JonathanBenz.com

Today I Am Grateful

Today I spoke with someone who is so infirmed he can hardly speak.

I am grateful for clear communication.

Today I spoke with someone who just came out of surgery.

I am grateful for health.

Today I spoke with someone who has few physical possessions.

I am grateful for provision.

Today I spoke with someone in the throes of addiction.

I am grateful for sobriety.

Today I spoke with someone who has chronic illness and is at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I am grateful for hope.

Today I spoke with someone who has lost mobility due to a stroke and is on her way to therapy.

I am grateful for the will to live.

Today I am grateful for friends and family, the ones here on earth and the ones now in heaven, but whose earthly presence still lives on.

Today I am grateful.

The Grenade Down the Center Aisle

I don't always set out to provoke.  Honestly, I really don't.  Sometimes it just happens, and I promise, there's no malicious intent involved.

I recently stated in a public, church setting that I struggle with the idea of a 'Personal God.'  I got an email the next day that I might as well have thrown a grenade down the center aisle. The e-mailer was probably right.  You would have needed a host of angelic medevacs to cut through the theological tension in the room.

Now, I know that my existential struggle may sound ridiculous as I work with people on a daily basis on discovering the God of their understanding.  I help people discover their spirituality. That's what I do for a living.  How could Mr. Spiritual be so completely unspiritual?  And in church no less!

But I just don't understand God.