Today, Jonathan took Riley to see Grandma Berg and offered me a Mother's Day Off. What he really offered me was an Introvert's Day to Recharge, since I don't feel a need for a day off since I only see my son four hours each weekday. But I need a day here and there to not have to talk to anyone for hours at a time. If I slow down enough, I manage to get a bit of contemplation done as well.
9 a - The boys leave for Grandma's house and I go to Reading for breakfast at Aroma Cafe. I had an egg white omelet with spinach, feta & salsa with a side of fruit and tea.
10 a - Go play some nice guitars at the guitar store. Realize that it's probably not the best use of $1k since I don't have time to get proficient on it, but it was fun for 30 min.
10:3 a - Off to Nordstrom Rack, in search of bargains (that's bah-gins in Bostonspeak). The best deal was finding a $99 business suit so I can look oh-so-money at work. Got a burnt orange trench that I'll be wearing when the weather gets above 4o along with other varied and sundry items.
(Shopping confession: I hate the looking, only the acquiring. But when an opportunity like this arrives, I'll put up with shopping for hours in hopes of not having to do it again for a long time.)
2p - Enjoyed my favorite low-cal fast food sandwich, the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich from Chick-Fil-A. Chased it down with a refreshing Diet Dr Pepper. Dessert was a piece of dark chocolate from Lindt. Fueled up and ready for the next thing...
2:3 p - SO DONE with shopping, but need to look for two items I couldn't find at the Rack, so I'm off to Macys, where I spend an unsuccessful 90 min and start to get grumpy. Time to quit.
4p - Head back home to Wakefield, stopping at Staples, Starbucks & Bear Rock Cafe where I finally settle down for a meal and some reading. I brought Tim Keller's latest book, The Prodigal God and fiinally had a chance for some contemplation. More on that below.
7p - Arrive back home and expect the boys back in the next hour. Grateful for a "recharge day" and looking forward to being social again tomorrow!
Ever since I had a child, I've found it very difficult to fix my mind on spiritual things. My mind is pulled in so many directions now that I have more to take care of. I know that this is normal for parents and that this too shall pass, but I've really missed being able to take my Bible, journal and a good read to the beach or coffeehouse and be able to spend hours contemplating spiritual things. It's challenging to focus for a 30 min sermon, even with the engaging pastors that we have at CTK.
I'm beginning to carve out time in the evening for this, if only 15-30 minutes. The Keller book is something that God's using to speak loudly to me about who He is, who I am and how these truths can transform the way I interact with others in my world.
You've heard us blog about Tim Keller and how much he's taught us over the years. He's one of those pastors who has a way of getting me to look at well-known passages of Scripture and gleaning new insights from them. His latest book looks at the parable of the Prodigal Son, which he renames the parable of the Two Lost Sons, as both sons represent different ways of being alienated from God.
The title of the book is an interesting one. When you look up the meaning of "Prodigal" in Merriam-Webster Online, it doesn't mean wayward or disobedient, but rather to be recklessly extravagant. Therefore, as we see the love of the father demonstrated toward his younger son, the term "prodigal" can be applied to him as well.
As you study the life of Jesus in the Gospels, it doesn't take long to see that he was more apt to attract the irreligious than the religious. The religious were often offended by him. When Jesus told this parable, he was answering a complaint by the religious leaders that he welcomed "sinners" and ate with them, which was a powerful sign of acceptance. By adding the bit at the end about the elder brother, he was showing them a picture of themselves.
While I can see many times of my life in which I have been the younger brother in this story, I find more and more that I'm really more like the elder one. How often have I felt entitled to blessings or get bitter when someone else gets the things that I want?
One of the ways in which I'm being freshly convicted through this story is in how I relate to a co-worker that has been rude to me for the better part of the past two years. There has been no arguments or fights to precipitate this; this person just doesn't make an effort to be friendly to me. My response is to avoid face to face contact as much as possible and when I do need to talk to them, to be as brief as possible. While I have made a conscience effort to be polite and keep a friendly tone, I don't make idle chit chat with them.
I feel like the elder brother looking down on the younger one, thinking that they should feel alienation for their bad behavior. And yet, God's lavish, extravagant love of rebels and rascals like us is something that I find myself very attracted to. I want to be able to love this person that way the father loved both of his "lost" sons, even after they had hurt and insulted him deeply. I'm beginning to pray about this for the first time, that the Lord would give me the courage to be loving, even if things don't change.
So that's something that I'm beginning to contemplate. I'd appreciate your prayers as I seek to be more like Jesus in this particular relationship.
I guess it goes without saying that I highly recommend the Keller book too!
Off to bed...it's been a long and wonderful day,
Shelby
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