Diving back into the ocean

[Underdog]

Hey all... gentlemen and ladies (well, gentleman being the lonely Triple J, who seems to enjoy controversy with his girl posse)!

What an interesting dialogue! And boy is it a timely one.

I know I've mentioned more than once that I have had a MOST excellent teacher in forgiveness. A lady I've adopted as my own Denver based mother because God brought her to me and me to her. She happens to be Catholic, was separated from her H for nearly a year, the mother of 5, and one of those kids had CP and was murdered by his caretaker.

If anyone can show me the path of our Lord, it is her. And I decided to make sure I got on her train and fast.

Her first assignment to me when Mr. Wonderful left was to have me study the Lord's prayer... then she gave me books on the Beatitudes. We've shared 2 Lenten seasons together and I've felt the miracle and joy of forgiving Mr. Wonderful, his mother and anyone else who requires the effort.

I would hate to think of the person I would have become had I not chosen to live the gifts that my dear friend has given to me without asking for anything in return.

We are human and all sinners. We all require God's mercy. And he asks us to extend mercy to those who are also children of His. Especially those who we think deserve it the least. That's a tough order to fill, but there is a good reason for it.

Being a devout Catholic, I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins. Who am I to believe that I am judge, jury and executioner of others?

Anyway, she was actually calling me to invite me to attend a 3 day seminar at her parish in 2 weeks. She asked me to consider asking Mr. Wonderful to attend. I hesitated, and she asked me to pray on it. I agreed to that request... since she knows me awfully well and hasn't steered me wrong yet.

The topic of that forum is being led by a Franciscan priest: How to turn anger into forgiveness.

I'm going to see if I can head there... I'm sure I'll learn something for myself. Or perhaps to find out that I still have work to do in this area. (I'm finding the Gospel of Luke full of wisdom and wonder and very applicable to my personal journey this year.) And if I find something worth sharing, I'll be sure to pass it along.

The one thing the nuns taught me a long time ago is that name calling is never a reflection of the person who is taunted, but of the person who is speaking those words. I was taught to super impose a mental picture of Jesus on their person and see if I was willing to say those same words? That was enough to scare the living daylights out of me...

I work very hard at setting a good example for my girls (particularly the one who speaks), and I would never want to find her taunting someone because of poison that I injected into her mind and soul.

That would bring me great pain and anguish.

So let me just be the instrument of peace? I love the Franciscans. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. It is not my job to judge any of you...

So let's spread the love!

Now, it's time for me to head home and celebrate my 2 kids and thank Mr. Wonderful for being a very important part of that process. He gave me lots of blessings, and I can look back on our 15+ years together with a lot of happiness and gratitude. Without him, none of this would have been possible.

Betsey