Please enjoy this week’s spiritual service.
scripture
Christians Giving God a Bad Name
Ugh! Where do I even begin? I guess the best place is what is right in front of our noses as we seem to be living through some sort of apocalyptic fever dream created by a certain kind of so-called Christian. This apocalyptic fever dream is predicated on the defense of perceived white, straight- male privilege, fortified by the narcissistic belief of having been chosen by God, and enforced through illegal capture and incarceration. In this fever dream, there are those chosen by God and those who are the enemy. Those chosen are male of white, straight, European descent who claim to be Christian (and their complicit women). The enemy is everyone else.
These so-called chosen ones claim a white, male God who loves them and hates everyone else. They believe in a time of God’s choosing where they will be ushered into heaven while the remaining are cast into hell. They believe it is their duty to first impose and then enforce “God’s law” (as they understand it). Any and every means of enforcement is allowed and even celebrated. They consider themselves to be soldiers for God and many have the arsenal to show for it. Their God is the only god, and all other expressions of God are wrong. They celebrate power and wealth and worship the prosperity gospel – believing wealth is their divine right and that if they don’t have it, “the enemy” is at fault. It is therefore their right to destroy the enemy because the enemy is keeping them from what God wills for them. It is their duty to hate those who God hates.
These people call themselves Christian. They claim to know Christ, but I’m quite certain they do not. They may know some version of Christ that they learned from their parents or pastors, but I’m fairly certain if the Love that is Christ showed up in the form of Jesus – a dark-skinned Palestinian man – they would seek to crucify him. (interesting how history unhealed repeats itself).
The very human part of me becomes enraged when I hear people who call themselves Christian preaching racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and sexism. I want to go into battle when I hear Christians justifying evil as “God’s-will.” I want to throw bibles at those who believe it is their divine mission to ignore the needs of the poor and eradicate the programs that provide for their basic needs. I want to throw stones at those who believe food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare are solely the right of the privileged and not rights for all. I want to tar and feather them with the words of Jesus (and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) that say otherwise.
I want to but I won’t. While I feel insane hearing these people speak of their God and their divine rights, the compassionate part of me also understands what I can only imagine as deep, impenetrable wounds that would cause one to see right past the Love that is God and was modeled and taught by Jesus (and a whole slew of other great humans), and into the eyes of hate.
I don’t understand it. But, I wasn’t raised in a home or by a religion that taught me to hate. Sometimes, delivered by imperfect humans (we’re all imperfect), the messages caused confusion, and at times the messages were conflicting, but at the end of the day, I saw past the human imperfection to the Love that was either right in front of my eyes, or hiding beneath the surface. While divine punishment and threats of hell may have been uttered, Love always won out. I heard the Love louder than the fear and it is that which guided me to the “God” that I know today.
My “God” isn’t the old man in the sky (even though that image still persists). To me, God is Love (1 John 4:7). As Love, I can no longer imagine a hell or a devil whose job is to drag us there. God, to me, is not defined by form, but is omnipresent – PRESENT IN ALL THINGS. God is imminent and immanent. God is in us (Luke 17: 20-21) and all around us. God is everything and is Ain-Sof (the no-thing). God is the Source from which all things come forth and to which all things return. This Source is LOVE.
This is the “God” that I have come to know in being raised Catholic, thirty years of dedicated study of scripture including modern-day scripture scholars, and over sixty years of personal meditation, contemplation and prayer over the life of Jesus and his teachings. This Love/God is what has guided me on my path, initiated corrections when I veered from that path, and led me to the deep well of inner peace and contentment that can only come as one comes to know that Love.
When Christians give God a bad name, I think of this. I think of the God that I have come to know and the hate that is impossible in the face of this Love. I find myself sad for those who think they know God when all they truly know is hate. I wish and pray that one day Love will break them open and show them the peace, joy, and wonder that this Love brings, and how in the face of this Love all fear and separation falls away. I wish for them to realize the Love they are in this Love, and the Love that is in all things. I pray for them to understand that they, and all of creation are expressions of God’s Love. I want for them to have the change of heart that this understanding brings. This change of heart will then empower them to lay down their swords and replace them with Love. Love will then compel them on the path of goodness that knows we are here, not to serve our fear-driven desires, but to be and do the work of Love in the world – healing the sick, caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing shelter for the homeless, and setting captives free, as Jesus called us to do. In doing this, they will be proof of the time-honored hymn: “They will know we are Christians by our Love.”
