Knots Form Relationships

I never knew how much work one has to put into tying knots until last weekend at our Lenten retreat. One of the activity prepared for the kids was making knotted rosaries.  I’ve learned it takes as much time and effort to make a knot as to untangle one.  This is similar to the jumble of knots in our lives.  Sometimes it can be seen as a negative metaphor, but not all knots are bad.  We use the expression “tying the knot” to allude to getting married.  Knots form relationships. 

 

 

Imagine a group of young adults and kids sitting together trying and struggling desperately to tie rosary knots.  It may sound and look easy, but simple tasks can create intricate bonds.  Through the spinning, twisting and turning of the strands, our lives became intertwined.  Not all the knots are evenly separated or the same size, but they are connected to one another.  Similarly, all the people we meet are unique, but connects us together.  That’s what God desires of us, to get closer and be knotted with us.  Relationship breeds love and love is the most powerful, transformative force that can tie and wrap hearts.   

 

I made a comment saying if God wants us to pray, he would have made the rosaries easier to make.  But in a more serious note, the best prayer we can give to God is to make time for one another, fully listen, and smile with our eyes.  Prayer is not only about the act, but the being.  It is about being in the presence and be wholly present so that we can be in relationship with one another.  This is what almsgiving is about.  To give not just from our surplus, but from our core so that it makes us uncomfortable.  When we share ourselves to others, we deepen our relationships with them.  This goes the same for God because meetings, papers, classes and jobs will go away, but our relationship with God will be forever. 

 

Lord, help me to tenderly draw near today, to You and to others.

 

 



This prayer is about the other type of knots, but it's such a great prayer not to share:

 

 

Adorn Your Brokenness With Gold

“Despite what you may believe, you can disappoint people and still be good enough.  You can make mistakes and still be capable and talented.  You can let people down and still be worthwhile and deserving of love.  Everyone has disappointed someone they care about.  Everyone messes up, lets people down, and make mistakes.  Not because we’re inadequate or fundamentally inept, but because we’re imperfect and fundamentally human.  Expecting anything different is setting yourself up for failure.”  - Daniell Koepke

 

We tend to focus more on our brokenness in life rather than giving a fair balance to our gifts and strengths.  Many times, we feel like we don’t belong, not good enough or not loved.  That yearning for our definition of what’s perfect for us leaves no room for what it means to be human.  We want to do things to make of our identity, but we are human ‘beings’ and not human ‘doings’ for a reason. 

 

Another factor that ties us down is fear.  The fear of failure, misunderstood, abandoned.  The fear of being a disappointment and being vulnerable.  Fear confines us so much that sometimes we fail to notice that the opposite of fear is love.  Iris Murdoch wrote: “A common soldier dies without fear, Jesus died afraid!”  He struggled with fear to the point of sweating blood.  But fear did not deter him, love overcame that. 

 

With all of the pressures of life, we often break down and don’t know what to do with our brokenness.  One of the songs that I ran into this weekend that helps understand that dilemma is called “Japanese Bowl” by Peter Mayer.  Peter’s lyrics talks about how he is like one of the ancient Japanese bowls that is broken, but adorned with gold between the cracks.  This process is known as Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer resin mixed with gold, silver or platinum.  I find that to be a beautiful image.  The point was not to be afraid or ashamed and hide the cracks or throw the broken pieces away.  But to make them shine even more!  Each of our broken pieces in life gives us an opportunity to look deep down inside of us and do some self-reflection.  No matter the amount of cracks we amassed in our lives, the gold makes us whole again.  This is the Paschal Mystery, Jesus himself became broken at the cross for us to become whole again. 

 

Even though we will never be the same again with the cracks, we are indeed still whole.  Through our experiences, we become more beautiful and more unique than we were first created.  Our broken fibers can be mended and put back together artfully through time and persistence.  We are left with a unique mark in us made of gold.  This is one way of celebrating our humanity.  The cracks remind us that we are all humans and for it is God alone who can make perfect of our weaknesses.  So what can we do with our brokenness?  Embrace them and fill them with gold.