Monday, May 12, 2008

Forgetfulness of Self

I hate to admit it, but I was kind of in a funk this Mother's Day.

Not because I didn't get the most special treatment (I did!) but because my thoughts drifted many times to my-self... the dissatisfaction I hold with myself, the longing to get out of this selfish half-life, the ways I see myself wasting my daughters days away.

Sometimes, it is really hard to snap out of a funky funk.

But, this quote came in yesterday's devotional and I tried to take it to heart:

"TO give heart and mind to God, so that they are ours no longer--to do good without being conscious of it, to pray ceaselessly and without effort as we breathe--to love without stopping to reflect upon our feelings--such is the perfect forgetfulness of self, which casts us upon God, as a babe rests upon its mother's breast."
~JEAN NICOLAS GROU ~

French men say it best, I guess ;-D

I must be reminded daily that it is about resting, abiding...
"Christ in me, the hope of glory."
NOT, "Me (with Jesus helping here and there) the hope of glory."

And stunningly, we had a nice day today. I tried to time all of our morning tasks to 15 minutes each. If we finished a task before the timer went off, bonus play time! Then we sat on the floor and made silly paper bag puppets.

First on my TO DO list for tomorrow?
  1. Abide

~christa jean

1 comment:

Youthful One said...

I LIKE those silly paper bag puppets! Gracie even has a proper family of them! I had no idea they were so fresh! No wonder your girlies wanted to show them off! :D

While I don't agree with ALL of Watchman Nee's writings, I love his compiled work on the book of Ephesians, entitled, "Sit, Walk, Stand". Essentially, according to Nee, one must follow that progression in order to really "Stand" as Paul instructs. I have yet to finish the book (while it is a mere 78 pages). I started it about 10 years ago. I can't get beyond the "Sit" chapter.

You guessed it, it's all about abiding.