Day 328 Make Like Leaves and Change

Dear friends

I am exceedingly grateful for the many people in my life who challenge me to live with more passion for God and a more zeal to live beyond the mundane. My natural, hobbit-like tendencies to “sit by the fire and read a book”, need to be shaken up so I can actually do a little good in my tiny sphere of influence. Catastrophic car crashes are fabulously helpful toward this end. But I still need encouragement and the occasional kick-in-the-pants to awaken me to the continued threat of inertia. Pastor Dave the Humble gets the gold star today for doing that for me.

If I were you, I would just go ahead and listen to today’s sermon for yourself on the DFG link on the sidebar. But to sum it up, PD reminded us that it’s the Great One’s job to cleanse and empower us and give grace for each day. But it’s our job to avail ourselves of the limitless advantages of the “life that is truly life”. At some point, friends, to paraphrase the inimitable C.S. Lewis: “We’ve got to tell our emotions where to get off”. If your feet feel like they’re in spiritual concrete, don’t despair. Ask for the strength to move an inch, then another. The tiniest effort by the frailest man leads to the Herculean strength of a willing God to help us.

My sweet husband and I prayed together today for the courage to make some changes that won’t be easy. Habits and attitudes get ingrained and need a good bit of forward momentum to roll away the stone. In particular, we need to tackle a few obstacles on the pilgrim road in the way we respond to our children. Our kids are the delight of our hearts, truly our earthly treasures. It’s worth learning to do things differently for their sakes, and the sake of our decedents. Good lord, can you imagine the DNA for drama given a few more generations! But that’s another story…

It’s October, and millions of maple leaves are hovering over my lawn planning their attack. All of a sudden one day they will come loose with some help from the wind. They’ll look lovely floating down onto my lawn. The smell of dry leaves will remind me of the days I walked home from school in my plaid skirt and knee socks. And the wind will remind me of the power of the invisible to crack the power of inertia.

Enjoy this brief season of the absolute splendor of color and light. Fall leaves me positively slack jawed with amazement. The Author of Life does His annual parade of color, and all I can do is drink in the wonder. And shout out the praise. For life. For love. For the power to change.

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann