Loving Every Minute

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
in whom there is no evil and who tempts no one to sin,
it was your love that sent Jesus into this broken world,
shot through with rebellion and chaos
and the darkness of evil.

We know in our hearts that things are not as they ought to be
and we dream of a world where there is peace and plenty:
a world free of natural disasters,
a world without poverty and disease and hatred and war,
a world without violence and crime and death,
a world made whole and safe by divine and human love.

We thank you for such holy and persistent dreams
and for glimmers they give us of your coming kingdom
when all shall be renewed
and made whole by resurrection power.

Forgive our sins of commission,
where we have, by our own free and deliberate decisions,
added to the weight of sin and misery
upon this groaning planet.

Forgive us also the sins of omission,
where we have not done the good we ought to have done
and turned away from the needs of others
and the call of justice.

In the face of forces we can neither predict nor control,
help us to trust in your unfailing care and wisdom.

Give us courage in Christ to name and resist all that is evil.
Only your Holy Spirit can keep us grounded in this great faith.

Amen

from "Mary: Lessons in Discipleship from Jesus' Earthy Family"
by Phillip C. Thrailkill

Today at the after school program I mentioned something about being out of shape. All the boys looked at me like I was insane.  One of them said “you’re like the most in-shape person in AMERICA” … and they all seemed to agree. I told them they were very sweet … but very mistaken.  There was no changing their minds.

Just got back from my first Zumba class — they were definitely wrong.

I ended up having several bills due all at the same time this month and my paycheck didn’t go as far as I needed it to so by the beginning of this week I was totally out of cash.  Among other things, it prevented me from taking my weekly trip to the laundromat.

I began running out of clean clothes and had to resort to wearing some of my less comfy underwear (I know, that’s more information than you really want but it’s important for the story so let’s just go with it).  God tends to speak to me through ridiculous, bizarre things and this ‘inspiration’ is a perfect example…

Tuesday night I started by asking my students if they have a favorite pair of undwear. Ones that are super comfy and fit perfectly! We talked about how good that feels and how icky it feels when we are in undies that don’t fit right and aren’t comfy.

Then I read Psalm 119:165… Those who love your teachings will find true peace, and nothing will defeat them.

I talked about the peace that comes from God when you’re living for Him. That it’s like our underwear. No matter what we ‘wear’ on the outside, if our heart isn’t right with God, we won’t have that feeling of peace.  And even though it’s not always something people see, it makes ALL the difference.

Hopefully some of this ridiculous stuff we do and talk about over there is sinking in. Only God knows for sure