December 26-B, 2022

**Schweinitz’s Sunflowers 09/13/2015 Oil Paint Rendered** — **Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation, Huntersville, North Carolina**

Suffering is a perspective, 
a way of interpreting things not going our way. 

Flip the perspective 
and you have maturation, 
wisdom, 
knowing, 
seeing, 
understanding—
enlightenment.

Which doesn’t care what its chances are, 
and is here to do 
what needs to be done, 
when, 
where 
and how
it needs to be done, 
no matter what, 
anyway, 
nevertheless, 
even so. 

Jesus in Gethsemane,
saying okay to death, 
rising from the dead, 
laughing on his way to Galilee. 

Doing what is called for 
all the way to the next thing, 
and the thing after that… 

All the way.

That is the way!

We think it is about having our way,
getting what we want.

That is NOT the way!

The way that is the Way
is seeing what needs to be done
and doing that
when, where and how it needs to be done,
and then doing the next thing after that, 
and so on.

All the way.

That is the Way!

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Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters and five granddaughters within about twenty minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything. View more posts