truly tillichian day...

i have never thought that theology could make such a difference in practice...my silent, yet sometimes audible prayers of late have been "God give me the Courage to Be"...

as the hours have passed today, i finally became still and found my utterances before our Maker to be stirring within...in one moment, then another, then another, the moments added up to an hour...in this journey, i discovered that the Creator had indeed given me the courage to face the fear of my ownself...

which makes me wonder, why do we fear disappointing others? is it our own fear of not being able to handle it properly? or is it truly that we have no desire to fail those we love? as i sit now, i can think of several people in my life in which i will pray that they too will have the Courage to Be...it not only encompasses our own being, but the world around us as well...

the Courage to Be for my friends who have recently gotten married, and to those who are embarking on the wedding path...to love and be loved in return requires large quantities of courage...for all of you who trust so easily, may your courage grow even more...

the Courage to Be for the church in its new phase of chaos...our courage should be for the world and for the ushering in of the kingdom...maybe we need the courage to see that this chaos need not be...courage to love in the struggle- to see humanity from the lens of redemption is needed desperately...God give us courage to see it clearly- not just from our own point of view...

the picture of the tree above is from an artist i found while parousing blogs one night...i found a great source of inspiration as i looked at this photo that he entitled "gnarly tree"...i want to be like that gnarly tree...old enough to show the weathering of existence...strong enough to speak of tales of old...beautiful enough to be seen as an inspiration to others...rooted firmly enough in the earth from which i came so that it reminds me of my mortality without saying a word...

to know that i could utter the words- God give me courage- was enough to know that an Infinite Love was interested in me having it...

check out dave's pictures at: http://davidjohns.blogspot.com/