Today while sifting through old emails (trying to find something for my Papa’s 4 Secrets blog – he sent loads of wisdom to his globetrotting daughter!)  i found one that i sent to him eons ago recapping a message that helped during a tough time.  Since i just spent 2 hours going through Papa’s booklets & written materials (i sense some Heavenly chuckling going on…) alas, Virginia the Blogger must get busy in the kitchen or Dwight & Mama might go out for pizza & leave me here!  This has nothing to do with our Gospel reading for today (about forgiveness) so my thoughts on that will have to wait. Martha & Mary are two of my favorite Gospel people, so take a Lenten lesson from them if you are going through a tough time right now.

…Then Niceta & I zipped to church. Wow, the message hit both of us over the head.  Jesus raising Lazarus  from the dead.  Mary sits at home grieving.  The priest said that could be us dwelling on our grief, losing sense of reality, when we can’t cope with our crisis, asking God ‘why me?’  The point is we are focusing on our grief.  Martha, on the other hand, is alert — she hears that Christ is nearby, so she runs to greet Him. ‘If you had been here, my brother would  not have died.’   We too ask, ‘where have You been, I am  in pain…’ Jesus responds in His time, but with miracles in His pockets.  That means changing our vision of reality, being alert & focusing on HIM, finding our hope in Him now – today – not sometime off  in the future. Then He can do a miraculous work in our hearts, and through us touch others..

Well, there was lots more, but that really helped.  After mass it was as if a big cloud of despair lifted from the RHA’s heart. The other very special part was the entrance song —

“Come back to me with all your heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart.  TREES DO BEND, THOUGH STRAIGHT & TALL;  SO MUST WE TO OTHERS CALL…

Long have I waited for your coming home to Me and living deeply our new life.  The wilderness will lead you to your heart, where I will speak.  Integrity and justice with  tenderness you shall know. You shall sleep secure with peace;  faithfulness will be your joy. Long have I waited for  your coming home to me & living deeply our new life..”

Kitchen duty calls!

grace, peace & flexible trees

            Virginia   : )

p.s. RHA =Red Head in Africa.  Both photos taken during a visit to South Africa while the RHA lived in Tanzania…