We're in This Together, right?

The flowers are blooming. The trees are festooned in their Easter finery. The grass is coming up, mostly green. Earth is renewing itself even as we wake each day. The Easter story reminds us that new life comes out of even the worst tragedies. And that the love of God for all of creation is affirmed. Yeah, yeah, "alls right with the world." But the world is not alright all the time, is it? Even Spring brings about hay fever or whatever other allergies happen to lurk with the new found airborne pollen. I wish I could remember all that great stuff about Easter all during the week. Sometimes I can't even make it through a Sunday! And those buttons and bracelets that proclaim, "What Would Jesus do?", well, they just aren't helpful to me. What Jesus would do and what I do are sometimes diametrically opposed! But the idea behind that saying is probably a good one. If we could remember that Jesus was about loving your neighbor, about listening to your fellow man (or woman), about being a servant instead of the one being served, that would be great, wouldn't it? When I leave church, I usually feel pretty good about the world in general and people in the world as well. But then someone cuts me off in traffic and my rosy glow dims somewhat. And I see someone yelling at someone else or doing something not thinking of their actions and I'm once again "of the world" and not just in it. I can't keep my head in the clouds all the time. So what can I do? Well, one thing I can do is this: I can pray more often. Hunh? Yep, I said pray. See that kneeling down and getting the posture right thing isn't the idea Jesus had in mind when teaching us about communication. I think we need to communicate better with God. And that means talking to the Almighty in the car, in the grocery store and even on the street. Before you put me away in a padded cell, though, hear me out. I'm not necessarily talking about well, talking out loud--although I guess if you felt called to do that...who am I to judge? I was thinking more along the lines of that silent commentary we have running through our minds at any time of the day. Wouldn't it be great if instead of thinking that so-and-so could use a new haircut, we would instead ask God to re-direct our thoughts to something more constructive instead of destructive? What if instead of saying to ourselves, "God, I am so useless" we thought, "God, use me as your instrument today." What if we would instead channel our thoughts to not necessarily What Would Jesus Do, but What Would Jesus Have me do? There's a world of difference with those last three words added. And it's worthy of consideration I think. What would Jesus have me do today? The next hour? The next day, week, month, year? So hooray for Spring, allergies and all. And Alleluia for Easter! And let's look for a new beginning this year. A new outlook. A new prayer life and direction. I'm all for it, how about you?