A Good Word- A Blog from Executive Director Matt Berryman
What Are You Wearing?
“Wear life like a loose garment.” Our friends in recovery offer the world this phrase that could be taken from the red lettered verses in the Bible. After all, we hear Jesus say, “consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin…will he not much more clothe you…?”
The message is the same. Try not to worry, for the One who is in charge of all things, caring for all things, protecting and nurturing all things – is in charge of you, too. Therefore, don’t hold on so tight to life. Attempting to control the future, to control the present, and to secure certainty is God’s jurisdiction not ours – we simply don’t have the power to do it. And often, when we hold on too tightly, we end up choking things, squandering time, squeezing out the grace that is present in all things if we let go a bit and let God take care of us.
Have you ever noticed that your anxiety, your fear, and your control has gotten in the way of your relationships? If you have, you’ve noticed that you tend to overreact to someone else, you stray and attempt to make someone else do what you want instead of letting them be who they are, you create conflict rather than joy and harmony.
The best thing we can do sometimes, by faith if we’ve got it, is to relax, take it easy, and take a look inside ourselves and ask “what am I wearing right now? Am I wearing life like a loose garment? Am I remembering to be a lily of the field? Do I remember that it is God, not me, who is in charge of my life, my loved ones’ lives, and the future of the world?”
If not, then it’s time to don a loose garment, just as the lilies of the field, because we have a God who has promised us, in Jesus Christ, to take care of us…and all things both now and for ever.
In a few weeks, many of us in the Diocese of Chicago will come together for a great night of celebration, spiritual inspiration, eating, and dancing to celebrate the work of Episcopal Charities. Along with Bishop Paula and the trustees, you are invited to come, too, and loosen up a little at the Autumn Soirée!
We hope you’ll come and wear your favorite loose garment, clothe yourself like one of the lilies of the field, and remember that it is God who is in charge – and this is very GOOD NEWS!
God bless you.
Matt Berryman
Executive Director
Episcopal Charities
Video: Father George Smith invites you to the Autumn Soirée