Do birds contemplate flying? or do they just do it? I know they struggle at first. But do they ever doubt they are built for flight? "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them..."Matt 6:26

I am filled with troubled thoughts -- Do you think Mother Teresa would have stopped helping people if the Catholic Church decided that they weren't going to endorse her ministry? Do you really think she would have cared? She worked for Jesus. Not for money. Not for title. And not to accumulate crowns in heaven, either I dare say. No - she loved the people she served and she would have died serving them whether the church "permitted" her to or not. Maybe I'm idealizing her, but I really don't think so. She made a difference, one person at a time. Did she demand that they turn from their sinful ways and become Christians? No. She loved them, and told them that her Jesus loved them, and sent her to care for them. I don't think she ever wanted to be a saint when she grew up. It never occurred to her.

This is the kind of Christian I want to be.

I am reminded lately of a scene from Jesus Christ Superstar. The disciples are lounging together -- they had arrived. They were the inner circle. The cool dudes. "Always thought that I'd be an apostle, Knew that I would make it if I tried. Then when we retire we can write the gospel so they'll still talk about us when we die..." (Ouch--do we look like that...?)

Life here will never be fair. But it will always be beautiful. So beautiful that we will do everything in our power to generate just one more breath out of our tired bones. I hope before I leave this world, I will have touched my circle of influence (no matter how small) with a little more hope, a little more happiness, a little more love. I don't have time to wait for people to decide what is the "right" path for me -- even if I have 80 years left. I don't care if you know my name or if you invite me to be a leader in your church -- those trappings are so small compared to what we can accomplish without them.

++Feed us wisdom and courage to do your will in our world. Let us make a difference, one person at a time. ++ "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find..." matt 7:7

Hold Fast To Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow

...Langston Hughs

++Lord, I am surrounded by the squawking of broken-winged birds. Heal our wings, and let us fly.++


Blackbird (Lennon/McCarthy)

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

"the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. but if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. Matt 22 Take these sunken eyes, Lord. We want to really see...