Comfortable In Your Own Skin

I have a Sonshine friend who uses a wheelchair for mobility. She wondered why Jesus only healed a few people in the Bible, why not everyone? Her prayer life is rich, but sometimes she gets turned her off to her religion, as she wondered why after much prayer she herself was not healed. But then she has grown to learn that healing comes in many ways.

Maybe her healing was letting go of the hurt, the resentment, the not accepting her situation of the wheelchair and allowing the healing peace of Christ to enter her live. After she did that, she came to realize that the stories of Jesus were more than a few miracles for a few people, but a way of life, a relationship with Christ that daily allows her to accept and to be free and “comfortable in her own skin."

Sometimes she wishes she could wake up in the morning without the help of her home care aide and get dressed in no certain order. For with wearing leg braces, she had to put her socks on first, then her leg brace, then lace up all the straps on the brace, pull her pants over the leg brace, etc. A very tedious affair.

But in her dream, she would run out of the room with one shoe on, one shoe off down the stairs without hanging onto the rail, outside, skipping and hoping trying to get the other shoe on. She would run as fast as she could and let the breeze flow through her hair. She would jump as high as she could just to feel what it was like to be off the ground. She wished for what the rest of us often take for granted.

All of us at one point or another wish to be free from something. We pray, we beg, we try any thing, but then reality sinks in and we know our wish will be answered. Healing comes in many forms, and it just might be the ability to live with the reality of life and then to be comfortable in our own skins.

The Lord prays for us as we reflect: “But the needy will never be forgotten, nor will the hope of the afflicted ever fade.” (Psalm 9:19)

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are afraid to face their limitations or go into shock when the doctor tells us that we must walk with a brace. May your healing give us the strength to be comfortable in our own skins.

Across the Finish Line

A Sonshine Friend retired after a distinguished vocation, as a college professor. He felt his calling to teach was a gift from the Lord. One unfinished task that troubled his soul was a student who had for years procrastinated to get her dissertation completed. She would not graduate. He had given her numerous extensions to complete her assignment, but each time she failed to meet the deadline. She was running out of time, since the college informed her that her privileges as a matriculating student were about to be suspended. So, he called upon her once again and encouraged her to complete her final requirement.

There were more delays, but he received a surprise on the 28th of the month with only 3 days left before the final deadline. It was the dissertation that she needed to complete. He quickly edited her work that very same day and asked her to simply follow his instructions to make the necessary corrections so that she could graduate in the summer. In reviewing her final work, he judged her thesis on the basis that for this student “this was the best work that she could do.”

What a marvelous and profound statement to make about a person. Here is a professor who knows his students. He never gave up on her. Throughout her tenure as a student, he kept encouraging her to preserve despite the obstacles that plagued her life. She was victim to the many illnesses, family problems and stresses that bog us down from keeping our sights focused on the important goals in life.

Another teacher might have simply laid out the policy, stated the deadline and failed her. There are standards that all students have to accept and if circumstances prevent us from completing our assignments then perhaps we were not met to be a teacher, a nurse or a priest.

However, I believe this kind-hearted teacher knew his student, as the Lord knows each of us. This professor wanted her to succeed and graduate. In the same light, God wants us to succeed and gain eternal life. This compassionate professor understood her limitations and instead of failing her or giving up, he could not help himself but firmly kept encouraging her to stay the course. When threatened to lose her status as a matriculating student, he admitted his tactics became firmer with the urgency to complete the dissertation. To his delight, he made his corrections and knew this final work was “the best that she could be.”

I believe that Lord sees us in exactly this same light. With our weaknesses and excesses, he sees that our efforts often do not measure up to the standards we are called upon to practice. We were not married in the “correct form” or our children “came before the wedding” or our faith tradition does not conform to “salvation dogma." Despite these shortcomings, I believe God’s sees only the good in our hearts. Like my dear professor who kept encouraging his student to “do her best.” God knows we are capable of great acts of charity and mercy.

The Lord prays for us as we reflect: “You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” (Psalm 18:35).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine friends who are faced with decisions where they have procrastinated because of weakness. We have put off decisions to quit smoking, or drinking or taking those non-prescribed drugs to ease our emotional pain. Give us your Spirit to know what is “our best” and surrender any desire to control the outcome. Sometimes the best thing we can do when we fall short of our goals is to let God carry us across the finish line.