My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me.” —Jesus It is the fourth week of Lent and I’m listening. Listening for the release from the bondage of religious discipline. Listening for the love that compels me to choose restraint over indulgence. I listen even in the moments when I break my fast in order to feast. Is this whole thing driven by “the shoulds” or guilt ? Is gratitude the thing that is going to drive my inner conversation with God. Why do I even do this? Lent snuck up on me this year and I didn’t take too much time to be intentional about my fasting choice. I just made a quick decision and went for it and here we are in the middle. Is my fast transforming me more into the image of Christ? I wish I could measure the difference of what this is doing in me, but I can’t other than to notice difference in my digestive system and to recognize that I eat portions of food normally that are way too large! Fasting is hard. Any type! To choose weakness so we can fea...
John Griffith was in his early twenties. He was newly married and full of optimism. Along with his lovely wife, he had been blessed with a beautiful baby. He was living the American dream. But then came 1929—the Great Stock Market Crash—the shattering of the American economy that devastated John’s dreams. The winds that howled through Oklahoma were strangely symbolic of the gale force that was sweeping away his hopes and his dreams. And so, brokenhearted, John packed up his few possessions, and with his wife and his little son, headed East in an old Ford Model A. They made their way to the edge of the mighty Mississippi River and found a job tending one of the great railroad bridges there. Day after day, John would sit in the control room and direct the enormous gears of the immense bridge over the mighty river. He would look out wistfully as bulky barges and splendid ships glided gracefully under his elevated bridge. Each day, he looked on sadly as those ships carried with the...
A year ago around this time I sat with a Youth who became very angry and volatile at the drop of a hat. One evening she came to sit in a space with me to "cool off." Honestly, I was anxious about it as soon as I got the text she was coming! Even though I knew this was the job I had signed up for, I was tired of being yelled at and sworn at for no apparent reason. It was a harsh reminder of what happens when kids in care have lives of not learning love, not learning trust or true family and blame those who try to give them glimpses of anything different. If you are a group home worker, social worker, foster parent or youth worker reading this I know you know what I'm talkin' about :) High fives to you when you do your job well--for caring long hard hours and enduring such emotional stress! I pray your heart stays tender with a "thick skin" that gives you courage to continue to do your work well! I also need to give a few fist bumps to you i...
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