Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered
So it says in the Book of Hebrews.
Most of us, learn from our mistakes. I wish there were a better way of learning. I get several requests these days from people I don’t know, hardly know, and sometimes hardly knew 30 years ago–requests to pick my brain, for information etc. I dispatch them with a line or two, or ignore them if there are several other ways for the person to get the information, or if I have no interest in advising the friend of a “friend” I don’t remember on how to get published or what poem her son should chose for his contest.
When I was in my twenties or thirties, believe it or not, I actually used to spend a lot of time over some of these requests–to read a long-lost friend’s daughter’s college application essay, to read a daughter’s poetry, to write references. What a waste of time!! Now I realise there is a via media between blowing it off, and doing a splendid job. If the person really has no claim on you, dispatch the request in a sentence or two– or if it’s ridiculous, ignore it. The world has already had a saviour, and he wasn’t me.
Jesus did not answer every request. He was kind to those who crossed his path, performing healing with a wave of his hand, but he kept his focus on the 12 he had chosen to invest in. Lucky them!!
Jesus, give me your focus.
Read my new memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India (US) or UK.
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My book of essays: Wandering Between Two Worlds (US) or UK