Perception & Acceptance

Hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.

Manning makes this point on page 29:

"Never confuse the perception of yourself with the mystery that you are really accepted."

He continues by saying that we do not need to be like Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, that has to hide his ugliness.  Jesus came for us precisely because we are all Quadimodos, ugh...Ragamuffins.

I wish I could easily put that into practice.  There are times I feel so ugly because of my sins and shortcomings.  It's like I'm looking in a carnival mirror.  My imperfections are there but they are distorted.  But there are times I believe the reflection!  Lord, help me to let go of the broken idea of needing to look good in your presence.  Help me to know what's more important is my honesty in your presence.

What say ye about this fellow Ragamuffins?

The Mixed Bag

I read this today from The Language of Letting Go: 

"Life is challenging.  Sometimes, there's more pain than we asked for; sometimes, there's more joy than we imagined."

That is one description of the Ragamuffin life.  If I'm not careful, I get caught up in the "pain" and it overshadows the "joy."  It is a mixed bag.  My goal for today is that in emptying the bag, I take out all of the contents, not just the pain.

What is your plan for today?

Following the Ragamuffin...

A number of my contacts have told me they either have a copy of the Ragamuffin Gospel or are getting it.  If you would like to borrow a copy, the public library may have one.  Someone told me that is where they got theirs.

Tomorrow, I meet with some of my fellow ragamuffins to paint a homeless mission in downtown Portland, OR.  Just a group of ragamuffins helping another group of ragamuffins.

I am officially retiring from chaplaincy on December 1, 2010.  Moving on to the Second Chapter of my life (or is it the third, or fourth...?).

Who will be the first author to post on my ramblings?

Impressing God

From page 20: "Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace." 

Manning illustrates it with this quote:
     "Our approach to the Christian life is as absurd as the enthusiastic young man who had just received his plumber's license and was taken to see Niagara Falls.  He studied it for a minute and then said, "I think I can fix this" (Taken from Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations (New York: Doubleday, 1988), p. 105)

I know this will come as a complete shock to some of you, but I was pretty much a know-it-all in college who hoped to teach the professors, and my fellow students, a thing or two.  I was like the young man walking out of the commencement program, diploma in hand, saying, "Look out world, I have my BA!"  God's voice from heaven said, "Sit down son and I'll teach you the rest of the alphabet."

It is interesting how life's lesson trim away at the sharp edges and makes us a little smoother and hopefully easier to get along with.  Much of that earlier attitude was a survival mentality, having come from an alcoholic home and needing to be the family hero.  Through it all I realized that God doesn't need my help, especially when it comes to my salvation.  I don't bring anything to the table.  That is a freeing thought so long as I let go of my codependent desire to be good enough to save myself!

At the end of the day I come to the conclusion that I truly am a ragamuffin and I have a God who, for some strange reason, desires to show me the rest of the alphabet!

Okay, now it's your turn.  Any thoughts on the quote or my ramblings?

Painful Process

Had coffee today with my friend Paul.  He was asking how things were going.  I told him I felt a little like Morrie in the movie, Tuesdays With Morrie (also the best seller by Mitch Albom).  Morrie is battling with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  Morrie has this physical therapist come in on a regular basis to literally hit and massage him in order to keep the muscle and nerves going.  It's a painful process but it prolongs his life and mobility.

I feel like God is the Great Physical Therapist who is working me over.  At the time it seems painful but it brings about positive results.  I don't want to atrophy so I put up with the treatments!

How about you?  Is God working you over?