Friday, March 16, 2007
Lent Reading Day 21
The Birth of Jesus:
"GOD IS WITH US." Someone in my church tells me this every time I have her on the phone or talk with her in person. It strikes me for she says it as a reminder, to give encouragement to others, to confirm that good stuff is happening, and even to give herself - and others - hope in hard times. What then does it mean that the name of the savior in the Christian tradition, of God becoming human, is God with us - a statement, a proclamation, a reminder, and a challenge. What does it mean for me?
This week has been a roller coaster of ups and downs: emotional, physical, mentally, and socially. Our 2 year old daughter broke her leg - on my watch of course! - and then we heard the final word about our daughter's placement for kindergarten both in the Oakland Public Schools and the Private Schools of the East Bay. I've been moving anxiously towards this week for about 3 months now...terrified of what we'd learn, of the choices we wouldn't have to make. Feeling so hopeless, I forgot and still do this promise that "God is with us." If anything I've gone from moments of feeling that "God is absent" even to the extreme that "God might be against us" or at best "indifferent." I think the challenge for me in all of this is that I struggle with what it means that "God is with us" - does that mean protection, blessing, solidarity in hard times, a guardian-angel presence on our shoulders, or an invitation to risk radically in challenging situations?
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