We must learn to pray out of our weaknesses so that God can become our strength." - Joan Chitister
I found this passage tonight. It was posted in Sojourners' Verse and Voice. Joan Chitister calls us to do much more than dig ourselves--individually, and collectively--out of a hole--a hole of bravado. We shudder at--we deny--the very presence of weakness in our lives.
Weakness. "Not in my backyard."
Weakness. We don't know how to live with it--in our lives, much less in our selves.
Strength. We cannot live without it in our lives--in our world.
Weakness. What does it mean? Strength. What does that mean?
We are at a defining moment in our lives--in our world. Why? What is so special about this moment? Is it just because Joan Chittister's passage was selected by Sojourners today? I think not.
In my personal life, surgery prompted me to confront bodily strength and weakness. Realizing that now I may walk without pain raises the question, "How long has it been?" Last spring, perhaps? If not, when? I do not know. I denied my weakness.
My surgery was designed to treat my "weak" ankle---my weak foot. In four to six weeks, I thought should be at full strength.
A cure is resignation's salvation--pain's hope. Yet, a cure is more elusive than salvation's promise to us. A cure is a dangerous temptation. His return on investment is shallow, at best. Pain's hope must be deeper than a cure. Pain's hope is far from easy. Yet, openly willed each day, it is far more fulfilling than any cure could ever be.
May we meet this day with a strong will--
A conscious choice to embrace what is life-giving.
May our strong will be a declarative act of living,
Rather than a defiant part of speech.
No comments:
Post a Comment