Father David makes a big deal out of getting the rituals right and keeping things beautiful. Today on this Fourth Sunday of Lent he wanted us to wear pink or rose. I really had to dig through my vast wardrobe to find something but came up with a plaid tie with a substantial amount of pink so I was cool. In his homily he talked about joy and the gift of joy. The gift of joy meaning that it is something that we receive rather than something that we can generate ourselves, a gift from God. Father David is big on joy.
Also I am off to My Rebecca’s church here in a few minutes. Our buddy, author Catherine Johnson, is going to talk about her book Finding Mercy in This World for the sermon there. In my own humble opinion that book is an award winner.
Today during our service I was overwhelmed with the thought of how heavily I am invested in living on borrowed time. I easily take all my medical treatment for granted but not that many years ago there would not have been any of that. Or I take my own tenacity for granted and don’t give myself credit for coping so well with the ups and downs of treatment for all these years.
What is there about my ability to wrestle with this strong opponent successfully? I must have picked up some clues somewhere in my past. And it just struck me that in my high school wrestling career I leaned heavily on the principles of jujitsu. In japanese it means gentle skill. As I understand it and as I used it, it is the way of using an adversary’s strength against them. In other words there is always someone who is stronger than you out there. These techniques work on everyone but they work better on those who are stronger. The secret being that through the use of timing and adding energy an opponent can be unbalanced.
The more I think about it the more I see how I have used this against my cancer. Not in a battle of muscle, speed and leverage but with similar mental/spiritual components. One can win battles from positions of weakness is the takeaway.
OK, time to pack it up and go listen to Catherine. Then walk and tapas later today. Life is good even on borrowed time.
Wishing you the best, Felipé.
What a tie! Awesome!
I didn’t know about Catherine’s talk at the Burton Church! I gotta get out more! I want to know more about the jujitsu stuff.
Jessika ~ Catherine did an awesome job this morning. I read the book and talked to her about it but still learned more at the talk. That book should get an award. Yea, the jujitsu, we will talk about it. Felipé.x
I love this Phil. I also think that whilst the cancer is strong, prayer and spirit are oh so powerful. Breathing in the beauty of the spring sunshine this morning.
Karen ~ yes, we are formidable! Felipé.x