“’I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” –Matthew 17:20 “’Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’ ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.’” Mark 11:21-23 I think we’ve all thought at one point or another “well surely I have faith as big as a little seed, for heaven’s sake. Thanks goodness for that rather low standard on Jesus’ part!” Unfortunately, as I have grown in experience, I have had to come to the conclusion that that seed might as well be the size of the Milky Way for all the true faith I can muster up most of the time.

“’…Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’” – Job 2:10 I was recently told by a friend that my 2008 Christmas letter was jaded (nothing new), but that it also contained an air of acceptance. We both agreed that this was progress for me. It’s the beginning of what he calls “accepting the unacceptable”. Now, my friend knows something about this, as he has been wheelchair-bound from the age of 15 due to an auto accident. No doubt he has his share of frustrating days, when life seems quite unacceptable.

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:25 Do you tend to hold a grudge? Oh man, I do. Just ask my husband. Whenever he realizes he’s done something wrong, he immediately says “Okay I’m sorry. Forgive me?” and I usually respond “Can’t you give me a few minutes??!!” He wants the whole thing just put in the past right away, whereas I can’t just shut off my annoyance like a faucet. I prefer to carry my anger for a little while.

“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” –Luke 6:27-28 Sometimes we get so used to hearing Jesus’ teachings that we lose sight of how ridiculously difficult they are to practice and just how radical they are. The idea of ‘turning the other cheek’ to me is largely about refraining from retaliation when we’ve been wronged. Well, it’s about going beyond that, really, but that’s a good place to start. Sounds simple, but think of an example where this could have been applied and wasn’t and you may not have to go back very far in time.