Good morning…
I love this photo of a journal I found secondhand at Goodwill. A baby resting in the hands of a father, with words written in a foreign language. The language of letting go feels foreign to us. “Why? How? What will happen?” Our human nature demands, “Cling. Covet more. Control everything,” while the Holy Spirit whispers, “Relax. Release all. Rest in the LORD.” We play tug-of-war, caught between our selfish urges and God’s pull toward surrender.
On this Sabbath day, feel free to review the blog posts you have loved most this week and the messages you may have missed.
Monday: My feelings were hurt. At the end of our meaningful Orlando retreat, a “well-dressed woman” stopped me and asked, “So, why were you here?” I felt unseen, unneeded, unwanted.
Tuesday: If I was given one superpower, I would choose to possess the power to shrink or to expand the moment at hand. The problem with this superpower, if put into practice, is that I would shrink what I hate and I would expand what I love and over time I would shrivel into the god of my life.
Wednesday: Because we want to make others happy, our hearts demand “Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!” But our brain needs to check our schedule, to consider our capacity, and to understand what is and is not our responsibility.
Thursday: Our recent post, My Feelings Were Hurt, stepped on a very vulnerable nerve. Together we examine the bricks in the wall between our hurting hearts and each “well-dressed woman” who crinkles up her nose.
Friday: “The brook would lose its song if God removed the rocks.” We hate the hard knocks from life’s jagged rocks, but we love the calming beauty babbling from the brook.
Saturday: Shedding our natural tendency to cling hard when we are hurt, we release our grip, we open our self wide, and we witness God’s divine presence growing strong in our weak places.
…surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord… (Jeremiah 4:4, NLT).
…Sue…
