The Misconception of Perfection in Love Relationships

“It’s not so terrible. Rather than dwell on problems why not look for life’s gifts? Every day is a present. Beautiful!”— Alice Herz-Sommer (108 yrs old- World’s oldest Holocaust Survivor)

The unexpected arrival of someone into my life is an opportunity to see God’s blessings, and simultaneously triggers all my inner demons and work still left undone. There’s never such a thing as “no fear,” even when I feel the gift has been delivered into my arms directly from God. The human fallible me, intercedes and interrupts the miracle. There’s a myriad of fears which creep in, little by little, trying to undermine the gift.

When his human flaws began to introduce themselves to me, like an onion exposing its layers, I could feel my resistance grow, as fear dug its heels in. This is always a very difficult period to navigate in a relationship: the flaw discovery phase. Not until you reach this place are you able to really begin the relationship part of the dating experience.

Easter— A Reflection Of God’s Love and Mercy For Us

Christ is full of infinite mercy. His ways are of love. But for love to be real and truly a verb, it is demonstrated in His mercy. On the cross, at death’s doorstep, He forgave. He forgave His persecutors and executioners. He forgave His disciples, for failing him multiple times. He even seeks them out after his resurrection. He didn’t say, “Forget you, you losers! You betrayed me, denied me, and now I turn away from you….” He would have been justified; they disappeared, retreated, cowered in fear.

As Easter approaches I am reminded that the ultimate testament to the power of Christ is in His resurrection. He foretold of His death and resurrection. Many relegate Christ to be “just another Prophet.” It’s easier to deal with Him in these terms. The ego doesn’t want to have to deal with a resurrection. That’s harder to understand. It requires us to surrender the need to conquer and control. The things we cannot wrap our pea brains around, are relegated to fiction. Only things we can categorize and define, place us in the familiar territory of being in control, and feeling powerful. This we are  “comfortable” with.  Anything other than what we ourselves are, is inconceivable. It requires us to take the leap of faith to invite the possibility that something exists that is far beyond our total comprehension.

Parent Weariness— Teen now 18

“I have many times been driven to my knees by the utter conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” ~Abraham Lincoln

I have not blogged consistently for the past few months. To say my current reality during this timeframe has been rather chaotic and stressful, may be understating it a wee bit. You see, my 17 year old turned 18 late last year, and my world has been in utter chaos surrounding this milestone.

Everyone knows that raising teens is not easy.  Having already weathered many teen storms, I thought that as she approached 18, the worse was behind me. I really began to enjoy her at 17.  It seemed that her teen revolts were fewer and I saw maturity begin to set in. I thought she was finally “getting it,” understanding many things regarding life and our relationship seemed strong.

The past six months have been a struggle as I try to maneuver through the depths of this chaotic teen journey into adulthood. Not only is this a difficult period for her, but as her mother, I am catapulted into a transition I thought would be just that, “a transition.” Silly me, I thought a transition meant that there’s time to adjust. Believe me, there has been no easing into this life’s episode! It has been a catapult into enemy territory; only come to find out, I’m the enemy.