Vulnerable & Weak.

I am real person. I have fears and weaknesses and am vulnerable. That is not easy to admit, but I do. There are days when I feel lonely and like I am doing life all by myself. I have a feeling I am not the only one...

After finishing one book that was on my list for break, I picked up my second. The first few pages of the 'Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning were without a doubt written for Ashley Margaret on January 1st 2012!

"And grace calls you out: you are not just a disillusioned old man who may die soon, a middle-aged woman stuck in a job and desperately wanting to get out, a young person feeling the fire in the belly begin to grow cold. You may be insecure, inadequate, mistaken, or potbellied. Death, panic, depression and disillusionment may be near you. But you are not just that. You are accepted. Never confuse your perception of yourself with the mystery that you are really accepted. Paul writes: 'The Lord said, my grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness. So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me' (2 Corinthians 12:9). Whatever our failings may be, we need not lower our eyes in the presence of Jesus. Unlike Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, we need not hide all that is ugly and repulsive in us. Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace. As we glance up, we are astonished to find the eyes of Jesus open with wonder, deep with understanding, and gentle with compassion."

Sometimes, embracing our vulnerability and weakness gives God the most room to work in and through us so others see Him. Just look what He can do when He has the entire sky to paint! I know that He can handle me.

Thanks Brennan Manning.