Grace Walk
Walk with Me and work with Me--watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won't try to lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

-Matthew 11:29-30 The Message


Hidden Treasures
One of the most satisfying aspects of writing
is that it can open in us deep wells of hidden treasures
that are beautiful for us as well as for others to see.

-Henri Nouwen in Bread for the Journey

A Modern Day Psaltery
David wrote psalms to express
what was in his heart.
Seeing no need to hide what he felt,
he wrote with sincerity, and with no hidden agenda.
What he felt was never taken against him.
Pray, dear reader, discern my heart between the lines.
Dinah Maria Craik couldn't have said it better:
"Oh the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort
of feeling safe with a person --
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all right out, just as they are,
chaff and grain together;
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and then, with the breath of kindness
blow the rest away."

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Walkway Reflections 10: The Mother





JESUS ENTRUSTS MARY TO JOHN

It is almost impossible to reflect on the events surrounding Jesus’ final hours with out thinking about Jesus’ mother, Mary. Tradition places Mary following Jesus as he trekked the road toward Calvary. And while most of Jesus’ friends had already abandoned him, we find the faithful mother at the foot of the cross until his death.

What memories flashed through Mary’s mind as she witnessed her beloved son’s torture? Did she replay Gabriel’s declaration of his birth, and that:

His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33)?

Did she think of the silent night in Bethlehem when her baby boy was finally born? What about the time, at age twelve, when Jesus traveled to the temple alone to talk about God? And who can forget Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana?

One thing is for sure: From Bethlehem to Calvary, Mary was there for her son. She loved Jesus. And Jesus, he loved her. He loved her so much that in the midst of his own suffering, he made sure to entrust her to the friend he loved.


Father,

I remember my own mother. She passed away before my second baby was born. How I would have loved to still have her around. She was a good model for me... she taught me how to do all things well. She never turned her back on hard work, and yet she always knew how to sing, and how to laugh.

I miss my mother, Lord.

But now is a good time to thank You for having given me someone like her...to nurture me, to train me, to help me become what I am today. I owe much of what I am to her. She is a gift from you I will always cherish.

And today, I want to be a mother like Mary to my own children.

I will always treasure my children in my heart. Always pray for them. Always believe the best of them.

Dear Father, this is my constant prayer for my children: Give them a hunger and a thirst to know You more, the way You want to be known by them. Never allow their faith in You to waver, or to lose its power. Always lead them in the pathway of their destiny. Never let them settle for anything less than what You have dreamed for them.



Walkway Reflections: Introduction
Walkway Reflections 1: The Garden
Walkway Reflections 2: The Betrayal
Walkway Reflections 3: The Trial
Walkway Reflections 4: The Verdict
Walkway Reflections 5: The Whip
Walkway Reflections 6: The Curse
Walkway Reflections 7: The Cross
Walkway Reflections 8: The Two Simons
Walkway Reflections 9: The Crucifixion
Walkway Reflections 10: The Mother
Walkway Reflections 11: The Promise
Walkway Reflections 12: The Darkness
Walkway Reflections 13: The Cloth
Walkway Reflections 14: The Table

4 comments:

Amrita said...

Thank you for sharing these reflactions Lidj illustrated by the very symbolic photos. This has been done very creatively and brings out the best.

Heart2Heart said...

I often wonder why we don't see this connection during Easter until it is walked through in steps like this one. The hardest thing a parent ever has to deal with in life is losing her child and I can feel Mary's pain as she sat at the feet of her son and watched Him tortured and die.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Sita said...

This is my prayer too, Lidj....

Anonymous said...

Oh,yes! My prayer, too!

Since my first son as born, my heart broke for what Mary endured - because I really did not understand until my son was born. I thought Mel Gibon's "The Passion of the Christ" did a wonderful job showing the mother's struggle.