PARADOXICAL

(G. asked me to write him a personal letter he’d read in his upcoming retreat. This is what I gave him.)

Dear G.,

I’ve known you for quite a long time now since you joined our little band of hip and happy fruits in the Lord’s vineyard.

As an elder brother in Christ, I’m afraid I have nothing new to tell you. I’m certain your good parents have already told you everything. I don’t want to add anything except to repeat that our God is a loving God and He meets us where we are in our respective walks of faith.

I‘m sure He is there with you, meeting you as a grownup kid at the threshold of youth and “young adulthood.” As someone a few months older than you are (hehe), I’ve never expected that there still are a lot of things I do not know about God. I realize I can never exhaust my knowledge of Him; He is as mysterious as He is fascinating. He continues to reveal Himself little by little, in doses that I can take. He is kind of a slow God that way. Maybe He knows I cannot swallow everything about Him in one go so He kind of gives it to me at my own pace. It’s like traveling on foot.

By revealing Himself that way, He reveals myself to me as well. The more I get to learn about God, the more I get to learn about myself, about being human, about the way I should relate to my fellow human beings. God is like a mirror that way.

It’s been my honor and privilege that I could help you a little in this journey through our little happy band. I would have done the job entrusted to me if all of you in the band could little by little get to know the Lord in bigger and bigger ways. I would have fulfilled my duty as a servant if I shall have helped reveal to you His many wonders and joys even in all the challenges of life.

I guess that’s how we should approach God – to see His loving finger behind everything – joy, sorrow, success, failure, pain, accomplishment, frustration, play, work, wealth, lack, friends, enemies, favors granted, prayers “unanswered”, sickness, health, consolation, affliction, virtue, even weakness. In everything, God is there; we only have to exert a little bit harder to discover Him. I hope that in a little way, God has been traveling slowly, on foot, with you, God has been a mirror to you -- through me.

Here’s to an exciting, surprise-filled journey with Him! I hope this letter has left you an open mind and a heart that receives Him with joyful longing. Thank you for your time especially in our “jammings.” It’s my joy, honor and privilege to have met you and the rest of the Happy Froots! May God continue to bless you in your studies and in everything. “May He grant you your heart’s desire.”

posted by Resty Odon  # 6:00 PM