As this blog post was percolating in my mind, my daughter was sharing some frustration around a situation in my granddaughter’s life. This next weekend, there are two events she really wants to participate in. The two events do not usually conflict, but this year they are on the same weekend. My granddaughter would prefer to do part of one (a youth retreat), so she can do both (a ride with her dad), and her mom was OK with that option.
My daughter had figured out a way to get my granddaughter back for the ride with her dad, as her focus was very much on creating a win-win, but that solution did not seem acceptable to leader of the retreat. His point of view was that my granddaughter had to choose one or the other. My daughter felt that his position was unnecessarily harsh.
As I listened, I could understand my daughter’s feelings.
Suddenly I remembered (and shared) the story of the butterfly struggling to get out of the cocoon. As challenging as it is to watch the struggle, it is vital to realize that the very struggle is necessary because it is thinning the body to enable the butterfly to take flight when it is fully emerged.
Without saying anything else, my daughter thanked me, and we ended the conversation.
I was imaging how this situation was such a gift to my granddaughter, providing her the important learning of being at ease when making choices, staying peaceful in the midst of negotiations, being respectful to her own wants and needs as well as to the wants and needs of others. I could see such win-win, right there along side the present circumstances.
You have to love how things are so connected….
I was reading from Forty Seven Stories of Jesus about Jesus and several of his followers. Along their way, they came upon a young boy with a donkey. The donkey had wounds on its legs, looked very undernourished, and so was struggling under an unbearable load. No amount of the boy’s prodding and whipping was helping that donkey to move.
According to the story, Jesus offered the boy some help. He began to transfer the load off the beast. Jesus and those with him picked up the load, then Jesus led the donkey to a nearby stream.
As Jesus began to tend to the donkey’s wounds, and then feed the donkey, he easily engaged the young man with questions about his life: Where was he going? Where did he live? What else was part of his life? What did he enjoy?
Reading that story about Jesus made me think of the words of Pamela Chappell’s “Peace Cannon.” If you have not heard it before or have not listened to it in a while, take a few moments now and enjoy her amazing musical invitation to let your life speak.
That is probably the true answer to the question, “What would Jesus do?”
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| A wonderful photo of my beautiful friend, Pamela Chappell. |
