L Is For Lamott ~ by Bob Jones

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." Anne Lamott

 

"It is a writer’s job to be curious, to observe, to question, to try to better understand and give language to some of the vast and varied ways of being alive in the world. The fear that I will fall short, that I will fail to convey my ideas in a way that resonates with readers, is real and ever-present, but I have realized that it is also part of the draw and the ongoing challenge."
 

Anne Lamott is right up there with my heroes of the faith. 

Anne is a Christian but not your garden variety. She grew with a father who despised Christianity and a mother who attended Episcopal midnight mass on Christmas Eve but she says no one in her family believed in God. Believing meant you were stupid. In 1985 she reversed course and made a confession of faith in Jesus and chronicled her journey in "Travelling Mercies," my introduction to her writing.

Anne is an author, activist, former alcoholic, and Sunday School teacher. Her work is worth a moment of your day. She'll make you laugh (at least smile) or think about life and that will be good for you.

It is for me.

These are some favourite Annie insights.

"Families are hard, hard, hard, no matter how cherished and astonishing they may also be. Remember that in all cases, it's a miracle that any of us were conceived and born. Earth is forgiveness school. It begins with forgiving yourself, and then you might as well start at the dinner table."

In one paragraph, Anne lays out a path forward to address any issue families face. And in general, for any one in a relationship. None of us gets out of life without a scar, usually from someone who loves us or once loved us. 

God is a forgiving God and calls us to model the divine behaviour.

"God just means goodness."  A. Lamott

 

Look Up

"It's really not all that scary. Emerson said that the happiest person on Earth is the one who learns from nature the lessons of worship. So go outside a lot and look up. My pastor said you can trap bees on the bottom of mason jars without lids because they don't look up, so they just walk around bitterly bumping into the glass walls. Go outside. Look up. That's the secret of life."

Don't be a bee. Hope looks up.

Whatever you're facing, wait, watch, and do the next right thing.

The dawn will come.

Fear of Failure

Even Anne, and perhaps because of all her success in writing bestsellers, inspiring fellow writers, and the awards she has won, is not immune to feeling pressured by the fear of failure.

"My fear of failure has been lifelong and deep. If you are what you do - and I think my parents may have accidentally given me this idea - and you do poorly, what then? It’s over; you’re wiped out. All those prophecies you heard in the dark have come true, and people can see the real you, see what a schmendrick you are, what a fraud."

Remember that God sees the real you. He loves the real you. You are the one Jesus died for. And if God did not spare his own son, but gave him up for you - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give you all things?

I agree with Anne, "All I ever wanted since I arrived here on earth are the same things I needed as baby, to go from cold to warm, lonely to held, the vessel to the giver, empty to full."

This month I am in Ukraine sharing with pastors and helping to host McJoyful parties for children. I won't be able to reply to your comments but I will look for them when I return. Thank you for reading. 

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

Bob writes at REVwords.

He is a Jesus follower, husband, dad, grampa, writer, coach.