“Live your life so that those who need you can find you.” Does that phrase feel overwhelming or freeing? Personally I alternate between feeling overwhelmed and free, but today I lean toward free.
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Just now there seems to be so much need in the world and so much loss. We humans have set climate forces in motion, destructive to our own lives and the rest of creation. Wars continue, and the one that technically just ended leaves many displaced and even more uncertain about the immediate future, including food and clothing. The pandemic and the usual economic forces of greed lead others to similar struggles as well as having to deal with isolation and loss.
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So, how are we living when there is so much need around us? Who needs us? How much can we really do?
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Here’s how it’s going forward for me:
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— I seek to awaken each day with the question my late friend Barbara asked: Lord, what do you have for me to do today? And then I seek to let the day unfold with its plans and welcome the detours, which might just be God’s plans. So much less frustrating and less stressful to live into God’s plans.
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— I let my light shine even if it seems to be embarrassing. This is much easier as I get older, but I recall having fun just being me even long ago when I decided I might as well wear a fuchsia suit to all those meetings where I was the only woman among gray-suited men.
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— Shining is sharing gifts whether these are cooking, reading aloud, writing, listening, music, laughter, gardening, accounting ..
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— I, an old white lady, intentionally try to enter into others’ perspectives, especially black, brown, indigenous, poor, and the LBGTQ community. Novels are an excellent entry-point as are conversations from a position of trust and curiosity.
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And, let’s not forget about joy.
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— The laughter and the music of our lives are important. Let’s live so others can join in our laughter, our singing (even off-key), and our sense of being loved.
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I sit and write this as a beloved family member listens to a Beatles’ playlist on with all those early love songs. I feel blessed.
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May we live in the peace, joy and freedom of Christ.
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May our lives shine forth in the dark corners which need light
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May those who need us find us.
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*Balinese dancer, with thanks to Jan Phillips
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