Brewed to Perfection

When I think about the Father’s love, sometimes, I’m surprised. Other times I’m moved. Because I can be so choosy with my love, the fact that my Father loves me so incredibly can be difficult to take in. Just plain hard to swallow. It’s not that I don't want his love. I do. I mean I can't live without it…she types selfishly… But if I am to accept his love, let him love me, something has to change. I have to allow him in and love others through me and this allowing love to flow through is not for the faint of heart. It calls for us to love with His love. Love that doesn’t ask for anything in return. And, it calls for us to love ourselves. I read the lives of the Saints, and I think, "Yeah! That's awesome!" Then, I come to my senses. Could there be a way to have the awesomeness of the Saints without the struggle and pain that they went through? I really don't think so. It seems that in order for God's love to flow through us or in us we have to move out of the way. Blessed Mother Teresa says it well, "It is very important for us to realize that  love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise there is no true love in me, and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me." But, I think in the greatness of the Father's love, there is hope.

Like a tea bag changes water during steeping, so, too, do we change while God is pouring his love in. In order to get the flavor of the tea just right, the water has to be purified and hot. Any sediment would change the structure of the brewed tea. The cloud of tea reacting with the water would not be able to flow freely throughout the cup. Tea doesn't brew very well in cold water, so even the water has to be brought into the right temperature. If we are to allow God to love us, then his love must be able to flow through us; love seeks others, seeks love…wants to give of itself. That means that any sediment has to be removed, and we might need to be heated to let that happen -enter the Holy Spirit enkindling heat for God's love- This chemical reaction, love of God penetrating our inner being can be scary. It can hurt to have to remove all that stuff that has settled. But, if we don't, like Mother T says, we risk reaching out for others selfishly, not out of loving with God's love, but loving others with even just a twinge of what we might get out of it. Therefore, the pain is worth it.

So, this completely giving over is tough. Sure God is with us, but the thought of tearing out, to be freely his can makes me not want to let him. I know that he loves me and will take care of me, but my heart can be stubborn and want to keep things ‘surfacey’. But, where's the love in that? Where's the joy in that? ‘Surfacey’ living is stale, cold, and lifeless, and we were meant to be on fire! So, I offer my stubborn heart, ask for grace and cling to him for dear life.

Christmas through the Year

If we want to get t o know the Father and His love, we need to get the know His Son. A sure, beautiful path to get to know Jesus is through His Mother, Mary. She, who conceived Him through the Holy Spirit, who offered her body as the Tabernacle for Him to grow, and who bore Him can teach us how to love Him and to know Him.

Let’s visit Mary and Jesus at the manger, that humble, yet sacred crib. At Christmas, He is brought us anew each year as an infant, lowly and helpless. Christmas wasn’t that long ago, but I feel somehow that He’s still waiting in the manger to be picked up by the humanity He came to save.

What if we were to go to the place He was born? What would that even be like to see the Mother of Our Lord adoring Her Son, our Savior?

I think she would tell us who He is… “He’s come for you. He’s small, but He loves you very much.”  Then, I think, just as she is given to us at the Cross, Mary would cradle her Son in her arms and hand Him over to us to hold…to behold…because He came for us, and she wants us to fall in love with Him.  If we take Him, our hearts would soften as He’s there in our arms.

We look into His eyes and feel His weight, our little King.  As His head nestles under our chin and our hearts are aligned, would we feel Him embrace us as we hold Him? During this tender moment, we are vulnerable just as He is. And, perhaps, that’s when we understand our need for Him and this love that He’s already shown…this love that brings us to the One who sent Him…Our Father who set all this wild, incredible process into motion, so that we would know His love.

What if, even when it’s not Christmas, we went to His manger to behold and embrace Him? I think our days would be different and our hearts would be transformed if every morning we greeted Him, swooped Him up in our arms and got ready for the day. How would carrying this precious Gift with us throughout the day, change us? By carrying Him throughout the day, would we, as we talk to Him, care for Him, and let others hold Him, themselves, change the world?

Our Father sent His Son into this world as a needy, lowly, sweet baby. I think the purpose of this was so we could relate, or at least come to see our neediness and dependence but to also not leave Him there. That we need to bring Him up out of the manger and and into our messy lives and broken hearts to see that with Him, our lives make sense, have purpose.  We need that Baby, our Gift for Eternal Life and our Guide in this one, all through the year. He needs us everyday to carry Him so that He can embrace us and, in turn, others can be held by Him, too.