At times, often all to brief, I think I understand just how much God cares about you and I. This is not a cosmic understanding of care; it is a short insight into the singular, personal, and intentional mystery of God reaching out one by one to express Her true feelings. The experience overwhelms and always leaves me profoundly different.
This past weekend was an intense experience of feeling totally and utterly out of control. I was unable to stay awake, cold sweats were the norm, and talking was a premium that did not last very long. God's response was to encourage his kids to reach out and extend arms of love. I know others would tend to dismiss the events as a normal outcome of friendship, but I know that it is more! The coordination, consistency, and abandoned actions of a group of people who have never met came together as tightly as the grip of a mother in love. He even used my closest friend to remind me of how fragile and special life is.
This preparation is not something unique or new. “Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons, and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather, and set Sky firmly in place, I [Wisdom] was there.” (Proverbs 8.26,27,28) Wisdom is merely compassion in action.
It is too easy to look at life and say through our choices that we have higher priorities. At times, the events are overwhelming. Children are dying from the diseases of their parents. Kids behave as terrorists because they have never experienced life in a world where people unconditionally care for each other. Society states that it is more important to exact a price for a horrendous decision than nurture a young person's response to God's offer of mercy and acceptance.
I have no complete answers for the hatred, anger, and need for revenge in the world around me. I do know that I can follow the pattern given by others to me. Thanks God in all your faces for the gifts of love and caring.
