Thoughtful Thursday

 

Yesterday, I offered a quote from Jon Acuff to "Forgive your former self; Enjoy your present self; and Be kind to your future self."

Today I want to let that thought continue to roam and rummage around your life.  

What was your initial reaction?  Where did your rational and reasonable mind yell, "Objection! That sounds too simplistic for the complexity of today!"  Or where did your heart want to say, "I am just not sure I can let go of that past pain someone caused...after all it has been fueling and feeding my life for so long."  Or where did your soul say, "I will totally forgive and enjoy and be kind over the weekend or after that event."  We can dismiss and deny and delay taking the initial steps of healing in so many creative ways!

Perhaps too often the biggest obstacle to living God's grace is our own minds that want us to either earn grace (which we can't because it's free) or wants us to offer our religious resume as proof of our goodness or because the soundtrack of our faith is that great camp hymn, "They will know we are Christian by our love."  Which I agree with that hymn, but I also think the song suggests that everything is up to us rather than the reality of our reliance on God first and last.  God's grace gets us through.  God's love picks us up.  God's presence moves in our life causing us to forgive, enjoy, and be kind.

Finally, we do all of this because it is part of the Great Commandment to love God as you love yourself.  So many people today don't love themselves.  The pain around us is so evident that it does impact us.  It is hard to love ourselves while still holding grudges.  It is difficult to love ourselves when we think the world around us is going to you-know-where.  It is impossible to love ourselves if we think God has left the building and there is no hope for tomorrow.

Forgive yourself - God already has.

Enjoy this moment - God is right here.

Be kind to your future self - because grace and love are part of what is guiding you to the next moment.

I pray that these words will work and wiggle in your life with an unconditional and unceasing movement of the Holy hovering and humming in amazing ways.  Amen.