Yesterday,
was my doggies twelve birthday! I’ve had
him since he was two months old and he truly has blessed my life and taught me
so many things. I often think of the biblical
passage of the faith of the Canaanite woman in the gospels when I am having a
meal and my little dog orbits beneath the table picking up crumbs that fall to
the floor. If you recall the Canaanite
woman comes to Jesus begging him to heal her daughter, and Jesus replies in a
very harsh way, “It’s not fair to throw the children’s bread and throw it to
the dogs.” The woman is clearly not one
of Jesus’ people, yet she knows him and believes in his healing power as much
as in his kindness, so she doesn’t give up.
I love her feisty response, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat crumbs
that fall from their master's table.” Jesus
attributes the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter to her great faith and
uses her example of faith to teach his disciples. It’s such a great narrative- one of my
favorite biblical passages.
When I sit
at the table to eat and my little dog looks up with his beautiful, brown eyes I
often meditate in silence on the many biblical narratives that speak of God’s
pleasure in a persevering spirit. In
secular life we have many people that agree that success has little to do with
talent and much to do with persistence.
Yet, it takes courage to saddle the horse and try again- especially after
many failed attempts. It’s no secret
that the more rejection and failure the harder it is to continue forward. For those of you who think I always have it
together, on Sunday, I went to church with a crushed spirit. I was feeling so downcast that as the service
began tears started spilling from my eyes.
I hadn’t cried during the Eucharist in years so the whole public
meltdown really freaked me out and I wanted to run out of the parish in search
of privacy. Yet, I didn’t want to call
attention to myself so I grew roots and remained in the pew covering my face
with my hair. Slowly I regained my composure
and by the second reading I had controlled the tears and by the end of the
service I was laughing because Father told us a funny joke after the blessing
(smile).
I allowed
many things to disturb my peace this weekend and by the end of Sunday after
turning things in my head all weekend I made a vow to give up on a friendship
because I felt unappreciated and hurt.
Speaking with my sister only validated the negative feelings and I came
to the conclusion that it was best to move on and let go. Each of us is a treasure in the eyes of God
and He tells us to see one another in the same way. Thus, as Christians our expectations of how
people treat us needs to be high (we must also give that same level
of treatment)… Yet, in relationships with others God tells us to forgive often and
live in harmony. Sounds simple, but it’s
hard and requires constant work. All relationships
(romantic or not) require persevering because each time misunderstandings or
hurt feelings happen more growth occurs if one perseveres. The bond between the two also has the opportunity to grow stronger. Nonetheless, persevering also requires trying different
approaches until you find the one that helps you succeed…
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