Jesus, I am Your Child, Too

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Jesus...

Thank You for investing Yourself
in someone like me...
Help me step back and be mindful of my own needs,
because I am Your child, too.
Help me become aware
it was not okay to grow up
in a verbally and physically abusive home,
and not accept that in my life from others.
Help me treat others with excellence, Lord.
Help me add to their lives, not take away.
Help me be mindful,
I do not have to be willing, acceptant
nor an active participant of other's negativity;
I can walk away.
Help me to see-through their suffering, Lord.
Help me to become aware
of when I am being undermined
by someone trying to run me with their energy.
There are so many people out there
struggling with jealousy, stinginess and greed, God!
Please keep me mindful,
they will not be good friends.
If they think I am rude, then I know
they are not doing their homework.
If I can inspire, encourage and help them,
I will.
If they don't want my help,
show me how to move on.
Time is becoming too precious, Jesus!
I don't have time to assume or presume
I know what's going on with others God.
I can't read anyone's mind.
All I can do is ask You help me
stay in my own meditative mind.
I am claiming the peace I need in my life
through You, Jesus.
Because I am Your child, too.
Amen.

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I want people to know there is a difference between humility and humiliation.
Some people think these two words are the same thing.
Some people are unwilling to be humble
because somewhere in the back of their minds
they must feel they are taking a risk in being "humiliated".

Isn't it a shame to consider how all human beings have experienced some sort of humiliation in their childhoods? Some situations may have been fun, or funny, or accidental; others may have run into something that was painful and purposeful. Some people never grow out of this! It's strange to look back on these times in our lives.

When I was about 5, I used to feel very embarrassed by my mother's red lipstick. There was something about that red lipstick? When it came on it changed my mother's face. I found her to be cruel and embarrassing to be near. But it was funny when my brother took that red lipstick and smeared it all over his face! We got the biggest kick out of that! (Mom didn't think it was so funny.)

When I was 7, I was in Catholic school when Sister Theresia called me up in front of the class. She turned me towards the blackboard and hit me around the shoulders with her yardstick. I had the worst trouble getting math! I remember doing everything to fight back my tears. It was even more difficult to turn around and face the smug expressions on the faces of my classmates. I ended up in the hospital with an ulcer that year.

Certain levels of humiliation have a sobering effect on one's life. This is why so many people can be a drag to be around.

We get all-up in ourselves about it. We think we have to go through all kinds of posturing in order to be accepted by others. Whether that happens through socialization, or religion or traditions, it can be hard to break free from. Is it any wonder human beings come to see themselves as entitled?

No one wants to be made fun of. No one wants to take a lesser place, or be a have-not... In our own ways, we overcompensate for this pain by working very hard to be "special". Oddly, over time we might outgrow those efforts. I think this is the real challenge of mid-life, when people hit their 40's, for example. What happens to our passion for life?

Humility, learning when to be humble, quiet and graceful, is a way of helping ourselves find more grace in our world. We have to be able to forgive ourselves before we can forgive others.

Instead of adding to another person's suffering, instead of chastising and pigeonholing people, instead of needing to be right, we can simply be quiet and decisive. It is possible then, to recognize who and what we want to include in our true passions about things. Living our lives would not feel like a waste of time...

For me, humility is like a tai chi movement... A simple one, of getting out of my own way, and allowing God to work with me a little more. So, when I feel good? I can be more decisive about what really matters!

The goal in life should be to feel good about life.

Everyone should feel entitled to make decisions about their lives, then stand on those decisions. That's where the real power rests.

Instead of dodging the balls people throw your way, you can let them fall to the ground if you're being hurt or humiliated. Maybe those games aren't for you. With some practice and awareness, you can just move on.

Instead of going through the motions of dodging the balls of the competition around you - once in awhile you could decide to pick up your own game. Get your own ball; play! Play something new.

And when you do? Let it be something you feel passionate about.

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Baby's Heart

The Baby Heart is the sweetest of all hearts...
We see a little bit of ourselves
in the hearts of all babies,
for they are open and innocent and new to life.

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God, thank You for the little babies in our lives...
Help us to give them good homes,
safe places to live and be nurtured.
Help us to have a better understanding
of nutrition and psychological care
for our little newborns.
Show us how
to get to the right resources we need
to empower our little children.
Help us to be more aware
of the need to surround all babies,
new and grown, at whatever ages,
with comfort, love, safety and healing.
Help us to remember
these are the basic needs of all human beings.
Give us understanding of one another
by helping us to see
these qualities in each other.

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I go through my day surrounded by many young adults... I sometimes have to remind myself they are old enough to be my own children. Their worlds have become even more complicated than mine, when I was their age. Sure, they have all the wonderful things modern-day technology brings! But I can see how together, we all get burned by information overload.

Sometimes they don't need to hear what I have to say. Sometimes, all that is needed is a hug, or a pat on the back; a little relief and assurance that things are okay.

We all live in the city... It can be an existence of great paranoia at times, dealing with strangers and random encounters on the streets and buses. Our living spaces have become so tight! If we want some expression or outlet for frustrations, we have to find places to go - and often pay money to do it. I don't envy the young adults of the new millennium.

Young children are brought up in this country to believe we live in a world of entitlement, and that's a lie. We have been given privileges and freedom, and we are required to uphold these gifts in order to enjoy them.

Just because you look cute, and can play games and/or perform well, does not mean you or anyone else is entitled to anything.

If anything, we are living in a time when Americans are being forced to learn about sharing.

We have to work hard to keep our hearts open and free of judgment and the bad attitudes that keep us from connecting with the hearts of others.

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God, thank You for the miracle this week, of bringing Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, to guide Flight 1549 safely to the surface of the Hudson River!! Thank You for giving him the desire he had from the time he was a little boy, to fly, and the knowledge and experience he was given to become an expert.

Thank You helping all 154 passengers to survive it, standing together on the wings of the plane!
And for allowing the city of New York
show what brave and resilient souls they are to help.
God Bless You All!



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For those babies and children,
the little angels that did not make it through the night, God, I pray that they are in Your Light,
and that their passage to You
was quick, and fast.



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