NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 21, 2008

[NACR Daily Meditation]

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NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 21, 2008

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And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children... to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.  
Luke 1:17



We need to be made ready for God's coming.  This time of waiting is a time of 	preparation.  Our minds and hearts are not in a state that is receptive to this miracle of love, to this surprise of grace.  Our hearts are hardened with anger and despair.  As we wait for the celebration of God's coming we would do well to listen to the messenger sent to help us prepare.


"Fathers, turn your hearts to your children," the messenger calls out.  How is it that fathers turning their hearts to their children will prepare people for God's coming?


Families with parents who turn their hearts toward their children will be better prepared for the coming of the God of Love for several reasons.  First, parenting, more than most of life's tasks, forces us to face our own childhood wounds and our own unmet needs.  As we struggle to parent with love and compassion we often find ourselves aware of unmet longings for parents in our own lives. This awakening to a longing for a Parent can dramatically increase our anticipation of the coming of the God of compassion and grace who can bring healing to this wound.


And secondly, families where parents turn their hearts toward their children will have children who are better prepared for God's coming.  When a parent spends time with his or her child, getting to know him and enjoying him, the parent will communicate his love and delight in the child .  As a result, the child will learn that he is lovable and valuable.  And he will learn to anticipate good things.  The child will then be better able to anticipate the coming of the God of compassion. The child's heart will have been prepared by positive interactions with his parent to look for the coming of the One who calls himself Love. 



Make me ready, Lord 
for your coming. 
Turn my heart to the children in my life 
and awaken in me a longing for you. 
Heal the wound I carry in my spirit
from parents whose hearts were distant from me.
God of Love
prepare my heart
for your coming.
Make me ready for
the surprise of your grace
and for the miracle of your love.
Amen.
 
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