Beginning the Second Journey

 

Friday, February 12, 2021

BEGINNING THE SECOND JOURNEY

On September 17, 2010, I began my Second Journey. God is moving me in new directions that I don't completely understand. Brennan Manning in his classic book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, refers to this time as the Second Chapter, Second Call, or Second Journey. So I welcome you to "The Ragamuffin Journey." If you have not done so, I encourage you to read The Ragamuffin Gospel. It will aid in our discussion. I hope we can gain some insights from one another as we take this journey. I look forward to your comments.

Here we can share some of life's "Ahas." I get a lot of ahas from reading Brennan Manning's writings, especially THE RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL.  So please join the conversation and share something from Brennan and how you relate to it or simply reply to what others post.

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I'll start us off with this quote from Ragamuffin:

"The gospel of grace calls out, Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever. In the end, it is the one thing you can hang onto."

I have lived long enough to know that life and relationships can be very fragile.  I have been abandoned, betrayed, lied about, just to name a few.  Some of that dysfunction came from my church experiences.  I have faced alcoholism in my family and took on the responsibility of caring for everyone (except me) because parenting was limited. That pressure led me to addiction, depression, anxiety. I'm still not fully recovered, I'm a ragamuffin. I need God's love and grace extended to me via Jesus Christ. Without His love, I would be completely lost. He truly is the One I can hang on to.

What about you? How has God's love and grace affected your life?

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Read more about the life of Brennan Manning by going to the bottom of the posts and click "Older Posts."  Then go to the April 13, 2013 post.

Is Jesus Enough?

Over the past few days I have felt the fog of depression.  I have battled with this inherited brain chemistry disorder for most of my life.  That coupled with  physical ailments at times become overwhelming. Though I try to remain optimistic sometimes the Shadows come. My energy drains and I become immobilized in body and soul.

So I found this passage from the Ragamuffin Gospel:

Is Jesus enough? Is His love mediated through spouse, children, and friends enough? Must I grasp for something else? Will the incessant clanging of my addictions, wants, and desires steal my Promethean fire? Must I wander again into the far country in search of God knows what? I harbor one legitimate fear: Having been given a seat at the wedding feast, the thought of ever going back into the misery and filth—the cold and the darkness of the highways and hedges, the streets and the alleys of a self-centered life—fills me with holy dread. From the depth of my heart I pray, in the words of St. Augustine, “Lord Jesus, don’t let me lie when I say that I love you…and protect me, for today I could betray you.”

One of my recovery friends said that when I get tired and just want to lay down I need to push through. So sometimes I just say to myself, " Push through!" I get moving and once I do quite often the fog lifts.

Depression is a focus inward which makes it pretty self-centered. I don't see myself as self-centered, except with my inner thoughts and feelings.

I'm thankful for the hope and encouragement I get through Jesus and also from my recovery group and my church. Like an acquaintance of mine once wrote, "We really do need each other."