1.Me: Do you think I’m made in the image and likeness of God?

Anita: Technically yes, but right now you’re more like an unfinished sculpture, a little rough around the edges.

Me: So, you’re saying “I have flaws?”

Anita: Everyone does.

Me: Do I have many?

Anita: No.

Me: How many?

Anita: 57

Me: Seriously?

Anita: I’m sorry. I misspoke. 58, not 57. I forgot about ‘argumentative’.

2.The picture of the horse drawn caisson carrying John Lewis’s body over the Edmund Pettus Bridge wrecked me.

Trump’s choice to not pay his respects to Lewis spoke volumes about both his character and the values he champions. It’s not a surprise. Lewis was not Trump’s kind of guy. Lewis fought against voter suppression, Trump is OK with it as long as he benefits. Lewis put his life on the line for freedom. Trump tweets his admiration for autocratic leaders. Lewis was a man of deep faith. Trump awkwardly holds “a bible”. Lewis battled against white supremacists. Trump cheers them on.

They do have one thing in common. Each will be remembered by history. But only one will be remembered for his goodness, perseverance, and courage.

3.“Authentic spirituality is always first about you—about allowing your own heart and mind to be changed. It’s about getting your own ‘who’ right. Who is it that is doing the perceiving? Is it your illusory, separate, false self; or is it your True Self, who you are in God?” ~ Richard Rohr

Oftentimes my perceptions of God, of others, of our world are a bit warped because the ‘me’ who’s looking at these things is not at all like the ‘me’ God intended me to be. Not even close.

4.“In 14 tweets, Trump undermined Dr. Fauci, dismissed face masks and boasted about hydroxychloroquine working again. What is he doing? Even Flat Earthers think this guy is out of his mind.” ~Jimmy Fallon

“But, yes, despite having the world’s top doctors at his disposal, Trump has decided instead to trust a doctor who believes that people get sick because they masturbate and that vaccines are made from alien DNA.” ~Trevor Noah

“Here’s an easy way to figure out if you’re in a cult: If you’re wondering whether you’re in a cult, the answer is yes.” ~ Stephen Colbert

5. In 1945, in a basement believed to be the hiding place of a Jew, this graffiti was found on the wall.

“I believe in the sun even when it isn’t shining

I believe in love even when I am alone.

I believe in God even when he is silent.”

These words speak to a true and honest faith. How much gut wrenching struggle and questioning preceded the scratching of those words on that wall?

6.Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

What with the pandemic, the absurdity of our politics, and with the uncertain economic climate it is no surprise that courage is often in a tug of war with our fear. Fear is a powerful force. It roars. Even courage needs a respite from it. It’s not surrender, just a recharge.

7. “…Minneapolis police say that the man dressed in black carrying an umbrella who helped to spark the violence in the city after the death of George Floyd …has been identified as a white supremacist intent on inciting violence. So-called “umbrella man” was caught on video smashing windows near the site of Floyd’s murder, starting a wave of fires and looting. He is allegedly a 32-year-old member of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang and has been linked to confrontation last month with a Muslim woman in a Minneapolis suburb.” ~ Heather Cox Richardson

It’s the rise of white supremacy groups, coupled with the high level cover they are given, that scares me the most.

8. God believes in me and loves me. My picture is on His refrigerator door. There is nothing that can keep God from believing in me or loving me. My picture is never going to be taken down. Coming to grips with this truth has taken the better part of 70 years.

9.“…we cannot see what we aren’t told to look for. For most of history, Christians glossed over the presence of the women at Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We weren’t wrong; we were simply paying attention to what we were told to look at—the men—by other men (priests, theologians, and even the Gospel writers themselves). We skipped over the faithfulness of the women and focused instead on the faithlessness (and the Easter morning foot race) of the men. Mary Magdalene and the other women were the first witnesses to the resurrection because they remained present for the entire process, from death unto new life, exactly what is necessary to witness resurrections in our own lives as well.” ~ Richard Rohr

Rohr makes it a habit to remind me that it’s quite OK to rethink what I’ve always been taught and then prayerfully consider and even argue on behalf of the opposite of that teaching. Do this and all kinds of interesting things start

happening.

10. Peter Grieg in his book “God On Mute” talks about the psalms, to which I am greatly attracted (Psalm 19 has grabbed me hard recently). Greig says this:

“ Many of the Psalms…bristle with disgruntled prayers …They are filled with expressions of grief, lament, anger, and even doubt. The Hebrew Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman calls them “psalms of disorientation”. Bono compares them to the blues. “It’s in his despair,” he says, “that the psalmist really reveals the nature of his special relationship with God. Honesty even to the point of anger…”

How many of our prayers are bluesy enough to be considered honest? Probably not enough of them. Read Psalm 88 to see an honest, pleading prayer. The psalmist stands disoriented before God, without pretense or filter, pleading for the God of all comfort to find him.