Our Father

Today's Father's Day. We celebrate the nurturing influence of fathers and grandfathers in our lives. While I like the aspect of God as Our Father, He also transcends this humanly comparison. In historical times when the Bible was written, Fathers played a crucial role in both society and the family. They were seen as the head of the household. Fast forward to today and we realize that not all fathers stick around to lead families and at times mothers are the only guiding force for the family unit. Even when present, many fathers do not convey the "fathering" role that most likely think of when speaking of God, Our Father. But this is all neither here nor there....just some rambling thoughts to start out the post.....

God as our Father creator of all, is ever present. Sometimes we feel His loving guidance and other times we start to wonder if he's working late at the office. Be assured, He is there but perhaps being blocked by our own resistance to his guidance. We are like constantly questioning teenagers, a bit rebelling in nature and perhaps just a little smug, thinking we know more about the world today than God.

But unlike humanly fathers, God does not get defensive or angry, or let his own emotional expectations and needs influence how He interacts with us. He is constant in His love and waits patiently for us to hear His voice. I do not think he even gets "disappojnted" in us....instead He recognizes where we are and lets us wallow there for a bit if we must. When we make the "wrong" choices, he waits patiently for us to discover that the path we are on is not the one we are destined to travel.

We are His creation but he does not seek to control us....guide yes but control no. What a wonderful unique and blessed relationship. As we seek a deeper spiritual relationship with God, He brings into our lives the words, the people, the events to send us in the right direction. Thank you Father for your love and patience.

Hugs to each of you and may the guiding influence of God send you on the path of spiritual growth and everlasting joy.

Goodness and Senseless Acts

Waking up on a beautiful June morning to hear about another senseless act of violence started me thinking about goodness....that allusive quality that is one of the fruits of the spirit, a kernel of it contained inside us, protect that kernel, cultivate it so that it is not distorted and used for the exact opposite.

God gave us a present, a soul, a tiny sliver of himself, that is part of our journey toward our spiritual reunion with Him. So often that little part of ourselves is ignored. Why? Is it so hard to find, lost in the tangled maze of life?  Is it easier to choose a different path? Are we so easily led astray by worldly beliefs?  We so often despair that as individuals we can do little to "right" the wrongs of this world. But if each of us, individually lived with "all" our soul than wouldn't life fit together a little easier.

God calls us to love. Hate is not love, killing people is not love, making people suffer is not love. God knows his stuff! He knows what it takes to survive life here in the human domain. He gave us the directions to put together a meaningful, fulfilling life. Please pray for Orlando, Paris, Aurora, Belgium, (I won't continue as you get the point). Pray to whatever higher spirit you seek. Pray if you don't even believe. (I mean seriously it can't hurt, right?)

Hugs to each and everyone who reads this post. May the goodness of the gift God has given you shine forth in this world of darkness. May His hope bring hope into your life, piece by piece, bit by bit, we can make a difference.

June Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

Do you ever find yourself puzzling over a word or concept? Trying to figure out exactly HOW it might play out in your life. Twisting and turning it around and around like a puzzle piece that just seems "lost" among the bigger picture.

Goodness is a simple word for a very general and broad range of descriptors of character and conduct. How does that apply to God? And how does that apply to us in our daily lives?

Sounds sort of simple right? WRONG! How does one define good and worthy of approval?  I would bet there are some whose definition of that would be quite different than one might expect.

I sort of like this idea about goodness but it doesn't really cover it totally. But the ideas of honesty and transparency and being the SAME does round out the definition. One cannot just think of "good" as following the rules. There are some rules that are oppressive and create inequality and sometimes even worse things. Blindly following the rules doesn't equal being good.

The power of good is strong.  It is in some ways small but mighty. Can we right all the wrong in the world?  Maybe, maybe not, but we can right all the wrong in our own personal interactions.

Plant the seeds of good in your life, find them in your interactions, grow them in your communities, work places, and the world will blossom.

Hugs to each of you, seek goodness and find it every day.