one of life's mysteries

      Healing seems to come as you learn to see all the unhealed parts of yourself with compassion. It's one of life's mysteries. 

“Some people have very harsh interior critics, so they are always berating and labeling themselves. We need to practice loving ourselves.” Br. David Vryhof

“[A]s you love yourself.” Mark 12:31

come alongside

      When you see wounds (including yours), do you come alongside with compassion?

“We are called to be the Good Samaritan – to come alongside, accepting the other as he is.” Dr. James Houston

“A man . . . fell among robbers . . . and they left him half dead. . . . A Samaritan . . . saw him and felt compassion . . . and bandaged his wounds. . . .” Luke 10:30, 33-34

 

alive

      If you took every small chance (on the road or in conversation or in line) to love people today, you’d probably be more alive by nightfall.

“The man said, . . . ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ And Jesus replied, ‘Correct. Do this, and you will live.’” Luke 10:27-28

Father, please make me alive with Your love today.

enough and thank-You

      You can’t really enjoy what somebody else owns until you learn to say two things well: enough and thank-You.

“Want what you own.” Unknown

“The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need. . . . My cup brims with blessing.” Psalm 23:1, 5

 

the little world within

      When you take an honest look inside and don’t like what you see, it’s a relief to remember that you’re not on your own.

“He who is the God of the great world around us is the God of the little world within.” George Body

“God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what is good and pleasing and delightful.” Philippians 2:13 

an invitation to joy

      What if giving up your place in the conversational sun is more than a should? What if it’s an invitation to joy?

“[T]o put aside . . . [your] own desires for a place in the conversational sun in order to see the world through the eyes of this other person. . . .” William Barry and William Connolly

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy.” John 15:11