I lay in bed yesterday morning, my inner selves battling over a morning walk. One side was victorious when my son came into the bedroom and flung open the curtains to reveal a significant snow fall. (Well, significant enough to merit having to take a shovel to the driveway to get the car out.) My guilt is like the snow, which has now all but disappeared. Today is another day in Lent, I hesitate to say my sins can be forgiven, I’d call them omissions.
It’s been a difficult week. So, here it is: “Difficult Situations to be a Christian #1 : When you’re asked a favour”
What do you do when you’re asked for help? Love thy neighbour? Treat others as you want to be treated yourself and do whatever is asked? Well, I chose something else, being wise, honest, looking at the basis of a friendship and saying: “I am your friend, a Christian, but there are somethings I cannot do, remember I told you that when we first met”. My husband told me recently that I’d cry at the thought of a banana losing its skin, so you can see why I need a strategy in place to deal with times when I say yes when I really should say no. I’m talking here as well about social situations like why I deliberately carry little cash on me when I’m volunteering. I was recently asked for money on the street, so I’ve learnt from that and carry enough to give when told it’s needed for an emergency but not enough to feed a habit. We’re talking as little here as one pound.
Throughout my Christian journey I’ve greatly benefited from the experience of others and was initially taken aback to be told to be ‘as innocent as a dove, but wise as a serpent’. That was a greatly empowering piece of advice for me. The words used weren’t dreamt up by some skeptic, but are Jesus own words to his disciples as he sent them out on mission. Right now I’m imagining I can see Jesus saying it to me rather than to his disciples. It gives me peace.
Matthew 10 :16
16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.