Forgiveness

As we are at the cusp of Holy Week, it makes me wonder just how Jesus was feeling all those years ago on this day. Did He really know what the week ahead was going to be like? Was He ready? According to Luke 18: 31-34, he did:

“Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.’ But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”

Rooted in Life

Resilience is a trait we must possess to live in this world. It’s essential for our survival. Life is full of storms, failures, defeats…and without the ability to bounce back from them, we will not make it. Luckily, resilience appears to be one of our innate qualities. It’s in our DNA. Our survival instinct is strong, and we find inner strength and determination to recover from setbacks and carry on.

Recently, Pr. Josh wrote a facebook posting about mesquite bushes in Death Valley. Their roots grow 100 feet deep, searching for nourishment in the parched soil. Now that’s resilience–working hard to find a way to overcome lack of food and water so they can survive. Really, isn’t that the perfect ‘American’ plant? Isn’t that how we like to see ourselves? Proud, independent, hard-working, can’t-keep-us-down people? We ‘pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.’ We send our roots deep and stand up proud.

Until we can’t.

Time for a Good Pruning

I have a confession to make. I am a terrible, terrible plant keeper. I have 4 plants in my office, and they are lucky if they get water on a weekly basis! To pay for my lack of attention, I end up needing to take them all into the utility room occasionally to cut away the dead leaves and vines…while vowing to take better care of them. (It really is a miracle they are even still alive!)

Not Fast, But Far

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” ~  African proverb

This proverb was quoted to me recently by our own Carlye Peterson, director of the recent production of Annie here at Family of Christ. I love inspirational and motivational quotes. This one rings especially true for me. It rings true for our recent all-church musical production, and it rings true for the multitude of fabulous ministries that happen each and every day at Family of Christ.

When we work together, we accomplish more than we could ever accomplish alone…and, oftentimes, more than we could ever imagine.

Road Trip

In February, I drove with our daughter, Maddie, to her first post-college adventure: a paid internship at a wildlife refuge in Arkansas. She’s truly a wildlife biologist now. Not a ‘Wildlife Biology major,’ but a ‘wildlife biologist.’ Boy, did that ever happen fast…at least for me.