Monday, April 28, 2008

Amazing Grace Thoughts


I am enthralled with this book, definitely one that has snuck up on me, meaning there was a time i would not have gotten to far into it without thinking, nope, its not for me-ha, does Papa have a wonderful sense of humour and timing.

I so appreciated this passage from the chapter entitled 'Exorcism'.

"When I think of the demons I need to exorcise, I have to look elsewhere; inward, to my heart and soul. Anger is my best demon, useful whenever I have to go into a Woman Warrior mode, harmful when I use it to gratify myself, either in self-justification, or to deny my fears. My husband, who has a much sweeter nature than I, once told me that my mean streak grieved him not just because of the pain it caused him but because it was doing me harm. His remark, as wise as that of any desert abba, felt like an exorcism. Not that my temptation to anger was magically gone, but I was called to pay close attention to something that badly needed my attention, and that was hurting our marriage. It confirmed my understanding of marriage as a holy act: one can no more hide one's true faults from a spouse than from God, and in exorcising the demon of anger, that which could kill is converted, transformed into that which can heal."

It's this kind of reality that so draws me ever deeper into knowing, experiencing even greater depths of Father love for me.

I love the image that comes to mind in reading this quote, as it were rolling up my sleeves and availing myself of His abundant grace and simply moving forward in working out my own salvation, or working out what He has miraculously worked into me.
So very often I have the mind set that is waiting for some angelic messenger to come and pay me a visit that will either vaporize my demons-problems, or energize me, funny how a lazy mind thinks. But as a brother once said, and I love this in its daily applications, "God doesn't give us over coming Life, but gives us Life as we over come"!

Rich

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