Love Lost and Abandoned
Most of this chapter tells the story of a girl named McCall. She was abandoned by her father at a young age and ignored by her alcoholic mother. Her life became a desperate search for love and security. Her search led her to a million places with all kinds of spiritual stops along the way. She resonated with music and found a place where McManus pastors, I guess -- a church in LA called Mosaic. She went out with some sorority girls one night (eek!) and was asked what freaked her out about Jesus. She told them that he had "abandonment issues."
McManus starts off this chapter by saying we all have abandonment issues -- just some more than others. McCall was one of the "more than others" types. The sorority girls asked her to read John 14 that night. She did read it -- over and over -- until the chapter "began to read her." That's a cool way of describing how the words of the Bible can jump out of the pages and into your heart and mind, as if the Author had been "reading your mail" or intercepting your inner thoughts.
It's neat to hear other people's story and find out what has led them away or toward the Lover of our souls. It really is cool to find that anchor that ties us to the maker of our innermost being, that Person Who knows how our hearts, emotions, mind, and soul work and why. Allowing God to redefine our value for us. When we realize what really makes us important, all those false props that we'd been using to make us feel good get seen for what they are -- cheap substitutes for the real thing.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at August 14, 2007 08:51 AM