Good morning…
I recently told this story off the top of my head, but it is much more meaningful when read from the book.
“Connie’s son started wearing an earring. She became annoyed and told her husband, ‘I’m going to pray his ears bleed!’ But as her prayers took on the contemplative tone of surrendering instead of managing and of listening to God – instead of telling God what to do – a new attitude took hold. She found that every time she put on earrings, she said a short, no-agenda prayer for the son she loved. Inwardly, she changed, and her dialogue with God changed too.” (Jan Johnson’s When the Soul Listens, 175)
As we prepare our homes for holiday visits, might God also prepare our hearts? For an earring-wearing son or his tattooed twin, might our prayers take on a contemplative tone, surrendering instead of managing? For the relative who heats up tension or the spouse who is cold as ice, instead of demanding “God, change my hard person!” might we listen to God taking hold in us? For our whirling-swirling sibling or our memory-challenged loved one, might we regularly lift a short, no-agenda prayer for this precious person we so love?
Inwardly, we change as our dialogue with God changes.
For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people. That grace instructs us… (Titus 2:11-12, GNT).
…Sue…
