NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Nov 13, 2003

13 Nov 2003 08:00:00 -0000

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NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Nov 13, 2003

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Remain in my love. . . I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete.John 15:10-11

It is sometimes difficult to imagine joy at all. When we struggle with
failure, or we are faced with our need for change or we are grieving old
losses - in those times joy seems unimaginable.

But joy can come in the midst of these struggles as we learn what it
means to remain in Jesus' love.

We do not have to grieve or change alone. We learn early in recovery
that we will not get very far if we remain isolated. We also learn early
that we need to turn to a power that is greater than ourselves. To recover
we need to learn to remain -- or abide or spend time -- in the love Jesus
gives us. We are loved by God. And we are loved by other people. It is
in these loving relationships that we find joy. 

In John 15 Jesus has been describing himself as the vine, telling us
that we are branches. He is our life-line. We need to stay closely connected
to him. We can no longer pretend to be self sufficient. We must daily
acknowledge our need for help and relatedness.

Jesus told us this truth because he wanted us to experience joy. "Remain
in my love", Jesus said, "so your joy will be complete."

Lord, help me to remain in love.
Help me not to distance myself from you or from others.
Help me to give up pretending to be self sufficient.
Help me to remember that it is in loving and in being loved
that I will find healing and joy.
Amen

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan 

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