jesus, can i get you a drink?
one of my favorite authors, anne lamott, has a fabulous phrase in her book 'traveling mercies'. it goes something like this... as anne recalls some of the dark hidden places in her heart (the thoughts you try to keep really secret, the motives you wish you didn't have, the hatred you wish you didn't harbor, the bitterness, ugliness, etc) she says that they are so terribly hideous that it would make jesus drink gin straight out of the catdish.
and today, i thought jesus might need a drink.
you know that thing most people have that keeps them from saying every little thing that pops into their brain? yeah, that's called a filter. i don't have one of those. now, the good thing about this is, you'll always know where you stand with me. and, the bad thing about this is, you'll always know where you stand with me. so i offered up a few too many of my opinions to the general public today and said some things that weren't very kind about someone who wasn't in the room. i think i was trying to get a laugh, or at least a kindred 'uh huh, i totally get what you mean about her!'... but instead i got wide-eyed stares and some uncomfortable silence.
this happens to me a lot.
poor sweet baby jesus, lying in his ghost manger, being forced to drink gin out of the catdish every time i open my mouth.
sometimes i look like christ, and, well, sometimes i just look like me. this is the beautiful process of formation that we spend our lives in. and that's just it. it's a process. i'm not there yet. i fail miserably every morning, before my feet even leave the bed. but there is such grace and patience for me. because i'm not who i once was, and i'm not yet who i will be. so maybe next time i find myself wanting to open my mouth and let fly whatever random thought comes into my head, i'll have the character and formation in me to not have to say it out loud.
but until then, i just have one question: does this 'formation currrently in process' certificate have an expiration date?
drink away baby jesus. drink away. maybe there'll be milk in the catdish tomorrow
and today, i thought jesus might need a drink.
you know that thing most people have that keeps them from saying every little thing that pops into their brain? yeah, that's called a filter. i don't have one of those. now, the good thing about this is, you'll always know where you stand with me. and, the bad thing about this is, you'll always know where you stand with me. so i offered up a few too many of my opinions to the general public today and said some things that weren't very kind about someone who wasn't in the room. i think i was trying to get a laugh, or at least a kindred 'uh huh, i totally get what you mean about her!'... but instead i got wide-eyed stares and some uncomfortable silence.
this happens to me a lot.
poor sweet baby jesus, lying in his ghost manger, being forced to drink gin out of the catdish every time i open my mouth.
sometimes i look like christ, and, well, sometimes i just look like me. this is the beautiful process of formation that we spend our lives in. and that's just it. it's a process. i'm not there yet. i fail miserably every morning, before my feet even leave the bed. but there is such grace and patience for me. because i'm not who i once was, and i'm not yet who i will be. so maybe next time i find myself wanting to open my mouth and let fly whatever random thought comes into my head, i'll have the character and formation in me to not have to say it out loud.
but until then, i just have one question: does this 'formation currrently in process' certificate have an expiration date?
drink away baby jesus. drink away. maybe there'll be milk in the catdish tomorrow
posted by Anonymous at 11:44 PM
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