Freedom to Change

Hello from my heart to yours...

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden."  Johan Wolfganf von Goethe

Happy Passover.... Happy Holy Week.... 

This is my absolute favorite time of the year... this is when I feel closest to my Jewish friends... amazingly, I have written about our connection to one another every year and always stated it as "the connection with the people of the world". However, in a religious census done in 2010, Christians and Jews only make up 32.2% of the worlds religious people... I thought the percentage was much higher than that, which is why I googled it in the first place... ...

Anyway, the "freedom" festival has begun... the "Holy" week has begun... and our hearts are filled with faith, hope and love in abundance... .

During Lent, I have been changing and renewing myself...my heart needed changing... a little piece of it was hardening... not because I did not have God in my heart, I just wasn't tending to the vineyard ...  I wasn't doing the "will" of my Father even though I had said I would... and when I saw a bit of dry soil in my vineyard, I chose to throw down my tools and give up instead of digging in and cultivating the soil so that my vineyard could thrive... so, I removed the weeds and rocks that were preventing me from having sweet grapes instead of sour ones and I am "Me" again... come Easter Sunday, I will be drinking the finest wine from my vineyard as I rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus.... 

We all have a hard time with God's "Will" ... I think He expects us to.. I think that's how He teaches us to be the blessed people He intends for us to be.. by giving us different vineyards to choose from along our journey.. it's up to us if we stay and prepare the earth so the grapes grow.. or if we throw in the tools and hop over to another vineyard that someone else has already harvested and is serving the wine... it's up to us to change our hearts so that they aren't hardened and strangled by the weeds... but it takes strength and perseverance for sure... and a whole lot of praying...

When God told Moses that He had chosen him to free the Hebrews from slavery, he was not sure he could do it, however, he did not throw his staff and give up, he did the "will" of his father and simply said, "Let my people go." Of course, Pharaoh did not listen, and then, God sent the plagues... giving Pharaoh an opportunity to change his hardened heart each time, however, it wasn't until the 10th plague (where the Angel of Death "Passed Over" the Hebrew homes, which had been marked with lambs blood over the doorposts) that Pharaoh finally relented since his son was dead.

When Jesus returned to Jerusalem on Thursday for "The Last Supper", he already knew what was going to happen to him, however, he was going to fulfill the "will" of his Father in order for our sins to be forgiven and so that we could have eternal life in heaven with him and God.. imagine if he would've left the Mount of Olives and run away avoiding what was to come instead of trusting God... 

Anyway, it's too early.. and I haven't even had breakfast yet.. but as part of my Lenten repentance, I offer this prayer: 

I am sorry God, although I say "yes" to You, I realize that I continue to stumble, and sometimes, I let myself be led totally off-course by those who do not bring me closer to You... but I am here and I promise to fight the good fight.. the sour grapes, well, they belong to me, but so do the sweet ones that I have cultivated during Lent.. Let me not forget that they are sweet because of You..... Thank You, God, for giving me strength to work in the vineyard.. help me to always get through the dry soil.. Give me the courage to destroy the toughest weeds and the grace to survive the pricks from the largest thorns... I trust You.. Your "will" be done .... and if I forget, help me to change my heart immediately... Amen, Amen.

May you all be able to change and renew your hearts always so that they are never hardened... remember that you are loved beyond measure and are a cherished blessing to the world.. come drink some sweet wine with me and let's celebrate OUR freedom ... 

With love,

Elena

p.s. This is a quick summary of our connection....

In Judaism, the people celebrate the beginning of the biblical year with two of the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover and Pentecost (Shavuot)... In Christianity, the believers celebrate Easter and Pentecost.  Our religious worlds are connected through Pentecost (Fiftieth Day)... 

On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharoah; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God ...

On Easter, the Christian people were given the gift of eternal life in Heaven; on Pentecost they were given the Holy Spirit, thus creating the Holy Trinity and the Birthday of the Church.

... these holidays are always celebrated in the Spring.... making Spring the season of new hope and renewal for all who have faith in our one God..