I spend a lot of time with the devil I know. A lot of us do. We are stuck in careers, relationships, routines, and ruts that we long to change, but don’t. There is a litany of reasons for this: fear, laziness, uncertainty, and lack of confidence. It boils down to the notion that the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t.
Maybe it’s because we believe things could always be worse that we are willing to settle with the status quo. Maybe it’s because change involves ripping off the duct tape that is holding us together while all our broken parts fall free. Maybe we are waiting for a miracle. Maybe today will be the day.
Maybe can be a terrible place to be. It’s the hell of purgatory without the hope of heaven. It’s wishing for different circumstances to determine your worth. It’s a waiting, a longing, and often, a loathing that has nothing to do with God.
God is truth. He doesn’t waiver and he doesn’t wane. He wants better for us than we want for ourselves. He would never ask us to settle. He made us to soar.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
I know many people who are more stuck than soaring. I can relate as I have always been afraid to fly. But I am tired of the devil I know. I am bored with his same old lies. Baiting us with fear, he snares us into believing we can’t do better, be better, have better. Read more →http://mercymatters.net/2018/10/09/made-to-soar/ ... See MoreSee Less
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Today is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi. Everyone (who's cool) loves Saint Francis because everyone (who's cool) loves animals. I thought it would be fun to go to the shelter to adopt a new pet today, but you know I have a husband and such ideas get hairy when they become reality.
One of my favorite things about Saint Francis is his service to others, which is beautifully expressed in the prayer of Saint Francis that begins “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love.”
If you can’t get a new furry friend today, sowing love sounds pretty cool, too. It’s not as easy sometimes to love people as it is pets, but all of us are strays of some sort. All of us are looking for love. All of us can be love.
“For it is in giving that we receive.” ... See MoreSee Less
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Today is Guardian Angel Day. I reckon it is a lot of work to be a guardian angel: to keep vigilant watch, to catch someone before they fall, and to nudge wayward souls back onto a straight path. It’s probably akin to herding cats, raising teenagers, or trying to fold a fitted sheet.
It’s kind of humbling to think someone loves us enough to bother with all that.
I imagine them flying high above me, with wings that hide me from harm, sharing a sliver of their serenity with the sordid world that surrounds. Lighting the path, pointing the way, and protecting us from the messes we so often make – all that we may join them someday. All, that we may soar to heaven’s gate.
My guardian dear, indeed. ... See MoreSee Less
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I just celebrated another birthday. Besides wilting skin, the imaginary birthday girl tiara on my head, and the presents I intend to buy myself, I think of the song Birthday by the Beatles on my 365th day of orbit around the sun. Anthony Michael Hall sings it to Molly Ringwald in the film, Sixteen Candles. “They say it’s your birthday, well it’s my birthday too, yeah!”
Whether it’s your birthday too, or just another day when age sixteen feels really far away, there are a lot of lessons birthdays teach.
This is what I learned from mine:
Birthday lists are important: Every year my husband pesters me to tell him what I want for my birthday, and every year I can’t think of one single thing to get. Yet, there are many things I want. I just talk myself out of them because I don’t want to clean puppy pee off the floor. Birthdays give us a chance to consider what we want. For many of us, that feels uncomfortable. Still, it’s important to know what you want in life, because it’s short, and precious, and as far as we know, we only get one shot at it. What do you want?
Gifts are great: Who doesn’t like opening presents?! It’s so fun to size up the box, give it a little shake, and then rip the pretty paper off that is suffocating the thoughtful gift inside. I haven’t always thought of my life as a gift. I have taken it for granted, given away too many days to sour thoughts and staid reflections. READ MORE: mercymatters.net/2018/10/02/birthday-lessons-for-everyday-life/ ... See MoreSee Less
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Being a mama to two teenage boys sometimes feels like I am in an unreciprocated relationship.
I give. They take.
I speak. They look at me like it’s in a different language.
I cheer. They are embarrassed.
I hold on. They remind me it’s time to start letting go.
Today, I came home and my son who stayed home sick from school, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, lit a candle, picked a flower, made a card, and laid out some chocolates. He gave me a hug and told me happy birthday.
Shocked, I felt his forehead to see if he was delirious.
Tomorrow is my birthday. Today is my gift. Today I receive. Today I feel appreciated, loved, and so incredibly grateful. What a beautiful reminder that unwrapping these teenage years isn’t as one-sided as it sometimes feels, and that the simplest kindnesses are always the best gifts. ... See MoreSee Less
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