Beast of Burden

That donkey, that donkey, that sweet little donkey has been on my mind for many weeks now. That donkey, that donkey, who carried His burden has brought me closer to God.

He already knew. He knew what was coming, but thank God He was granted this gift. A moment of rest, a reminder of care as His journey was unfolding before Him. He wasn’t alone; that donkey, that donkey, that support that awaited his arrival. That donkey, that donkey, that little beast of burden took on the weight of Jesus and carried him through. He gave Him that moment to take in the cheers to take in the love of the children. When Jesus moved towards that valley alone, no, the donkey was there to carry Him.

Years before another young person was carried towards a new beginning, this time, a young woman who said yes. When she finally became so heavy with life and could not walk on her own, there was that donkey that helped her to a stable where joy was revealed.

So again we find ourselves years later, after saying many wonderful things and doing many wonderful deeds, this woman’s son also riding a gentle donkey towards another powerful chapter in His life and ours. It is the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday, the last supper begins, and Jesus has what he needs.

This Holy Week, I give thanks for the donkey, the reminder we’re never alone. When we feel the most alone through our trials and tribulations, remember like Jesus, there was the donkey. The donkey, the beast of burden.

I leave you today with love and light and this poem that has been with me since I was a teenager. LT

Footprints in the Sand

By Mary Stevenson, 1936

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Be the Change

Yesterday, my sister was amazed at my brilliant parenting skills (ha!) as I stopped a squabble between my children regarding a shared snack and one pair of sunglasses in the afternoon sun. I quickly put a towel over their heads and suggested that they eat their snack in a tent. Squabble over (at least until the first child knocked the new form of shelter off his or her head.) I don’t credit brilliant parenting for this result; I credit change. From childhood misunderstandings to greater personal woes, change may be just what is called for to make life a happier experience.

The example of the towel over the head is simple redirection that children easily tend to accept. Redirection is not complicated, but can lead to positive change and even giggles. Adults need redirection, too; perhaps all that is needed is a change of scenery (or a towel over the head); just taking a walk around the block can often lead to clarity of mind and heart.

I believe subtle changes we make in our lives can have ripple effects that lead to greater change around us. These moments of pause, these redirections, often enable us to get out of our own way. They give the Divine the opportunity to open our eyes, open our hearts, open our ears, open our minds to paths untaken or perhaps even unimagined.

If our normal response to irritation is to rise to anger or become defensive, I wonder what might happen if instead we took a deep breath and paused before responding with gentleness or empathy? Or, what if our response is always silence? What might happen if we spoke up? What kind of greater change might these redirections present to ourselves or the people around us?

In Christian denominations following liturgical seasons, it is the season of Lent, a time when a lot of people are thinking about change. They’ve either given things up or added daily practices such as journaling, exercising or praying in the hopes of bringing positive changes to their lives and to others as we approach Easter and the celebration of new life, new awareness and greater connection to ourselves and our relationships with God.

I also know that during this season there are many people facing other great and perhaps unexpected or unplanned changes in their lives: the loss of a loved one, the birth of a new child, a new marriage, a divorce, a move, a job transition, an illness. 

It is each person’s choice in how they will respond to change. I have been inspired by the strength, faith and energy expressed by the people in my life facing particular changes as of late. They’ve looked upon these new chapters in their lives with hope and are letting go of what may have kept them from being fully engaged in their last chapters. They are embracing wholeness and enabling God to empower them for what lies ahead. Their positive radiance is beauty to behold.

Major change doesn’t happen over night. Usually it’s thoughtfully (often times tearfully) considered over a long period of time before we’re able to let go and let God help us through what needs to be done to open new chapters in our lives. Sometimes it’s not major change that is needed; we may just need a slight shift.

Michael Jackson’s song “Man in the Mirror,” suggests that if you want change, start with the “man in the mirror.” This is a favorite song of the girls in my Thursday Theological Thinkers group, and I’m always amazed at how often I get into the car after one of our discussions and find it playing on the radio.

So here for your enjoyment and inspiration is Michael Jackson and his lyrics with tribute to Ghandi, who said, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.” The short version… be the change you wish to see in the world.

With love and light,

LT

A Soft Spot for Lent

I have a soft spot for Lent. Not only does my church, Calvary Episcopal Church, do Lent like no other with the Lenten Series and Waffle Shop, Lent has been a significant game changer in my life, as I know it was for Jesus, too.