Vetting the Magdalene
A week or so ago, I received what might be one of the greatest compliments I have ever received in my professional life. I was holding a one-on-one session with a recent enrollee of my Magdalene Training Program. This woman is an academic and an educator. As I often do, I asked how she found me and the training program I offer. Her response was something along the lines of: “I’ll be honest, I did a lot of research. I looked at your program along with several others and all I can say is, ‘you made the cut.’” She went on to explain her criteria which included:
- Based in scholarship.
- Rooted in scripture.
- Practical and applicable to real life.
- Anchored in contemplative practice.
- Embracing of Eastern and Western practices.
- Authentically transformational (in other words: it works!)
She also observed, “There is no ‘whoo’ in your program. To which I responded, “Hallelujah!”
You see, in the years that I have been studying the Magdalene and then creating and facilitating formation programs in her name, the Magdalene world has gone from purely academic, with very few of us speaking and teaching in her name, to almost wholly capitalistic – with literally thousands appropriating the Magdalene for their own convoluted purpose. Where once the Magdalene was solely an example of the fulfillment of Jesus’ teachings, the continuation of his ministry and living contemplative empowerment, she is now being used to sell everything from perfumes to tarot cards to so-called “sacred prostitution.” Further, all kinds of claims are now being made and marketed about the Magdalene – none of which can actually be proved.
In reality, we know very little about the Magdalene, except the few passages in scripture (many of which have been redacted), the mentions of her in non-canonical (often called gnostic) writings, and the legends that have been handed down throughout history by the people of Provence, France, the Sophian Gnostics, and the newly revealed Gospel of the Beloved Companion. Among all these resources mentioned, none of them can be proven as absolutely true.
The fact is, we just don’t know. As is true of scripture in general, nothing stands up to academic rigor. The same is true of the Magdalene. We can only make guesses:
- Is Magdalene a surname, place name, or title?
- Was the woman referred to as Miriam of Magdala from the town of Magdala (archaeology suggests not).
- What does it mean that this woman was “healed of seven demons?” (We can only guess)
- Who really witnessed the resurrection?
- What does resurrection even mean?
- What happened to Mary after Jesus’ death? (we only have legend to go on here).
- Did Mary travel to Britain? (maybe but doubtful).
- What about the whole “heiros gamos” thing (depends on how you define that – but on the surface, not likely).
- Was Mary an Essene (more than doubtful as the Essenes abhorred women).
These questions represent just the tip of the iceberg. There is absolutely nothing we can say about the Magdalene that is irrefutably true. The best we can do is gather the best research and develop guesses from there and when we stray from scholarship, being clear about the basis of what we are sharing.
What we shouldn’t do, however, is make claims about the Magdalene that have absolutely no basis in scholarship and then sell them as fact. The sad reality however, is that thousands of people are out there doing exactly this while convincing others to pay for goods and services that are based in pure fantasy. On behalf of the Magdalene, I’m offended by this, but she doesn’t need my defending.
The true Magdalene stands on her own.
This has been born out in the women and men who have participated in and completed the Magdalene (inspired) Training Program I have developed, journeyed through myself, and now facilitate. My program differs from other programs being sold in her name by these criteria:
- Based in scholarship.
- Rooted in scripture.
- Practical and applicable to real life.
- Anchored in contemplative practice.
- Embracing of Eastern and Western practices.
- Authentically transformational (in other words: it works!)
No, this work isn’t for everyone. It requires discipline, dedication, persistence, personal accountability, and self-awareness. In my own life and in the lives of those who have completed this program, the results speak for themselves. Participants come away knowing more about themselves, more about their own personal mission and calling, and have the tools to support themselves in moving past the obstacles to living a purposeful and meaningful life. No whoo here. No smoke blown up your ass. No false promises. No bullshit. Just resources and tools inspired by the Magdalene and the mission of Truth that she shared with her mentor, teacher, and friend, Jesus.
