Gracia Wiarda, LMFT

Second Chances Arise, go to Nineveh I don't like it, God, I won't do it!... I am going the other way Get someone else. Out to sea Paid my fare Go to sleep In the hull You can't see me I can't see You. God, I am scared You are rocking my boat. Yes I am at fault. Throw me out Into the sea. Way deep down Seaweed wrapped In the fish. Have mercy on me! Deliver me! I vow to go Wherever You send, Yes, My Lord, Even to Nineveh. Arise, go to Nineveh I am going, On my feet Right away! 'Hey, you wicked lot, Forty days, and you are done! Toasted, wiped out!' I am furious! I knew it. You would not do it. You gracious, Merciful, slow to anger, Love abounding God of second chances. I would rather die Than see them alive These heartless, cruel people. Surely they deserve to die. I will wait Outside their gate It will be great To see them dead By sword or fire or plague. Now where is my leafy shade Of yesterday? My cherished plant Is withered, dead. I am scorched, Parched and faint. I don't want my plant dead! I am angry enough to die. Yes, let me die. You love a plant You did not make, I love all I made. In fear you obeyed My second call And that is wise, But let love make sweet Your 'yes, my Lord' When enemies Get a second chance. You too, Jonah, Had your second chance As you said, I am compassionate Merciful and slow to anger, My kindness is for everyone. Reflections 1) Two facts about God. He is powerful, powerful enough to sink us or to save us. He is compassionate. He loves and gives second chances. 2) My obedience may lead others to experience a second chance. I can become a conduit of God's grace. 3) A deeper appreciation of all the second chances I received will help me accord grace, patience, forgiveness, and second chances to others.

March 2nd 2013 "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation" Matthew 26:41 "It was a heavy meal, lamb, bread, and wine. It was a confusing Passover eve, starting with Jesus washing our feet and then His cryptic statements. What was this about bread and His body? What about wine and His blood? What betrayal? Seemed like we talked about betrayal quite a bit lately. Why did Judas up and went so quickly? Much to digest and it was late in the night and time to sleep. Wha...t to keep awake for and what to pray about? Eye lids were heavy like lead. Faint noises of weeping and praying drifted in and out. Too tired to be curious, much less alert and praying. What exactly were we to pray about? What kind of temptation did He meant? Too sleepy to ponder or pray....zzzzz" What if they had watched and prayed? How might they have responded differently during Jesus' arrest? Perhaps they would have stood by Jesus through the trials. Perhaps they would have demonstrated their loyalty by identification and not by word only. We would never know. They did not. They betrayed Him, like Judas did. Watching and praying is work. Yielding to temptation does not take work, it comes too easily. Let us be alert to what is happening around us and to the inner workings of our heart. Let us pray like Jesus did in the garden and lean on God for wisdom, courage, strength, and help to stand when temptation comes. Some of us know what it is to be betrayed. The psychic pain is tantamount to a physical stab in the heart. We understand now why Isaiah described the Messiah as One acquainted with grief, a man of sorrows. Jesus experienced the grief and sorrow of rejection, abandonment, and betrayal. Some of us stay stuck in anger and bitterness to avoid experiencing the pain and the grief. But we must go there. We must work through the pain and grief to get to the healing. We won't be alone. Jesus, the man of sorrows, identifies with us. He can heal the wounds if we allow them to be examined and dressed.

Good Friday The Son of God Immobilized By nails, hanging... The angels reeled in horror Shocked, astounded To look at such a sight Ready with bowls in hand To pour God’s wrath Upon the earth But no cry to the Father To come to His aid He was silent Like a lamb to the slaughter The sun hid its face For no mortal light can bear to shine At the snuffing of the Light The son of God Immobilized By choice, hanging For you and me What kind of love is this?