I have been on a Dove dark chocolate kick, and I always am amused by the little sayings on the wrappers. Most of the time, the sayings are silly. But occasionally, I admit that I find the messages encouraging. There was one in-particular though, that I read on the right day. And it said:
Love every moment.
Well, I put the wrapper on my little religious stuff table (and I look at it several times a day now), because the message on the wrapper has been a very important lesson that God has been teaching me.
If I give my life to Jesus Christ, this means that I give every day, every hour, every moment to him. He wants me to live and to love every moment of this precious gift of life he has given to me! God didn't create me so that I could suffer and survive life, by the skin of my teeth, but to drink deeply and to enjoy and love life fully.
I've been slowly reading one book that speaks on the theme of joy in every day Christian life, Champagne for the Soul by Mike Mason. I am always struck by the short, one or two-page chapters, each of which starts with a verse from Scripture, and how in each chapter, Mason is able to hit on profound themes such as sorrow, grief, loss, mystery, suffering, etc., and yet, challenge the reader to bask in the daily, childlike joy that he waits desperately to lavish on us each day. In the first couple of chapters, I may have thought, "Is this guy for real?" I thought it might be sort-of cheesy and cliche religious writing. But no—the personal anecdotes and themes are authentic, and so I've been challenged to live my life as authentically and in-the-moment as Mason clearly does.
Speaking of authenticity: this is another key word that God has been speaking to me. And living in vulnerability. I've been steeping myself in the work of Dr. Brene Brown and focusing on her mantras of "daring greatly" and having the "courage to be vulnerable." She talks about Teddy Roosevelt's "Man In the Arena" speech in one of the most compelling talks I've ever heard.
In the talk, Dr. Brown speaks about how ultimately empowering and life-giving it is to live in-relation to others, to be authentic, to be vulnerable.
Well, it occurred to me several weeks ago that no one has made himself more vulnerable and taken more initiative to do so than God. He made himself vulnerable the moment he gave his people free will, the moment he put the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Eden. Jesus Christ made himself vulnerable by becoming a man, by becoming one who could be wounded. On Good Friday, I heard a sermon on how even from the Cross, Jesus Christ was teaching us, teaching us how to live, how to give and lay down our lives for one another…and I would add, how to live authentically, how to love unconditionally and whole-heartedly. Jesus wasn't thinking about himself while he was on the Cross; he was utterly preoccupied with love, crazy love, for me, for you, for the world, I have to believe.
So, authenticity, courage, vulnerability, daring greatly, loving wholeheartedly, loving every moment, letting yourself love every moment—these are some of the key words for my life right now.
As I continue to face the ups and downs of life that all people face, I find that working to "love every moment" buoys me up, puts a smile on my face, and yes, while it sometimes takes a little courage and discomfort to get into, isn't that hard to embrace eventually.
May each of us drink deeply of the joy that God our Father has for us right now, for this joy, the gift of joy he has for each of us, truly is "champagne" for our hearts and souls. Cheers!
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