God: I Have Questions! (Part 1)
Straight Talk About God Part 1
In this series, I’m going to explore the topic of “God.” As a spiritual woman rooted in science and reason, I can’t help but question that thing that some call “God,” or rather, human beings’ creation of the “God” to whom they assign all kinds of images and meanings – based more on human behavior than on God Itself. This series will address these questions, not for the sake of providing proof of God or even an answer into the nature of God, but instead, to provide support for those like me whose lives have caused them to question what they were once told they must believe.
In the Catholic religion in which I was raised, God was a mystery and yet the Church, through doctrine and dogma, provided its own beliefs about God. As a post-Vatican II Catholic, my first lessons about the nature of God were all about love. God was Love. God loved us without condition. God was all-loving and loved every single human being wholly and equally. This unconditional love, however, was also tempered with the caveat that God did love Catholics more than those of other faiths. Additionally, while being all-loving, God was punitive, jealous and wrathful. More than God’s love, we were taught to attend to God’s judgment. Breaking one of the ten commandments or sinning against the Church would earn you an eternity in hell, or if you were lucky, an extended stay in purgatory. If you were extra lucky, you had loved ones praying for your soul’s release from purgatory so that you could enjoy an eternity in heaven (that special heaven reserved only for Catholics) that much quicker.
As you can imagine, these conflicting images of God created a fair bit of cognitive dissonance in me, and I would guess, in most Catholics. Is God loving or is God punitive? Exploring scripture didn’t help the matter. The Old Testament God was wrathful, played favorites and destroyed those who were not His chosen ones. The New Testament God was equally confusing. Was God Love, as John’s letters suggested, unconditionally forgiving like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son, or did he separate sheep from goats and cast hulls into the fiery pits of hell? The Church only compounded this confusion by heaping conditions upon God’s love. Only IF we were a Catholic in “good standing,” and free from sin could we enjoy God’s heavenly reward. Further, freedom from sin was dependent upon full participation in the sacraments. Everything, it seemed, was conditional, including your own membership and participation in the Church. Sinners weren’t welcome. The divorced were shunned. Those “living in sin” were condemned. And single persons (who didn’t choose vowed religious life) were held in contempt.
At the end of the day, God was a cause for confusion and depending on who you asked, their answers about God differed. From priest to priest, nun to nun, parent to parent, friend to friend, everyone had their own beliefs about God. What life has shown me, is that not a single one of them were correct. Here is where my reason steps in. How can any single human being comprehend the great mystery that is our origin in creation? How can anyone fathom the Source from which we came, assuming there is even a source. The scientific truth is that our planet, everything upon this earth, including humankind, could simply be a random mistake of nature. At some time in the distant past, the perfect grouping of particles came together and poof – we were made. Did some Divine hand orchestrate this creation or is it simply the workings of chance? These are the questions that come to my mind when pondering about God.
Being Salvation
In the Apocrapha of James (Nag Hammadi Library), Jesus makes a distinction between those who accompany him and those who pursue (follow) him:
“Instead of accompanying me, you pursued me.” – Jesus
Those who pursue (follow) are those Jesus identifies as:
- Listening but not hearing.
- Preaching but not living it out.
- Memorizing but not embodying.
- Chasing after Jesus as the cause of salvation without first being saved within themselves.
In this Jesus is calling out a kind of co-dependency among those who pursue rather than accompany – looking for an outside perceived authority to do the work of salvation for them.
In contrast, those who accompany Jesus, are known for:
- Coming to know the Love that they are in Union with Source – as Jesus himself did.
- Hearing Jesus’ teachings and applying them in their everyday lives.
- Applying these teachings and in doing so, being transformed through the healing of separation and the return to Oneness.
- Embodying Jesus’ teachings such that they understand that they are their own source of salvation.
- Achieving the salvation that can only come from within, as Jesus taught.
- Being that salvation in the world through the embodiment of Love such that others are inspired to discover and deepen that love within themselves.
- Understanding that salvation is only the beginning of the journey. It is being salvation that the purpose of our lives is fulfilled.
