Nothing is too small...

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord."

Jeremiah 17:7

 

Sometimes the stuff we go through is just too big and difficult for us to bear.  We feel very small and powerless.  Things spin out of control. That seems to be when we turn to God, when, actually, we should probably turn to God long before then! God wants to be involved in our lives, in each seemingly insignificant little detail, not just when things run amok. In good times and in bad, in difficult times or in easy, God desires us.  Nothing we go through or deal with in our lives is too small for God to care. Let's think about that as we go about our Thursday! Love, heidi 

Who is it not about? Me!

"Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant..."

Matthew 20:26

 

I woke up in the night with a very powerful thought on my mind.  "It's not about you, Heidi, it's about others."  It was as clear as a bell and, as I snuggled in, back to sleep, I prayed I'd remember it.  As it happens, it fits in nicely with today's Gospel.  James and John (and their mom) ask Jesus if they can have positions of power in his Kingdom. It's about them, you see.  Jesus realizes what's ahead for them all and replies, "Well, it's not about you guys...it's about others."  That seems to be  message for me this Lent and maybe even this year.  Throughout the whole flood saga at my place, I kept getting the message to be kind. ("Only kindness matters," remember the Jewel song?) It's not about me, it's about others.  Fr. Bentz's homily, at BSU in January, too, not to ask what should I do with my life, but how can I best help others? How can I best serve others?  This is all very exciting, Gracious God!  Thank you for waking me in the night and whispering to me.  (And I caught Tebow sleeping on the spare room bed! The rascal!)  Love, heidi

Mind your tassels!

"(The scribes and Pharisees)...All their works are performed to be seen."

Matthew 23:5

 

Pray-As-You-Go asked, as part of the reflection on this reading, "What are your hopes for today?"  In thinking about that, I mentally scrolled through my calendar.  It's a really busy day, even with a night lesson tonight.  It makes me tired just thinking about it. Gracious and loving God, let me be your hands and feet today.  The people on my calendar are put there for a reason, and it may not just be because they need mobility instruction! Help me to be a servant for you, doing my job with love, compassion and for Your glory.  Help me to take control of my "tassels," (v. 5) realizing it's not about me, but only about them. Thank you and Amen! Love, heidi

Words vs actions...

"Jesus, are such journeys just about you or are they also about us? Do you want us to think higher of you, or higher of ourselves because of you? Why do you take us along on such journeys at all?"

Fr. Richard Rohr, "Wondrous Encounters--Scriptures for Lent"

 

This was yesterday's meditation on the Transfiguration and I wanted to finish the prayer--Why do you take us along on such journeys at all? Especially if you don't want us to talk about them? In both Mark and Matthew's Gospels Jesus specifically tells the witnesses NOT to tell about the vision of his transfiguration with anyone.  Why take us along if we can't share it?  Well, Jesus tells them not to share it until after he has died and risen from the dead, which gets them head-scratching right there.  But my prayer with this went a different way.  I realize that us talking about our fabulous encounters with Jesus can only go so far.  When we are changed by Jesus we change from the inside out.  Jesus wants us to talk about our encounters less and change our actions more. Jesus knows that actions speak louder than words and our behavior changes will bring more positive ripples through our world than our just talking about Jesus. So, as we embark on our mid-Lent Monday, let's be aware of how our actions, not just our words, can share Jesus in our world today.  Our actions are much more contagious, sharing Jesus in the world! Love, heidi

Letting go or gripping tightly?

"The spiritual journey is more like a giving up control than taking control."

Fr. Richard Rohr, "Wondrous Encounters--Scripture for Lent"

 

As a kid I remember Lent being all about self-control.  The self-control it took to give up candy, which was the standard. The self-control to be plucked out of my warm bed, a quick brushing of teeth and, throwing a coat over my PJ's, being flung into a cold winter morning to attend 6:30 mass.  The self-control of beating my breast, begging God not to "throw me into the pit," in the Psalms. Yes, it was all about what I did.  I did. My control. My doings.  I'm feeling more and more that Lent is all about what God does; what God can do if I am just willing and pliable and give up control.  Lent, for me, has become more about letting go than tightly gripping.  Thanks be to God!  Love, heidi

PS: I will be in class for the next few days...please pray for us as we continue our class with our dear leader, Peg, watching from heaven. 

Where do we most need rain?

"Thus says the Lord, 'Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down, and do not return there till they have watered the earth...'"

Isaiah 55:10

In the reflection of this reading on Pray-As-You-Go, they ask a pondering-worthy question.  What part of your life is dry and needs a good, cleansing rain? Oh, that's easy! I'm still reeling from my regular trip to the woodshed, i.e. yesterday's Gospel about the sheep and the goats! (Matthew 25:31-46) Consistently, I am brought up short in that reading and find myself clearly in the Goat line.  Unless taking a box of wine glasses to St. Vincent de Paul counts as giving drink to the thirsty, I'm still coming up short this year. (Thanks, Sam, for suggesting I fill the glasses first!) It's not that I don't give to the poor; that can be remedied by writing a check.  It's how I feel toward the poor that is the problem.  I struggle with the poor because I have so much and life is so much easier for me--it always has been.  I don't identify with the poor because I haven't walked in their shoes or shared their struggles.  I have always been, by comparison, very rich.  And this troubles me.  Just as the Rich Young Man, I wonder if Jesus is asking too much of me to "sell all I have and give to the poor." I find myself going away, very sad, because I have too much.  So, that is where I need a good, cleansing rain, my Friends.  I ask for the grace to get it all figured out.  Love, heidi