Kissing the Leper

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Showing posts from October, 2015

"Who told you you were not wearing clothes?"

I'm at the point in the new job where I wonder if they'll figure out I'm a fraud. You know, I got through the interviewing and vetting process merely on charm and dumb luck, and now, when push come to shove - I won't know what the hell I'm doing. I suppose it's the adult equivalent of dreaming that you've shown up for school naked.

Either way, it's scary.

And untrue.

Remember in the Garden of Eden when God comes to visit (I mean - how ridiculously awesome would that be? After dinner, God drops by for a glass of wine or a gin and tonic, and you chat. Maybe there's a new bird that needs to be named, or a new flower design He's been noodling with....) Anyway, God comes to visit and Adam and Eve hide, because they are naked.

"Who told you you were naked?"

It struck me that my feeling as I headed into work today, worrying about my competency, was not unlike the scene in the Garden. Nothing had changed. God was still omnipotent. Adam and Ev…

New Stuff, New Beginnings, New Heart

Some..times the new year starts in January. Sometimes it starts in September. Sometimes - it starts whenever you begin something big and new and scary and fun and wonderful.

I have a new job. It's a big deal. I never thought I'd leave my old job, but I did. And I'm thrilled to have a new place to work that is meaningful, with great people, doing something I love. It doesn't get much better than that.

Of course, it isn't easy. I hated leaving my old job. Hated it. I hated leaving a dear friend (I mean, he's still there, and still a friend, but I'm not seeing him daily.)

And even now, at my age, you feel like the new kid at school - are people going to be nice? What should I wear? Will it be appropriate? Am I really going to be able to do this job, or is this some big cosmic joke?

(By the way, I got the interview for this job on the last day of a novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots. Be careful with novenas: change usually occurs.)

Thus, it begins. And yes, it…

Human Trafficking: Waiting For You To Notice

Waiting For You To Notice from Shared Hope on Vimeo.

From Shared Hope International

"Monday morning you look so fine - Friday I got travelin on my mind - First you love me, then you fade away"

[lyrics from Fleetwood Mac, "Monday Morning"}

1. Scored at Goodwill yesterday: got my Older, Wiser sister outfitted for a black tie event. Cha-ching!

2. Praying hard to Mary, Untier of Knots. I never seem to run out of knots!!

3. There are a few things I'm quite bitter about. Remember "The Jetsons?" (If you don't, look it up.) I still don't have a flying car, a jetpack or a robot maid. And here it is 2015.

4. Yesterday's Gospel was about service. You can't expect to sit near Jesus in Heaven unless you are willing to serve everybody else. Pope Francis is great about reminding us about this. Serve others with love.

An elderly warrior, and the weapons necessary

We moved Mom into an assisted living center recently (well, my brother and nephew - God bless them - did the heavy lifting.) She is sorta settled and sorta unsettled.

Her apartment is great, and thankfully set up much like her old home. Her cat, Barney, made the move too, and that helps.

The "unsettled" part of her keeps moving things around. I'm not sure if its her way of trying to make it feel like her own, or if it's just her aging brain. Anyway, things were muddled the last time I was there, and my brother suggested that I "help" Mom straighten out her closet and drawers. Thankfully, she was open to my gentle offering.

I tried to put her winter clothes together, and tuck away sandals that she'll likely never wear again under the more comfortable slippers she will need. I sorted through lighter tops and folded them away under sweaters.

In her dresser, she has a drawer that I thought was jewelry. There were a few trinkets in there, but mostly, there …

Swinging At Curveballs

Time for change. I can't reveal all yet, but change is coming. Big ones. Littler ones.

I'm not a big fan of change.

You'd think by the time I'd reached this point in my life, I'd have developed a "change is inevitable and I'm used to it" attitude. Oh, dear. No. Not a bit.

I like routine. I like knowing what's going to happen. I'm all for a great, romping adventure in a novel, but I prefer my kitty slippers, a glass of whatever potion I choose to drink and said novel on my lap every evening.

And yet God persists in challenging me. Telling me to stop crowding the plate. No balks, but almost. The change-ups are always circumstances in which to trust Him. I do better sometimes than others.

He does that, you know. Throws you a spiritual curve ball. It's not a test (Will she do it? Will she get it this time?) so much as a way to learn how to swing better. Keep changing up those pitches, and eventually, you can hit 'em all ... well, a lot an…

I can't think about Monday I can't think about watching you walk away

[Lyrics from Carole King's "I Can't Think About Monday]

1. It was a glorious fall weekend in Michigan ... and I spent it inside, sick with a head cold. Such is life.

2. We have a big work shindig next week: black tie. The guys cut a deal with a local retailer to rent tuxes for 25 bucks. Geez! My hair is gonna cost more than that! And guys ALWAYS look better in tuxes than women do in evening gowns, just because we're not used to them getting dressed up.

3. From a friend's FB page (he's an Orthodox priest):

When the sun rises and cast its light of the world, it reveals both itself and the things it illumines. Similarly, when the Sun of Righteousness rise in the pure intellect, He reveals both Himself and the inner principles of all that has been and will be brought into existence by Him.

- St Maximus the Confessor, 400 Chapters on Love

Blessing And Blast From The Past

In the summer of 2014, I hit rock bottom in the world of depression. I was making plans for suicide. I didn't really want to die, but I couldn't take the pain anymore. I checked myself into the local psychiatric hospital and got the help I so desperately needed.

The first morning I was there, I woke early. I went into the "quiet room" with my prayer book. I was in there for several minutes before I noticed a person huddled under a blanket in the corner. A lovely face peeped out at me: porcelain skin, sky-blue eyes and the type of blonde hair that you usually see on toddlers: almost white, wispy, soft.

She said softly, "Are you praying?" and I said yes. She picked up her Bible and asked if I'd like to pray with her. Yes, I did.

I'll call her Lauren. She was in her 20s, and she was very, very sick. She spent most days huddled under her blanket, a hat pulled down low on her forehead. She hardly ever spoke above a whisper. Some days, there were easy sm…

Humility And Humiliation

It can be hard to distinguish humility from humiliation in our world and in our spiritual lives. I know I was scared to pray for humility for a long time, because I thought of it as humiliation.

Humility is a virtue. Humiliation is not; it's a sin.

Humility makes one stronger and more empathetic. Humiliation tears a person down and makes a person focus more on themselves.

Humility helps one grow in service to others. Humiliation makes one turn inward.

Humility is always a good. If more of were humble, our world would be better. Humiliation is never good, and it makes our world a sadder, more unwelcoming place.

Humility should be sought in one's spiritual life. Humiliation should be shunned, both in ourselves and in how we treat others.

A perfect example of humility is our Blessed Mother:

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

…