We are all pursuers at some point in our journey, but the ultimate goal, as it relates to Jesus, is to accompany him on that journey of inner salvation, and then being that salvation in the world so that others too might know the fullness of Love that they are and be that Love in the world.
PS: We don’t have to call ourselves Christian or proclaim Jesus Christ as “our personal Lord and savior” to apply his teachings, thus embodying our original nature as Love. The Love about which Jesus spoke is universal and meant for everyone regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or nationality.
Revelation, Rapture, and Apocalypse
With the recent (ongoing) war in Palestine and Israel, there has been an uptick in talk of the apocalypse, the rapture, and the end of days. This uptick is based on the belief of a fringe group of evangelical Christians that the return of Jews to the Holy Land and their eventual conversion to Christianity are both necessary for paving the way for “The Second Coming of Christ.”
Christian Zionism is an insult to our Jewish brothers and sisters and to the faith they rightly hold. It is also an affront to the Palestinian people who have been displaced and increasingly sequestered since the partition of 1948. Christian Zionism is a gross misrepresentation of what it means to be an adherent to the Love that Jesus embodied and taught. Finally, and the point of this writing, Christian Zionism’s beliefs are based on a grave misunderstanding of the writings of John of Patmos, specifically his creation of The Book of Revelation.
Throughout the centuries, The Book of Revelation has defied interpretation and has been used by many (if not most) to put forward their own fear-based agenda. The Book of Revelation falls within a specific and unique biblical genre, that of apocryphal writings. Apocryphal writings have one intention only: TO REVEAL. To reveal what is hidden. Unique to apocryphal writings are the language of code – a code that is known only to the community for and to whom they were written.
In the case of John of Patmos, he was writing to and for his own community of Christians who were suffering persecution under the Roman Emperor Nero. John was writing to remind them of the teachings they had already received. He was writing to encourage and support them in their ongoing endeavor to remember and live as Love – the Love that John learned from Jesus and that John was called to bring forth into the world. John wrote in a code that his community would understand. Like Jesus, John was writing in a symbolic language (parable), that would be fully understood by those who had received the fullness of Love, but which might confuse others.
The Book of Revelation was never meant to be a predication of future end times. It was not meant to herald “The Coming of Christ” as it has most often been perceived (Jesus coming out of the sky on a cloud to save all of humanity). It was not meant to predict plagues and horrors that would mark the end of days.
Instead, The Book of Revelation is an instruction manual for the inner journey of transformation. By following its instruction, we are each, in our own unique journey, led to the remembrance of Love, and supported in embodying that Love as Jesus did and as Jesus instructed his followers.
In embracing the guidance of this text, we will indeed experience “The Second Coming of Christ,” but not in the form of Jesus on a cloud. Instead, we will come to know The Christ within us and in this experience our own salvation. This is not a salvation experienced in some heaven light years away. Instead, it is the peaceable kingdom Isaiah foresaw, the promised land that Moses pursued, and the kingdom of God about which Jesus spoke. This is a salvation that is present within ourselves and when known, leads us to the Love, peace, contentment, understanding, compassion, and joy that is our true nature. In this Love, we know that all of humanity is One and that this oneness is independent of religion, race, nation, or belief.
Come and explore this mysterious and often confusing book of the Bible from a different perspective while reclaiming the role of the Divine Feminine as the true heroine of this epic mythological tale.
Victory of the Holy Bride shatters over 2000 years of patriarchal dogma that cast the Book of Revelation in the role of doomsday prophecy and presents to you the tools for discovering a profoundly simple truth that is the key to inner peace and the formula through which we endure the “times of tribulation” while building a whole new world – one rooted in peace, understanding, wisdom, harmony and love.
Surprised I Talk About Jesus?
People are often surprised to hear me talk about Jesus and even more surprised to learn that I teach about him. Actually, I don’t teach about Jesus, my teaching models his.
The Jesus I know may not be the same as the one you were taught about or the one whose teachings were twisted to fit the agenda of the patriarchal, hierarchical institution you belong to or were raised in.
