Dec 26th, 2021: Considering Different Boxes on Boxing Day

 

There are many "traditions" about Boxing Day. Some have somewhat departed from the original intention. It was supposed to be the day when masters gave gifts to their servants and then sent them home to be with their families. Nowadays, it is one of the biggest shopping days. Maybe we should reconsider its meaning. How about treating it as the day when we box all of our useless and unhelpful thoughts and put them away?


We might want to box all of our jealousy and envy. These feelings and thoughts don't serve us well. They make us miserable and unattractive, affect us negatively, and shut the door on generosity and helpfulness. Our lives have less meaning when we desire to have more with our jealousy.


We might put our painful experiences in a box and give them to God. Christmas time sometimes can be challenging for some people because of what we remember and long for in our human relationships. We wonder how our life would be without these experiences.


We might find ways to allocate our fears in another box. Our fear of being who we are has robbed us of much freedom. Our fear for the unknowns has made us ineffective. Our fear for life has allowed others to manipulate us. Our fear for relationships has been the source of our loneliness. Our fear of not being perfect has made us paralyzed. Let us bury that box of fear. 


Christmas offers us these boxes.


Romans 14: 8

"for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."

Popular posts from this blog

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Oct 1st, 2022: Be With Those Who Suffer

Image
  Listening to a young woman who shared her experience of being raped repeatedly by a family member for over four years as a teenager made my heart ache. The man who did that was a leader of a church. He was imprisoned for seven months and released. He was her stepfather. Her mother chose to pick him over her after his release. Her life has changed forever. She had to go to a foster home. Her foster parents helped her with her restoration and her faith in God. Her supervisor at work asked me to see her because someone at work was inappropriate toward her. That triggered many emotions within her. I did not expect the story I heard from her. The meeting took longer than I thought, and it was toward the end of the day. She kept talking about her anger and the pain she felt when men treated her like a subject. I knew that the best I could do was to listen. She told me she had not been able to tell anyone as much as with me. God reminded me of the true calling of being a pas...
Read more