..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
“My God, my God….” (NRS Psalm 22:1) Two days I will always remember were the days each of our daughters went away to college. For me, it was more than them leaving our home for nine months. It was more than a transition from one way of life to another for them. It was the physical statement of something we had known in our heart of hearts for years. There would come a day when they would be on their own. Although, to this day, we are still interdependent in our relationship, their departure was a defining moment. It was a way of saying, “You are now responsible for your decisions and must enjoy or pay the consequences of those decisions.” Although it was never true, I had a sense of ownership over their lives – until that moment of departure. I remember when we brought each of them home from the hospital following their birth. Each one was my daughter. They were our children. We enrolled our daughters in school. I baptized my daughters. It was, and is, that possessive pronoun. Yes, they were mine, and they were ours – still are for that matter. There is something about the possessive pronoun that is more than descriptive. We refer to a lot of things with possessive pronouns. There is my grocery store. No, I do not own one, but the place where I buy groceries has been, and always will be, MY grocery store. I suppose that is why I get upset when they change the layout of the store from time to time. I can’t find anything in MY store. Then, there is my church. It does not matter whether I am the minister or not, it is my church. Again, this causes problems when THEY change the layout of the worship service at MY church so I don’t know when to stand or when to sit. It sort of makes me want to cry, like I did the day my daughters went to college. I knew it all along. I did not own those two girls whom we named. But when they left for school it was a physical reminder of a denied reality - they were God’s, not mine. And even God gave them the freedom to accept or reject that relationship. When MY church becomes something other than what I think it should be, it is the same as with MY daughters. We know in our heart of hearts that the church is the Body of Christ. It is not ours. Yet, we too frequently are not able to let the church “go away” (as our girls went away to college) to establish a different life than the one we have chosen for it. One of the most difficult lessons for me to learn in life has been the lesson of ownership. It is hard, but I am trying to use the possessive pronoun less. They are my girls, but they really are not. It is my church, but really it is God’s church. Then there is the phrase so often heard, “My God doesn’t do things that way.” “Our Father….” But, I don’t have time to go there. Dawn Breaker #74:
Life is far more enjoyable when I realize that God is the creator, owner,
and sustainer of all.
"There are a number of
guidelines I try to follow in life and ministry. I find that when I follow
them, situations sometimes become like the rising of the sun. There
is a luminous glow turning to great light, and occasionally, inspiration.
When I don't follow these adopted guidelines, they sometimes become Don
breakers, making life frustrating at best. I do not suggest
you should live by all the principles I choose for my life. If they
are helpful for you, make them your own. They work for me."
|