The Jesus I know is Love – pure and simple. Love. In this Love there is no room for discrimination, bigotry, ignorance, or hatred. The Love that Jesus embodied does not judge, but treats each human being with dignity and respect, celebrating their unique giftedness and diversity while mindful of the woundedness they may carry. The Jesus I know embodied compassion and understanding, listened deeply, hearing the truth beyond the words, and seeing the truth beyond the illusion. This Jesus never sought to start a new religion, only to remind his own Jewish brothers and sisters of the Love that dwelled within them and of the Unity that existed beyond the division of religious dogma – the Truth their ancestors once knew but quickly forgot.
The Jesus I know is the Jesus before men hungry for power appropriated his name for their own political gain. The Jesus before politicians used his name to justify genocide. The Jesus before a Church was built in his name that then went on to commit horrors against those who refused to give up their own beliefs for a god made in Rome’s image, against innocent children, and against women and men who through the wisdom of nature and their ancestors had the power to help and heal. The Jesus before pulpit preachers attributed Jesus to their own fear-based message of hellfire and brimstone through which they could then exact pounds of flesh or coffers of coins from those willing to be manipulated by their words.
My Jesus is not Joel Olsteen’s Jesus, neither is he the Jesus used by the Church in which I was raised to claim themselves to be “the one true Church.” The Jesus I know didn’t die for our sins, but instead, died for the sake of the Truth of Oneness that he was called to teach (which in a way is dying for our sins). The Jesus I know came to heal the sick, liberate those imprisoned by their own unhealed wounds and conditioned fears. He came to open the eyes of those who refuse to see and the ears of those who prefer to turn a deaf ear to Love.
This is the Jesus I have come to know and if I speak of his name, this is the Jesus about whom I speak.
Oh yeah…..and the Jesus I know isn’t white.
God is Love. Love is God.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in them. In this is love brought to perfection among us… There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because God first loved us. 1 John 4: 16-19
God is Love.
Love is God.
This is the heart of Jesus’ message as it was understood by the author of the epistle attributed to John. To me, this is the single most important teaching of anything Jesus spoke or was quoted as saying, and truly all we really need to know.
God is Love, therefore Love is God.
Understanding this truth makes everything so simple. No longer do we have to argue over what Jesus meant. Neither do we have to question the inherent contradictions of scripture, or stand in conflict over matters of doctrine. With LOVE as the lens, everything becomes clear. If it reflects Love, it is of God. If it reflects anything other than Love, it is either man-made, or needs to be contemplated more deeply.
The second teaching of Jesus is that we are ONE with the Love that is God. We are not separate from that Love. It is only our conditioning and the reality of the human experience that causes us to feel separated from God or that God might separate Godself from us. Feeling separate from this Love is what causes us to feel unloved and to act in non-loving ways. Jesus shows us the way to remember that Love that is our true origin and original nature. He then proves that as we remember that Love we are healed of the false perception of separation. The more we remember Love, the more we live as Love and treat each other in loving ways.
The message and teachings of Jesus really are this simple. It’s only human beings that make it complicated.
God is Love.
Love is God.
Our Original Nature is Love.
Remember this Love.
Be that Love – in all ways, all the time, toward everyone.
This is the truth that Jesus taught. This is the truth that sets us free. Nothing else really matters.
Is Your God Too Small?
Growing up, I was taught that “God” is infinite (without limit), omnipresent (present everywhere, at all times), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and unconditionally loving. One teaching went to far as to define “God” simply and profoundly as love (1 Jn 4:16).
And yet, everywhere I look, even (especially) within the Church that taught me about God, I find human beings limiting “God.”
- “Sure God is unconditionally loving…..unless or except when…”
- “God loves you without condition, but if you disobey God, you will be condemned to eternal damnation.”
- “God is infinite, except when it comes to those things “not explicitly handed down by the magisterium.”
- “God is everywhere at all times, except in those who don’t believe in Christ.”
- “God is all-powerful, except when it comes to “Satan” or “Lucifer.”
I am continually amazed at all the ways in which human beings limit their “God.” It seems instead of coming to know the Divine, they are creating “God” in their own image: jealous, fickle, wrathful, vengeful, judgmental, hateful, prejudice, racist, etc.
