WHAT'S YOUR PHRASE?

Two weeks ago I was sitting down for lunch at a restaurant in North Webster. Before our family was settled at the table, Olivia said to me, "Do you want to know my new phrase?" I didn't know we were supposed to have a "new phrase," and so I asked her what her "new phrase" was. She said, "Such and such."

Ella immediately said, "Do you know what my new phrase is?" I shook my head no. She said, "My new phrase is 'yadda-yadda-yadda.'" (We explained that would not be a good phrase to use after her teacher or other adults say something to her.)

Marilyn McEntyre in What's in a Phrase? (Wm. B. Erdmans Publishing Co.), says she was wary when members of her congregation were asked in worship to write their "spiritual autobiography in six words." Then these words came to her: "Eat the manna. More will come." To Marilyn those words were an expression of her own anxieties about "saving and spending, keeping and letting go, prudent stewardship and the practice of generosity." Her six-word autobiography reminded her of the way her mother lived - not far from poverty yet "rich in trust and stories about just the right amount of food, money, help showing up just when it was needed."

If you were to write your spiritual autobiography in six words, what would it be? I'd like you to do that this week and then, if you feel comfortable doing so, send it to me. (Your identity will be protected!)

I wonder if the six-word autobiography of the father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) might be, "Everything I have is yours, child." I wonder if the mother of Jesus, Mary, might write (Luke 1:37) "No word from God will ever fail." I wonder if Simon Peter's (John 21) might be, "I said 'no', he said 'yes.'"

What's your "phrase?" What's your six-word spiritual autobiography?

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark