MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK

Monday, March 25

Jeremiah 12:1-16

Psalms 51, 69:1-23

Philippians 3:1-14

John 12:9-19

There is an adorable video on YouTube.  Part of a series, there is a chubby cheeked kid who is called "Kid President" and he is giving a pep talk. (Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o) The message is very uplifting, but as I ruminated on my readings one part of the video really stuck out to me--"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."

Throughout today's readings there is a theme of injustice.  Why am I suffering God, when I love you the most, and those less faithful are having an easy time Jeremiah asks?  An age-old question from believers everywhere who want things to be just a little easier.  The answer has long sense become as commonplace as the question but as the readings percolated through my brain and mixed with all of the input of the world today, I felt my attitude change.

Before I thought that God sent us trials to strengthen us.  "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  God seems to be telling Jeremiah this is true in verse 5: "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out how can you compete with horses?"  I'm not saying that it isn't true, but I'd like to look at it another way.

What if we are choosing the road less traveled, and because it is less traveled it is just hard?  God isn't shooting trials and tribulations down on us from above, but we are living a life that we have chosen?  Kid President says that he would take the road that leads to AWESOME, and what is more awesome than meeting God in heaven?  Getting to awesome isn't going to be easy though.  It certainly wasn't easy for Jesus, and how much harder for the Father to pave the road with the blood of his son?

What if the person to blame for our troubles is just us?  Not the non-believers with their easy, foot worn path; not God shooting down troubles like bolts of lightning; not even our family, friends, pets or co-workers?  What if we said, "I choose the path that leads to Christ, and so when things get hard I know I'm on the right path?" That's what my Lenten goal will be (or was), to work on thanking God for the opportunity to walk the road less travelled, and to praise him for the thorns, bugs and sunburns along the way.

From Philippians 3:13 and 14--"forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Krystal Weiss