Good morning…
As our Thursday group met this month, we began our time by reading aloud this prayer from the Ignatian exercises.
Then we unpacked the most famous verse from the book of Micah.
He has shown you,
O mortal,
what is good.
And what does the Lord
require of you?
To act justly
and to love mercy
and to walk humbly
with your God.
– Micah 6:8 (NIV)
We each took a turn answering, “Which of these three – to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God – is hardest and which is easiest for you?” Our answers varied, ripe with our own struggles and our own strengths.
As our conversation continued, I jotted notes into my phone. Snippets of Holy Spirit wisdom naturally pop-corned up.
- “Don’t trip over what’s behind you.”
- “Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, LSB).
- “Someone really ought to do something.” Why not you?
- “Kindness is love in work boots.”
- “Goodness is love with a backbone.”
- “Gentleness listens.”
- “Dread drains your strength.”
These snippets of truth fell into place like puzzle pieces in God’s intricate jigsaw.
“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be” (Jeremiah 17:9-10, MSG).
Thanks be to God who gets to the heart of us, who tends to our roots, and who treats us as we really are.
…Sue…
