Wednesday

Love it when people say, "Are you sick?"

Good morning! It looks like we have a really good day ahead! I think a late afternoon bike ride would be a good thing today. Just a short ride in the sunshine could be worth a week of therapy in a counselor's office or something like that. The weather the rest of the week is looking pretty good, just need to dodge a few showers along the way.

Yesterday was another busy one, but I tend to get more efficient when I am overloaded. There are still some things I am having trouble getting to, but they will still be there when I find/make the time for them.

I read some Henri Nouwen everyday. He has probably shaped my thinking as much as any theologian I have read over the years. This morning's reading is good and possibly helpful to lots of people. When people come to me with problems, which is a lot, of course, somewhere along the way I will say, "We are all really messed up," which is true, due to the Fall. In Christ, of course, the curse is being reversed and we are striving to bring the future (perfect peace and harmony) into the present. The reality is we just don't get it quite done.

Learning to forgive and give grace begins with the recognition that I need it. Talk to us, Henri.

People who live close together can be sources of great sorrow for one another.  When Jesus chose his twelve apostles, Judas was one of them.  Judas is called a traitor.  A traitor, according to the literal meaning of the Greek word for "betraying," is someone who hands the other over to suffering.

The truth is that we all have something of the traitor in us because each of us hands our fellow human beings over to suffering somehow, somewhere, mostly without intending or even knowing it.  Many children, even grown-up children, can experience deep anger toward their parents for having protected them too much or too little.  When we are willing to confess that we often hand those we love over to suffering, even against our best intentions, we will be more ready to forgive those who, mostly against their will, are the causes of our pain.

I hope you have a really good day!