Ordinary, but not so ordinary

"The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him."
Luke 2:40

And that is pretty much the last we hear about Jesus until he is twelve years old. Wouldn't you love to know more of the details of his childhood? I guess childhoods weren't that important to chronicle in those days, but what fun that would be. I think the thing we can assume is that Jesus had a normal childhood. So normal, in fact, that the locals were so surprised when he became famous for healing the sick and performing miracles...so surprised they did not believe any of it. If you read that sentence from Luke and didn't know it was about Jesus, you would think it could have been about any child, couldn't it? I mean, not to brag or anything, but my kids grew strong and wise and I know that God's favor has been upon them because I have seen God working in their lives so vividly! So, while Jesus may have appeared to some to be ordinary, of course, he was not. But, in some ways, he was....
I am on my way to the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse in Kansas today, Friends! Prayers for all of you, blessings on your weekend, and I'll see you next week! Love, heidi

Being vs looking like you're being...

"I believe that Jesus calls all of us to let go of the desire to appear good, to give up the appearance of being good, so that we can listen to the word within us and move into the mystery of who we are."
Brennan Manning, "Reflections for Ragamuffins"

This is so "me" today it just jumped off the page and bit me in the nose! I never left the house, when I was a kid, without the marching orders from my mother, "Be a good girl!" Now, of course, there is nothing wrong with that...I learned to behave and that is necessary in life. But I also became far too concerned with how I looked to others and how others viewed me. And that has been a weight around my ankle for a long time. There is a difference between actually BEING good and LOOKING like you're being good. And therein lies the disconnect. That is what Brennan Manning wants to call our attention to today. You see, it's not enough to just have others think you are walking the walk and talking the talk. You must actually BE walking the walk...it doesn't matter what others perceive. Me being so concerned with how I look to others is just narcissism, isn't it? Good grief, that is a lot to think about on a winter Wednesday! Well, let's give it a wee thought and then move on...love heidi

A bundle of paradoxes!

"When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and I get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty..."
Brennan Manning, "Reflections for Ragamuffins"

I was so relieved to read this! I feel exactly the same way! Sometimes, I feel like two completely separate people living in one body. But I realized that scripture is full of paradoxical people like me. The guy who said to Jesus, "I believe, help my unbelief!" Now, there is a guy I can identify with! And the brothers who were told by their father to go work in the vineyard. The one brother said, sure, he'd go, but didn't go and the other brother who said he didn't want to go, but did. Human beings are full of paradoxes...we seem to be wired that way. Brennan Manning goes on to say, "To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life's story, the light side and the dark." And then he quotes Thomas Merton, "A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God." It is so not about us and what we do and don't do. It is all about God and his amazing gifts to his paradoxical people! Love, heidi