“I came so that they could have life – indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.” John 10:10.
I used to imagine that in fullness of life that Jesus talked about would be the equivalent of a day at Disney World rather than a root canal. That was based on dualistic thinking that assumed a universe in which there were only two mutually exclusive choices or realities. Things were either/or, bad/good, negative/positive.
Somewhere along the way, over a number of years and much growth, I came to imagine that the One in whom, “faithfulness and truth join together, righteousness and peace have kissed”; who was a friend to the least, the last and the lost; the One in whom all things live and move and have their being; sees the universe in a very different, unitive way. In that universe God is the over-arching narrative. God is in all things.
This year has been full to overflowing with things I would have labeled as either “good” or “bad” in the past. A friend sent a meme on Thanksgiving that said, “I thought 2020 would be the year I got everything I wanted. Now I know 2020 is the year I appreciate everything I have.”
This week I had the opportunity to appreciate our two youngest granddaughters, ages 3 and 6. They are hysterical, great at imaginating (with thanks to Lauren Eye for that word), enthusiastic, and loving. And they are normal, they fight with each other, think that going to bed at night should be avoided at all costs, and leave a whirlwind of messes in their wake. In the midst of the surging pandemic, life goes on without missing a beat for them.
One late afternoon, Marie-Helene (age 3), noticed that the moon was already in the sky. It was in it’s first quarter, and she said something about the moon and a doggie. I asked it she meant that a dog jumped over the moon. “No,” she said. “A doggie took a bite out of the moon, that’s why its not round.” “Did you learn that from your Daddy or Poppa?” “No,” she said, “My brain told me that.”
Embrace this day, in its fullness. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 