How can one preach a God of love while simultaneously preaching a God of vengeance? How can one preach a God of welcome while preaching of a God who excludes? If I wasn’t a woman of reason, I might find myself confused. Instead, I find the answer to this quandary quite simple…an answer that has been given to us by the very guy who called God LOVE:
He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. (1 Jn 4:8)
As John points out, those who find themselves limiting God don’t really know God, and I find that very sad.
Loved in Our Brokenness
One of the greatest temptations of religion is perfectionism and the vanity that accompanies its pursuit. As a recovering perfectionist (and a Type 1/perfectionist on the Enneagram) I know this temptation all too well. Religion says “if you want God to love you, you need to be perfect in the ways we outline for you.” Religion also says, “If you are not perfect, God will not love you and God’s love will be taken away.” The result of this for many is the endless pursuit of perfection. Following the Ten Commandments. Living the Beatitudes. Adhering to the laws laid out by the institution.
The driving force of this pursuit of perfection is judgment. Religion tells us of a judgmental God – like an omnipotent Santa Claus keeping the list of who is good and who is bad. God’s judgment is then handed down to the clergy whose job it is to enforce “God’s” rules. This judgment then becomes part of our own conscience, where we are now the ones judging our own behaviors while also judging the behaviors of others. This cycle of judgment pits us against God, God against us, and us against each other. Separation is the result of this judgment as everyone is pointing a finger of condemnation at themselves while pointing the same finger at others. Here nobody wins and everybody loses as we are all caught up in the cycle of judgment and self-righteousness.
GUILTY!
This gospel reflects that cycle while, at the same time, turning the tables on religion’s paradigm of judgment:
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”LK 18: 9-14
Here Jesus’ message is obvious. God loves everyone the same and holds a special measure of compassion for those who are broken. In the reading, the Pharisee lauds his perfection. As a strict follower of The Law, he is certain of his salvation, perhaps rightly so. Some find contentment and peace in a black and white theology which lays out exactly what is needed to obtain “the kingdom.” For those who follow a similar way, the Pharisee would be seen as a good and righteous man, justified in his judgment of the tax collector. Jesus, however, turns the table. Instead of lauding the Pharisee, he elevates the tax collector – not because he was a righteous man, but because he was humble. Unlike the Pharisee who only saw his own goodness, the tax collector admitted his failings. He knew that he was broken and imperfect and that in his humanness he had done things contrary to The Law. (Tax collectors were viewed as “sinners” during the time of Jesus as they were working for Rome – the enemy, while also taking a fee for themselves (usury) for their work). Instead of judgment, Jesus invited his disciples to see the depth of God’s love through the life of the tax collector. Here is a man, doing what he needed to do to provide for his family. His job wasn’t perfect – but it was a job. Yes, the Pharisees raged against the work of the tax collectors and cast them in the role of sinners, but he was just doing what he had to do to care for his family. Because of his conditioning, he was made to feel guilty for his profession and confessed that guilt to God. Instead of standing before God lauding his greatness, he acknowledged his frailty, and the shame he felt in his frailty. He knew he was powerless to correct this “shame” and offered his brokenness up to God. And God loved him.
God loved him.
God loved him unconditionally. As Jesus described it, not only was the man loved, he was exalted! Does that mean that God loved the tax collector more? If we believe in an all-loving, unconditionally loving God, then no. It was not the Pharisee who needed comfort in his brokenness. As scripture describes it, the Pharisee did not believe he was broken. The tax collector, however, begged for God’s compassion (a better translation of the word mercy). And he got it. We don’t know how he received that compassion or what it may have felt like to him. Perhaps it was simply in the asking that the answer was received.
The same is true for each of us. There is not a single one among us who is not broken in some way. We all struggle with our fears, compulsions, unhealed wounds, self-and other judgment, gluttony, lust for power, wrath, envy, greed, sloth and pride. We are all broken. Either we acknowledge this brokenness and offer that up to God for love or, like the Pharisee we pretend our perfection and miss out on all the love God wants to give. Grace is the vehicle through which we know and experience God’s love and it seems there is a reciprocal relationship between our ability to acknowledge our brokenness and experiences of God’s Grace – not because it’s otherwise being withheld, but because we haven’t asked.
Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “Ask and it will be given.”
HMMMM
Lauri Ann Lumby 