What gift do I want from Jesus? If I were to meet the Lord today, would I have the courage to ask, as this woman did, for what I really want?

Tuesday, March 21st I was challenged to believe that I am beloved of God. Depending on our image of God, the speaker stated, Scripture takes on different meaning. We can see God as harsh and judging or as loving and kind and as a result, will interpret the Word differently. Do I always believe that I am beloved of God?

Friday, March 24th, I met Julian of Norwich, a 14th Century Mystic She states that impatience and despair are /the sins that cause the most pain and tempest us. /Oh, Lord, I pray, help me to have patience and to hope. The 1300s were much like today. The Bubonic plague then, Cancer and AIDS now. The Hundred Years war then The war in Iraq now. Rebelling peasants brutally murdered then, Guatemala and El Salvador now. /All will be well, All shall be well, All manner of things shall be well./ (Julian of Norwich).

How can we believe, as Julian of Norwich, in the midst of such inequities such suffering such pain, that all will be well? /Grace converts.../ (Julian of Norwich) Yes, grace is at work. And it is our belief in God's love and our faith in God's grace that empower us so that we can empower others. So, as God calls us, we pour out our love. And what becomes of love poured out?

Sunday, March 26th /The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe/ I saw Aslan willingly give his life because he knew the true meaning of sacrifice. That is why he did what he did. And it is why we do what we do, why we live as we live. Another may reap the seeds we sow But our part is to plant, to water, to weed, and to believe that there will be laborers for the harvest.

At the well, when the disciples returned, Jesus said to them, /Look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest, The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that, 'One sows and another reaps.'/ (John 4:35-37) /And so our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts which I could raise, saying most comfortingly in this fashion: I will make all things well, ...and you will see that yourself, that all things will be well./ (Julian of Norwich).

So, when you look around, do not despair, instead, see the fields ripe for harvest, and know that God has sent the laborers.