My son made a stepping stone yesterday at church to put out in the garden there. If you look closely, you will see that in addition to the gems, shells, etc. they gave him to work with at church, he also put money in his stone. I thought that was pretty humorous!
My daughter actually went to Children's Church for the first time so I was able to listen to the entire service! Two of the women from the congregation took over and gave a very special service, so I was very glad to be able to participate fully. It is wonderful to be a part of a community that honors women, and believes in the value of all people. I have my religious questions, but when it comes down to it, that's what matters the most to me.
One of the women is someone I have been getting to know better and admire quite a lot. She's in her early 60's and just finished her PhD in Psychology. I told her that is a goal I have for myself someday. (In due time, and I don't know what I want to study yet.) In any case, she gave the sermon and it was very touching.
She talked about forgiveness and turning the other cheek. She talked from a psychological perspective about how it is hard for us to forgive because of the way our brains are wired, especially if we have been wounded as children. She said the natural way of things is for us to not want to get hurt again. But she said that she didn't think that when Jesus said to turn the other cheek that he meant for us to be fools or to accept abuse. She said she interpreted the verse as turning towards the other person to see their perspective, and to understand why they might be abusing us. She talked about the abuse she experienced as a child from her father and how it took her a long time to forgive that. She said she still can not forgive the abuse itself, but she was able to come to peace around her father and felt very close to him before he died.
It gave me a lot to think about.
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