Incarnational Living

Living Incarnational.

I've never ever thought of this in terms of myself and my own little life. Let me explain.

I'm reading Margaret Feinberg's book "The Organic God". She writes of the incarnational way God lived out his life on earth through the son Jesus. One line she writes rocks me to the core, "He was literally born into the stench of this world, and he embraced those in it." Feinberg goes on to relate this to our lives and living "incarnational" with the world. Purposeful. Somewhat painful.

I think of the woman I heard about on my hospital floor yesterday...40 years old...bleeding profusely from her rectum. Doctors have searched for a diagnoses for a year...they found one: Terminal Cancer. All throughout her body.

I think of the little girl in my babies school. She is cross eyed. Poor I would imagine since her clothes are too small....full of life...hyper even. She runs to me every time I come to eat lunch with Laine. She is desirous of love.

I think of my brother. My sweet brother. My wreck of a brother. (He would tell you this.) High-maintenance sometimes...yet filled with the biggest heart you can imagine. Addicted. Broken. Hard. Yet tears filled his eyes with every sentence as I sat on the floor beneath his chair on thanksgiving...just listening.

I think of my children. Bright. Beautiful. Full lives ahead. Broken by abandonment. Hurt by adults that were too attuned to selfishness rather than innocence. I hear their stories, I hold their hands...weep inwardly and try to help them sort the pain. Pray in dark car rides home for them...fill their days with hope and their minds with a Father that does not abandon and will always love...

And I connect with the process of incarnational living...I get it...Christ showed us the way. He showed us with lepers touched...women healed of hemorrhage...disloyal disciples...misunderstood prostitutes...rich rulers that deserved snubbing for injuring the poor...

He lived dirty. He felt the pain. He walked among them even when it broke His heart. Incarnational.

My prayer today is that I can continue to evolve incarnationally...to reach out more even in the midst of my own chaotic over scheduled life...to drop all when the need arises and get dirty...Incarnational. Living.

Grace n Peace,

A ~