The Way We Were (and need to be again)...

"Before we had stifled the cross into a symbol, before we have softened grace into a sentiment, before we had systematized power and the mystery of God's greatest revelation of Himself into a set a dogmas, were children..." - Rich Mullins

And we need to become children again...

And don't you remember when we were those kids?  We believed every stable was sacred because Christ had been born in a stable... and every star we saw shining in the night sky was that star...and every bush could burst into flames at any moment...and giants could be slayed with five little rocks...and there was always more than enough bread to share...always 12 loaves left over...and we loved hugs because Jesus did...and lilies were our favorite flower and we loved picking the flower heads right off and carrying them into the house to Mom...and the trees had hands to clap and the mountains had voices...and angels really sang and we could hear it and sing with right along...and love was irrepressible...and we cut and pasted for the sheer joy of it...and we made mud pies because He could make people see with just spit and mud...and we ran for the love of running and we laughed so hard till our sides hurt...and we got scared and we saw the world as a REAL place full of REAL dangers, with REAL beauty and REAL rights and wrongs...and we prayed powerful, profound prayers...

Prayers so direct and wonderfully candid and we are embarrassed now when we remember them...we knew they went straight to God and we gave in to faith...when we were little...we knew we could meet God and Jesus was in our hearts...and we didn't understand, but we do not understand it anymore now than we did then..and then we grew up and...

We became big and heavy with thinking and burdened with worry  and we gave into doubt and dreariness and we rose above our own understanding and we learned to be afraid of ourselves...

So if the we believe the cross (and thank God it is) to be more than symbol...if we believe God's grace is more than sentimentality (and it is)...and we if believe God is not the product of some human imagination (and God is not)... then what choice do we have but to become kids again...

To see every star as a promises already fulfilled...to see every stable as a temple...to see every flower as guarantees that we do not need to worry...to see the birds as evidence that all are needs are already met...to know we are beloved children of God...to run hard...to laugh long..to dance because God delights in dancing...to give ourselves over to faith...and we will have come home again to the God's Kingdom and we will know it is our home and we will know that God delights in us...and we will be those children once more...

"of such is the Kingdom of Heaven..."

Grateful today for Grace  in every moment...  in sharing jellybeans with little boys...in hugging boys after ballgames...in walking in gardens...and eating lunch outside...in the sunshine...in the blooming dogwoods...in the flowers that are dancing...in the trees clapping their hands...it is all grace...

Kathleen