An Incredible Moment with a Bent-Over Woman
now, I could draw out the comparisons between the womans physical state and our spiritual state but I wont b/c thats too easy and it didnt outright speak to me, even though it is a very viable comparison...
what stood out for me is Jesus calling her up in front of everyone and how embarrassing this must have been, and yet - she didnt hold back, she went up in faith and received a huge blessing because she obeyed...
now let me compare myself to this woman.... how many times have I NOT obeyed simply because I thought God was asking too much, I was too embarrassed to receive, or because I just didnt want to - telling myself that it couldnt be God, so I could feel free to ignore that calling.... and how many unbelievable blessings have I talked myself out of as well?
And how often have I been forced to grow like the religious leader? You know, for forever I saw the church as a holy place which should be respected, and I got so anxious with the kids crawling all over the altar rail - shouldnt their parents be controling them? God gave me a son to change my mind on that one - he doesnt care about the altar rail or what it is supposed to be used for, he likes to hold on to it and climb up on the ledge so he can see the preacher when he does childrens church - its a place of joy for him - and I never understood this until I let go of the "religion" of that spot and opened up my eyes to what all it can mean... although, dont get me wrong, I still think of the church as a holy place, and I think kids should be taught the reverence of things, but when I only concentrate on the rituals & traditions of things, I tend to miss the greater joys and blessings
Another thing that rang true for me was the prayer and how I could think of someone easily who fit the description given.... "all those who are in some way bent low... bodies are bent... imprisoned between the rails of hospital beds... confined to wheelchairs... the crippled... the bedridden... the young whose bodies have stolen away their childhood... the elderly whose bodies have refused to let them grow old gracefully", and it makes me long for the day that all of these physical bodies & ailments will be put to rest, and we shall stand hand in hand, praising God for what He has done....
what stood out for me is Jesus calling her up in front of everyone and how embarrassing this must have been, and yet - she didnt hold back, she went up in faith and received a huge blessing because she obeyed...
now let me compare myself to this woman.... how many times have I NOT obeyed simply because I thought God was asking too much, I was too embarrassed to receive, or because I just didnt want to - telling myself that it couldnt be God, so I could feel free to ignore that calling.... and how many unbelievable blessings have I talked myself out of as well?
And how often have I been forced to grow like the religious leader? You know, for forever I saw the church as a holy place which should be respected, and I got so anxious with the kids crawling all over the altar rail - shouldnt their parents be controling them? God gave me a son to change my mind on that one - he doesnt care about the altar rail or what it is supposed to be used for, he likes to hold on to it and climb up on the ledge so he can see the preacher when he does childrens church - its a place of joy for him - and I never understood this until I let go of the "religion" of that spot and opened up my eyes to what all it can mean... although, dont get me wrong, I still think of the church as a holy place, and I think kids should be taught the reverence of things, but when I only concentrate on the rituals & traditions of things, I tend to miss the greater joys and blessings
Another thing that rang true for me was the prayer and how I could think of someone easily who fit the description given.... "all those who are in some way bent low... bodies are bent... imprisoned between the rails of hospital beds... confined to wheelchairs... the crippled... the bedridden... the young whose bodies have stolen away their childhood... the elderly whose bodies have refused to let them grow old gracefully", and it makes me long for the day that all of these physical bodies & ailments will be put to rest, and we shall stand hand in hand, praising God for what He has done....
posted by dangermama at
12:37 PM
5 Comments:
Maybe part of judgment day is seeing all the times we were invited and said, "no thanks, not this time." (My own list is enormous) but how lucky we are to have a God who keeps asking, in spit of all our "no's"
By
Claire Joy, at 1:17 PM
CJ, that's my same thought on judgment day, too. Oh, but that's gonna be a long list for me, too!
Addie, I love that you've learned to let go of some of the formality of church. Good for you! I, too, think there should be a certain amount of respect for church but there should be a certain amount of respect everywhere that God is and He is EVERYWHERE so okay...we all just need to go back to being a bit more respectful, period!
But its nice to hear you say that you're hearing the joy over the tradition. This has been the single biggest change in religion for me from when I was in the Lutheran Church as a kid and where I am now. I don't miss the joy any more and what I've found is that the more you look for it, the more you see.
Now that's my idea of God at His best. I can see Him standing above me saying, "You want more? Oh, I'll show you more!!!"
hee hee hee :-)
By
HeyJules, at 2:01 PM
yeah, I think judgment day will be like that as well...
I like that Jules - God at His best, saying Ill show you more.... he he
Im telling you, Gabe has taught me so much more about church and God than I have taught him, at least at this point... :)
which reminds me of part of the sermon this past Sunday - the pastor was talking about how Bill Cosby talked about creation and Adam & Eve and how everyone looks at them as the first parents, when really they were the first kids and God was the first parent, and how we push & test God sometimes, just like kids do and when He asks why did you do that?, we say "I dont know".... and how God said be fruitful after He threw them out of the garden, and made kids part of the curse b/c He said, here you go, see what you put ME through.... he he, just thought all that was funny.... :)
By
dangermama, at 2:57 PM
OH I used to LOVE that part of his comedy routine! It also reminds me of my favorite line ever in the entire series of Bill Cosby shows when he looks at Theo and says, "I brought you into this world and I can take you back out!" I nearly fell off my chair laughing!
By
HeyJules, at 3:06 PM
yes - we are big Cosby fans at our house... :)
By
dangermama, at 3:37 PM
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