“Living Unloved… Not Something I Want For You..”

I’m reading this book The Shack, by William P. Young. The following section of quotes has spoken to me deeply recently as I think about the handful of people in my life that choose to live without love: Either because they don’t know how to receive it, or they are still struggling to understand it more fully. It makes me sad and makes me want to love each one more unconditionally. I want everyone to be able to fly.

My friend, Alex, just took his own life yesterday. His memory will not quickly fade from my heart. His life will challenge me to love more unconditionally and sit with others unconditionally for the rest of my life. I am so sorry he’s gone. I am sorry that he felt that this was his only choice. I miss him.

Here are some quotes from the book… A conversation between the main character and God…

Mack: “I feel totally lost”…

God: “Then let’s see if we can find you in this mess.”… “Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around… You, on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around.”

God: “Living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly. Not something I want for you.”

God: “Mack, pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly… And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.”

_____________________________

Me:   I pray that my life can be the kind of sacrifice needed for others to know, to see and to receive the fact that they were created to be loved… and to fly… God, let it be.

Your Name

I’m studying at a bookstore/coffee shop today. As I got my coffee, I thanked the girl who gave it to me… “Thank you, Jamie.” I said. (spying her nametag) She stopped… made eye contact, smiled and said she liked my hat. I smiled back and told her I just got it! She told me to have a great night… “Same to you,” I said. We both moved on with the smile still lingering on our faces, because we had broken the norm… valued each other… and were satisfied by it.

I wonder what would have happened had I not used her name?

Just curious.

Tenebrae

 Good Friday. Darkness. Shadows. Enter into His death, so that we may fully experience Life. It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’.

I went to a Tenebrae service tonight. I grew up going to this service on Good Friday and it has always been one of my favorite services. It is an evening service usually with readings of the passion of Christ and candles for each reading. The traditional service I would always go to growing up, had the altar cleared of any excess, and the cross shrouded in black. Also, at the end of the service, they always slammed the Bible shut when they read Jesus’ words, “It is Finished”. The service ended in silence and darkness, and everyone would leave in silence and reflection.

It’s so easy for our culture to focus on the Easter Bunny… and the pretty new clothes everyone dons for Easter morning. But entering into the death and passion of Christ makes all the light and new life have meaning, really. I remember the stark visual difference between the bare altar shrouded in black on Good Friday, and the brilliant light on Easter morning, with the altar filled with white, somehow cleansed of the darkness. I am a visual, experiencial learner and this still impacts me. 

His sacrifice, His gift of love, His gift of grace, mercy and wholeness: all these are a part of Easter. Without these, there would be no Easter. Because of these, we can say, “Happy Easter”.

To Be Told

I’ve been reading this book and it has come at just the right time. Does this happen to you? I can pick up a book countless times, but only am I able to read it when it’s just the right time. Perfect timing on this one!  Here are some quotes from the book that resonate with me at the moment:

“Often when our world rips apart, we are able to see more easily what our story is and to hear more clearly what our name is.” p.31

“What will win — the abundant indications of randomness or our desire for more than we can see?” p. 45

“Our story will gain momentum and depth only to the degree that we honestly embrace both loss and fear.” p.46

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse, “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”  p. 67 from The Velveteen Rabbit

“The word passion comes from a Latin root that means “suffering.” It implies intense emotion that energizes a person to move. We are moved to act when we are in pain.” p.74

“As we are unnamed by the absence of our father, we find faith demanding us to begin our journey to touch the face of God. And it is on that journey that we begin to see that we have turned to others for self-definition, safety, and companionship in order to banish the loneliness of life.” p.81

Good stuff! If you have any confusion about where you are in life, and what your next season may be… this is a definite read.

The Wiggly Side of Life

  My nephew and I love to go to the library. I have been taking him since he was an infant, to storytime with Miss Jackie. He loves it. Some days he can sit still, other days he is a wiggle worm. I guess I can understand that, since I can’t sit still either, never have been able to.  We always check out books and read them over and over, ’til the following week when we get new ones. The library has a program too, where he can earn his own books, just by reading at home! It’s super! He has earned 6 free books that way! They always have an extensive variety for the kiddos to choose from. Check out your local library if you have kiddos. They will probably have some kind of incentive reading program, or storytime… Or just a load of good books to get your little ones interested in the adventures of reading. My nephew is only two, but he loves to read. He is even starting to “read” on his own.

So, the book above is one of our favorites this week. If you have a squiggly, wiggly toddler… check it out! It is a bit like Dr. Seuss, and encourages the wiggly side of life!!

Enjoy! I know we have.