The thought for today is from Eldredge’s book Captivating: "Real beauty offers others the grace to be and the room to grow."
To me, that best expresses the beauty and grace that Jesus brought to the many he encountered on earth, especially to the sinful: Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery.
And how rare to experience that kind of beauty in a person. The grace to be (acceptance and love for who I am right now, no matter what) and the room to grow (the freedom to be who God designed me to be and not what others want me to be or think I should be, to meet their needs or their expectations). The saying “Please be patient with me. God isn’t finished with me yet” is a longing for that kind of beauty.
Real inner beauty offers others life and rest and hope. That is what Jesus brought to each sinner at the end of his or her destructive path: beauty for ashes, hope for despair, life instead of death.
I have also been pondering what my part in my journey is this past year. With my dog Jazzy (read Sept. 24'06 and Oct. 1'06 blog),I observed how she likes to take the lead, instead of following mine, whenever I try to take her on a walk with me. Her persistence to lead robs us of a pleasant experience together. And yet, I am so like Jazzy when it comes to walking with God. I desire to walk with Him. Follow Him. But I become impatient and lurch ahead---thinking that I have to contribute somehow to the journey process.
This week as I asked God the question (again), what is MY part in all of this? Out of the silence, He answered, “None of it...except to love me—be in love with me. And love others in that way too.”
My head still wrestles with this answer, but not my heart. My heart knows this is the true answer to the question I have been asking.
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