Do you know about Lent? In Christian communities, it’s often a time in which the readings about Jesus living into His ministry are read and discussed. For forty days and nights (the same number that Jesus spent in the wilderness) churches around the world reflect on Jesus’ life as it leads towards the cross and ultimately our salvation at the cross. Too much? Take a step back and let me share a story.

I grew up in a church that followed liturgical seasons. You’re probably familiar with them, too, regardless of your religious practice (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, etc., etc., etc.). You get it. Each season has a significant focus on the life of Jesus and the Christian faith, and each season includes a series of readings from the Bible so that throughout the year, participants in liturgical services end up hearing a significant account of Jesus’ life as well as readings from the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible) leading up to His life. It’s pretty amazing how in depth the study can be and how much of the Bible is actually read through this practice.

I grew up hearing all of these readings and following cycle after cycle of seasons, year after year, but in my early 30’s, Lent made a significant impact. It was one of those major hill climbs on my spiritual journey. And when I say hill, I mean reaching towards the peak.

I was a youngish wife and mother of two, working hard both professionally and in trying to live out God’s call for me to do good or share my gifts or whatever it was that I still hadn’t totally figured out. Feeling a strong pull towards something different, towards something that might help others, I left my job of eight years, a job with great meaning, a place with beloved colleagues and a ministry in itself. It was not without a lot of prayer that I made this leap of faith towards something new.

It was only weeks into my decision that I started to wonder if I had misunderstood what I felt strongly as a calling. I was confused and hurt. I could not understand how the positive and powerful spiritual pull I had felt had lead to something so painful and difficult. I prayed. I prayed hard. I called upon friends. I asked for help and guidance.

Eventually, a thought settled on me. In my new career, I no longer felt as if I was using my gifts and talents to serve others, something important to me in both my profession and ministry. I decided if I was not using them in my professional work, I would need to make sure I was using them elsewhere.

I called upon a local church to see if I might offer my services. Although my confidence was badly bruised from my current predicament, I knew I had a lot of experience to offer as a communications specialist as well as a lay-leader bible study facilitator. I offered to help facilitate a bible study at their church as well as to help coordinate their communications volunteers. The bible study was to start the Thursday before the first Sunday of Lent and a volunteer organizing meeting would happen a few weeks later.

The readings during that Lent were cathartic. Interestingly enough, they are very similar year to year. As I studied the main gospel lesson with the several women who gathered on Thursdays that Lent, I found myself healing. I found myself strengthening. I realized that just as Jesus was tempted in the desert, I was finding myself tested. I realized that I too had the strength inside me to resist that temptation and that I wasn’t going to put a bushel over my head any longer.

I made a decision to make a change. Interestingly enough, just as I closed the door on the oppression I was experiencing, God opened a window. To this day, it remains one of the most amazing moments of answered prayer in my life. After several weeks of Lenten bible study, being guided to and surviving the wilderness and walking the ministry of Jesus towards Jerusalem, I stood before a group of volunteers wanting to learn more about how they could help share the message of their church. After the gathering, a kind man walked up to me and asked me if I was happy with my current employment. I answered him honestly and said, “no.” The window opened. The job of my dreams awaited me, one I knew would make the difference I was praying for.

When I walked away from the church building that night, I opened the doors to the outdoors and the trumpets of angels were blaring. It was the local train coming through blowing it’s horn, but the timing could not have been more perfect for angels’ trumpets, and it will forever be angels’ trumpets blaring through that night that awaiting me as I walked in a new direction towards light out of darkness.

Ah Lent, it does have a soft spot in my heart. It is not easy. It is challenging, but it is oh so worth it, for Easter and resurrection is coming, my friend. There is always a way out of the darkness. We just have to find the path. We have to be willing to make the study, to open our eyes, our ears, our minds, our hearts to the possibility that there is another way and that God wants to lead us there.

I also want to note that there was great purpose in that trying time before the angels’ trumpets blared. I will forever be thankful for each and every person that crossed my path during that time and the lessons learned from each of them. Without that experience, I would not have been prepared for the new path before me.

I wish you the most blessed and thoughtful Lent. I hope that angels blare their trumpets for you. Just know that you might have to do a little homework to hear them.

In 2014, Lent will begin March 4 and continue through April 17. You don’t have to wait to start attuning your ears, hearts, eyes and minds.

With love and light,

LT