07-12-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 12, 2023
How do you deal with hurtful words? How do you, in the words of my wife, let them roll off you like water off a duck? The staff and I talked about this yesterday during staff meeting, and I had before us the words from 1st Peter 5:7, "Throw all your anxiety onto God, for God cares about you." How do you throw your anxiety (frustration, anger, or hurt) onto God? It’s a beautiful image, but what if you're recovering from rotator cuff surgery or your back ain’t able to lift what it used to lift? Does throwing your anxiety onto God really require any lifting? I don’t believe so, but the poetry is beautiful. In fact, I think we can simply walk away from the things that have caused us anxiety and frustration. Sometimes I use imagery within my prayer, where whatever it is that has caused this emotional irritation, I see myself holding it and then setting it down. I feel separation from it, and then I walk away. The final thing I imagine is God with a big broom and dustpan sweeping up what I left behind and disposing of it where I won’t ever stumble across it again. I can’t say it works perfectly, but it does help.

Allow the gift of imagination that you provided me, O Source of Life, to be one of the tools I use as I seek the best version of myself possible. Amen.