Greetings Friends,
A few weeks ago I had the occasion to observe my 16 month-old very energetic granddaughter as she scooted, crawled, and walked with great determination. At one point she came near me and she flung her arms high in the air, uninhibited and with complete trust, reaching for me to pick her up. Those of us who have young children in our immediate or extended families have most likely witnessed a similar scene. What stuck me about Amelia’s act of reaching that day was how natural and trusting it was. I’ve been pondering this in light of how we adults may have become tentative (reserved perhaps) in our lives and maybe even in our relationship with God. I have asked, where along the line might I have lost that total trust and inhibition in reaching out to the God who loves so deeply and unconditionally? Certainly as we grew we were warned to beware of strangers and learned, maybe the hard way, that there are those we may encounter along the way who will hurt us, both physically and in our hearts. We have learned in order to survive in our world we must become wary of and guard ourselves from all that would/could harm us. This does make sense – who doesn’t want to be safe? But this line of thinking and living should not and cannot extend to our relationship with God.
In the Gospels, Jesus gives us many invitations to consider: “Follow me”; “Learn from me”; love God with all our heart, strength, mind; become like little children; he bids us to come to him…with all your heart. Taking these invitations to heart and living them is an act of trust and faith. On this feast of the Holy Family, we can clearly see the example of both the righteous Simeon and the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:22-40) as living acts of total faith in God’s love and promises. They lived to see the new born Messiah, as was promised, and responded with words that reached out to God in thanksgiving – reaching up and out to God uninhibited and with total trust.
As we rapidly approach the New Year, may we find peace, joy, love, and a way to become that trusting little child who can reach high and stretch our arms and hearts out with complete confidence in the loving care of our God.
Peace on the Journey
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