God, Line 1 is For You

Something that I think about a lot is what I call "soul work."  Basically, it's the belief that each of us has a unique task of dealing with who we are.  Our issues.  Some of these issues are genetic -- we're just wired that way.  And some are learned -- influenced by our families, our surroundings, and our experiences.  And if we try to dodge this work on this side of eternity, it will still be there when we die.  (That's just what I believe.)  Some folks think that death brings with it some sort of "get out of jail free" card. After all, Jesus died for us and so all the heavy lifting for our wrongdoing has already been done.  We're home free!  Well, this may be true where our shortcomings and mistakes are concerned, but it doesn't wipe out our pre-assigned soul work (again, just my opinion).  So get to work! I was listening to our senior pastor today share the story of a preacher friend who had a life-changing accident.  He was working on a hou

 It wasn't until I was in my 40s that I began reading and learning about "family of origin" and the ways that our experiences as children keep being replayed over and over again in adulthood.  (Or rather how we keep replaying them or looking for them or confusing them with "real time" events -- you get the idea.)  Anyway, I am the youngest sister of three brothers.  When I tell this to some folks they remark, "Oh, they must have really looked out for you."  Uhhh ... no.  I guess we grew up in a household where it was every person for themselves.  And the brother nearest my age was known to deny that I was his sister when we were in middle school (but hey, that is probably classic middle school shenanigans). A number of years ago, when the health of our mother was failing, it was my brothers who carried the weight of caring for her.  They banded together like a team. This was as much by my choice as theirs.  I had done a lot of heavy lifting when our fa