, let's trust God in all things, but also tie up our own camels, Friends! Seriously. Love, heidi

First things first...

"Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift."
Matthew 5:23-24

What Jesus' words tell me this morning is that, if we are at odds with our fellow human beings, our devotions to God have no teeth whatsoever.  We can pray and act all religious and holy, but if we aren't getting along with our neighbors God just shrugs and says, "Yada, yada, yada..." It's so much easier to say we love God than it is to actually love God because--bottom line--we aren't loving God without loving our neighbor and sometimes, that neighbor is darn hard to love.  Today, let's think about the fact that we are loving God as much as we love the most difficult person in our lives.  Can we turn to God and ask that God love that person through us? We may need help to love the difficult folks we encounter...and God will happily give us that help if we just ask.  Love, heidi

The path to life!

"You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand."

Psalm 16:11

 

A beautiful Psalm for a beautiful summery day!  And, it's true, too!  God will show us the path to life, right here in the midst of this crazy world. Living on God's path isn't incompatible to living in the world at all...it may be a little trickier, but God has given us all we need to live the Way. And there are people all over living in peace and justice...they just may not be on the news.  It seems to me that the way to live God's path to life is to read and pray with the Gospels and see just what Jesus did. Jesus came in a terribly dicey time for his people.  He went against the grain and surprised everyone by whom he scooped up--lepers, women of questionable character, the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus went straight to the bottom of the pecking order of his time and those were the people whose feet he washed.  And that was the path to life...oh, it led him to the cross, which may not SEEM like life, but it was life, and abundant life at that! Today, is there anyone we can go out of our way to serve as Jesus served? If so, let's do it and relish that glorious path to life! Love, heidi

Just a pinch of salt...

"Jesus said to his disciples, 'You are the salt of the earth...'"

Matthew 5:13

 

One of the best reflections I have read on this Gospel was in today's "Give Us This Day." Fr. Anthony Gittins mentions that an overdose of salt can be corrosive in our world and render food inedible...whoa, that!  Just the right amount of salt is needed to flavor food delightfully.  Fr. Gittins cautions against arrogantly over-powering others, instead following the example of Jesus, who gently and humbly lived his life with just the right amount salt and light.  God of Flavor and Illuminating Light, help us in our interactions today to gently and humbly be your salt and light to the world. Help us to look around us and see those who are struggling under the weight of burdens we may not even see. Help us to be, not just salt and light, but also hands and feet to help our brothers and sisters.  Help us to serve one another joyfully and giving all glory to You...Love, heidi

Our comings and goings...

"The Lord will guard your coming and your going both now and forever."

Psalm 121:8

 

Today's Psalm really rings true for me today, as I head back to work after a fabulous week off! It's what I call "Re-entry Day," and it can loom large if I don't remember that God is right there with me.  One thing I have learned is that anything I glean on retreat or in any kind of study is not for me alone.  Jesus didn't teach his disciples just for their own knowledge, it was meant to be taken out and shared with others. Jesus didn't break bread for only his disciples alone, it was meant to be taken out and shared with the Five Thousand. All we receive is to be shared for God's glory and the benefit of others.  I can't live a life, fully lived, on permanent retreat, as appealing as THAT sounds!  But now is the time the rubber meets the road...time to put it all into practice.  So, as we embark on these months of summer, let's remember that God certainly blesses our comings and goings...God goes with us, in fact. And that makes them all the more precious!  Blessings on your first June Monday! Love, heidi