Dirt, part 2

I already had one post about dirt, but the gospel from today along with our wonderful RCIA session prompted me to write about it again.

In today's gospel (John 9:1-41), Jesus heals a blind man by spitting on dirt, rubbing the mud on his eyes and instructing him to wash.  Blindness is used often in the bible.  Sometimes the blindness is figurative and others it is literal.  In this story, there is a bit of both.  The man is cured of his physical blindness while the pharisees continue to be blind to the workings of God, trying to get God to fit into their view of Him.

In my first post about dirt, I talked about how important the dirt is to our farming.  We need to prepare ourselves for God just as farmers prepare the dirt for planting in anticipation of the harvest. 

But what about when we feel no better than dirt?  What about when we can't see any reason to make ourselves any better than we are, either out of pride or exhaustion?  And what about all those "dirty" situations we see in life?

It seems in bad situations, as humans, we want to blame God for allowing it to happen.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, a family member's cancer or other health crisis all get talked about as if God allowed these terrible events to occur.  It is hard to see how good could possibly come from entire towns wiped away, homes full of memories destroyed in seconds, or individual suffering.  It is much easier to hope and pray that nothing bad ever happens again. 

"Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him"  The blind man's faith, the healing of his blindness, and his proclamation of Jesus as being from God are all positive outcomes of Jesus using dirt to make God's works visible.

How is God trying to use the dirt in your life to make His works visible?  Are you allowing Him to use the dirt in your life for His will or are you just hoping the dirt passes quickly?

Childbirth isn't pretty, but look at the beauty that comes from it.  Life isn't wonderful all the time, but reflect back on a hard time and see the beauty and personal growth that came from it.  Things don't always go our way but God is always on our side.  With God there is love, hope, beauty, truth and sometimes a little dirt.  God uses the dirt to open our eyes, ears, mouths and hearts to his will.  Embrace your dirt, allow it to be used for God's will.

Lenten Daily Challenge:  Celebrate the halfway point of Lent.  Do something fun after Mass today.
Rosary Special Intention: For anyone who has a lot of dirt in their life

God Bless!
Hannah
The Farmer's Wife