Thought #1: Snuggies are Satan's secret weapon. This week one of the teens brought one into the youth room, and I was anxious to try it out even though I think they're hideous. The thing was SO warm and snuggly and cozy I never wanted to get out of the chair again. At one point in the afternoon, a teen actually ADDRESSED me as Snuggie, and I ANSWERED! She shrieked and said, "No, it's taking over you!" Well, by the end of the afternoon, that teen told me I could keep the Snuggie. But the thing is an occasion of sin, I swear - it makes you want to stay in your little blue cocoon on the couch and never come out.... hear me, readers: Snuggies are an agent of sloth.
Thought #2: I've been reading some great books lately, so I thought I'd drop a few titles: The Five Love Languages Singles Edition by Gary Chapman, Boundaries by Cloud & Townsend, and The Poisonwood Bible by... what the heck is her name. Reading is so nourishing to me. I think I should look into audiobooks more, at the suggestion of a dear friend. I think there should be a Catholic Audio Bible read by Scott Hahn, or John Bergsma. I would pay for that.
Thought #3: I want to go back to Ireland. I'm thinking of trying to motivate myself to lose a certain amount of weight, and if I do it, I get to go to Ireland.
Thought #4: There is usually more than one way of looking at things. I have told my teens so many times about the importance of communicating when they're having issues with each other, and had to take that advice myself this past week by having a conversation I was dreading with a friend. Why is it, do you suppose, that we hesisate and even cringe at the idea of dealing directly with conflict? My theory? Our culture has maimed the idea of Christian charity into this crappy idea of "being nice". How often do you hear, "That's not nice", "Can't we be nice" or the like? I think American culture holds up "being nice" as the ultimate virtue, but you know what? Going through your whole life with the lofty goal of never saying anything to upset anyone else is an impoverishment of the dignity we should be bestowing on each other. It falls so short of the gentle kindness we should exude if we're living in the Spirit. I think trying to be nice can lead people to avoid conflict, because being upset with someone else isn't nice... but that's not really loving or kind. We should DEAL with problems directly. I say this because I actually did deal with one of my own last night, and we had a peaceful conversation that settled the issue AND made me feel much better, especially being able to be honest with him.
Thought #5: This past weekend a cousin came to visit. Without going too much into detail cuz I don't want to mess with my fam's privacy, this poor kiddo has had to deal with a lot and it breaks my heart. My mom called to let me know he'd be spending the weekend with us, explaining what was going on. As I listened to her, it occured to me that an outside person might look at the story and say, "How can God let this happen?" It's the age-old question: If God exists, why does he let us suffer? (I never understood this: We all know that good parents sometimes allow their children to go through painful things for their own good).
A man I worked with this summer responds this way: "It's not how can God let this happen - it's how can YOU let this happen? God is relying on YOU." We live in a fallen world with weak people. We are weak, too. Yet, God give us the responsibility to love and care for each other, to be His presence. The next time we witness the kind of suffering that drives us to our knees or would lead us to ask where God's love could be in the midst of it, we must BE that love.
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