RevGal Friday Five: Freedom!

Jan, over at RevGals has recently been released from six weeks of wearing a sling to allow her shoulder to heal after surgery. As a result she is experiencing a new sense of "Freedom" and offers this Friday Five:

1. physical - six years ago I suffered from a terrible infection that landed me in the hospital for eleven days followed by nine weeks of antibiotics four times a day via self injected pic line. Being released from that pic line was a similar sense of freedom as Jan expresses.

2. spiritual - spiritual freedom. Curious. I could probably go in many different directions with this one, but given the short amount of time I have this morning, I'll go with the first thing that pops into my mind. Here in Dearborn we live in an active, intentional, interfaith city. I like that, it reflects the best of what this country has to offer and enables me to grow more deeply in my faith through relationships with other faiths.

3. emotional - this kind of freedom comes, I think, through doing the good hard work to understand what motivates me and what I do to undermine myself - those "old tapes" if you will, that can be destructive, fear filled, stifling. The more work I do to grow and be emotionally healthy the more "freedom" I experience.

4. vocational - working within a hierarchical church system enables a peculiar kind of freedom, but also, limitations. So, within the freedom I have I enjoy my vocation and find it gratifying. I often appreciate the structure, which I usually experience as useful, although there are occasions when the structure becomes destructive if we don't all do our best to function with healthy boundaries.

5. relationships - In some regard social media has opened up a whole new world of relationships for me. I maintain a regular connection with people from high school, earlier careers, and people I've become friends with, but have never met. It certainly seems like a wonderful sense of freedom!

Comments

Sandy said…
I appreciate the way you refer to a hierarchical church system as "a peculiar kind of freedom" because that has definitely been my experience as well! Peculiar is a great word for it!
Jan said…
So glad you played today, Terri! I think you are much "deeper" than you labeled yourself. I appreciate your mention of social media as a new form of freedom in relationships. I'm glad that you are in such an open community, too.
So with you on #3...it is hard, but good, work.
river song said…
"an active, intentional, interfaith city"--how wonderful that sounds! thanks for playing, peace!
PrJoolie said…
Last summer I interviewed at a congregation in Dearborn, which did not result in a call. I'm happy where I am, but whenever you mention your city, I think, I could have been her colleague! I'm glad we still are, through the wonders of the internet.

Popular posts from this blog

The Bleeding-heart: a poem by Mary Oliver

A Funeral Sermon: Healed by Love

Luke: A Mary Oliver Poem