As some of you know, I suffer from a wonderful disease known as cluster headaches. These are headaches that come once a year for about 6 weeks, I can get two a day and if I don't get my meds in me fast enough I can be laid out for hours. Well - they are back.
I normally get these at the end of July, this year they started a little early and I wasn't prepared for them. With everything else going on, I neglected to stock pile my meds, and so this morning I was out for about 4 hours.
As I was laying down dealing with these headaches, I started thinking about being prepared. What a difference it makes when we are prepared for whatever we may be facing, and what pains can come if we are not prepared.
Jesus knew about this preparation thing quite well. Not only did he know how things were going to go for him - since he knew the prophecies about his life and death - but he also knew about preparing us for what may come. One place we hear about this is in John's gospel where Jesus says - I go to prepare a place for you.
Jesus also prepares us by empowering us with different gifts in our lives - gifts that help us look to the future. One way we discern what these gifts are is by looking at our passions - what we love to do and are good at doing. We all have different passions, different gifts, different things we are good at.
So today, as we reflect on what we are good at doing and passionate about - may we all take the time that is needed to prepare our selves for what God is planning for us.
2 comments:
Yup, we all have our passions--our gifts. Sometimes it's hard to find what we're good at. It takes time to actually see we have gifts. Sometimes, other people need to point out those gifts to us. Cooking isn't one of my gifts--at least no one has ever told that I have a gift for cooking. And gifts shouldn't be weighed. I mean, one gift doesn't have more worth than another.
"Jesus knew about this preparation thing quite well. Not only did he know how things were going to go for him - since he knew the prophecies about his life and death - but he also knew about preparing us for what may come."
And yet, even Jesus attempted to escape what he was prepared to experience. He asked the Father to take the cup from His lips, if possible, if it was the Father's will, but if not, well, He was prepared.
In this sense, I have always marveled at how HUMAN Jesus was. Who among us would not try to get out of being crucified? But Jesus put his life in the hands of God the Father. And, just as with us, sometimes God says no, and we have to go through an experience we would rather not.
I like to repeat the verses that say that, "Everything works for good that comes from Christ Jesus."
I may not be able to see the good, but it is there. Maybe there is even a blessing in having cluster headaches. They force a person to slow down, lie down, meditate and wait for healing.
Here's hoping the healing comes quickly, but also that the rest and meditation are fruitful.
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