How do you share your gifts and care for the earth, others and yourself?
We began by reflecting on the second reading where Brian D. McLaren states, “The same forces that hurt widows and orphans, minorities and women, children and the elderly, also hurt the songbirds and trout, the ferns and old-growth forests: greed, impatience, selfishness, arrogance, hurry, anger, competition, irreverence – plus a theology that cares for souls but neglects bodies, that focuses on eternity in heaven but abandons history on earth.” The idea that hurry is hurtful is something that we all need to spend a little time thinking about. When is hurrying not helpful? What do you miss when you are hurrying through life?
As we discussed hurrying and missing things, I thought of this story I saw on Oprah. A stay at home Mom was not enjoying her life and not noticing the sacred in the everyday; she was given the opportunity to spend the day with Stephanie Nielson, a Mom, who suffered severe burns and almost died in a plane crash. Stephanie is a mother of 4 and this video shows her daily struggle and the revelations that came to Andrea the stay at home mom after her experience.
http://www.oprah.com/media/20090924-tows-stephanie-struggle-crash
So why are we hurrying through life? I know I need to be a little easier on myself and realize that sometimes it is the simple moments that are truly God moments.
When we discussed the reading from Mark 10:17-31 I always think about what we are being asked to give up, and I think we are not being asked to give up things as much as to share my gifts which God has given to me and to care for others and the world. I know this seems simple but we all know it is not easy. The question of what do I need versus what do I want is just one of the many questions I struggle with. We talked about how we use the resources we have. What are we good stewards of and what could we do better? One of the things I am still struggling with is the amount of food I am wasting. My husband and I bought a share in a farm so we get vegetables each week and sometimes I do not have time to prepare the food for storage and it goes bad. I am doing better this year than last year but it is time consuming and I do not like to let anything go to waste. I have also noticed that I am much more purposeful in how I run my errands so I am not going out for just one thing but I am going out with a plan. I am one of those people who have a lot of stuff and sometimes I feel I really need to get rid of some of it, but again that takes planning and time. It is also difficult for me to figure out what the best use of my stuff would be.
It is easy for me to help others and to share my gifts, in the community or at church, but when it comes to taking care of me I am not always the best at doing that. I want to end my reflections with a quote from the song Messages by Xavier Rudd.
With each gift that you share
You may heal and repair
With each choice you make
You may help someone’s day
Well I know you are strong
May your journey be long
And now I wish you the best of luck
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