Tattoos on the Heart

Finished a brave and beautiful book on the plane ride home from the UK the other day/night. It was a fantastic reminder of some deep truths hidden in some dark places. Father Gregory Boyle the founder and Jesuit leader of Homeboy Industries breaks out some incredibly poignant stories of life in the hood with the kids of the gangs in his gang infested neighbourhood. While I was reading I remembered some stuff... and remembering is an important part of the journey. 1. Most of the journey in doing what God has told you to and living the way God has invited you to is about remembering who you are. This is so easy to forget in a world obsessed with 'success' and 'outcomes'

2. The place we are going is always love. That's not a strategy it's a destination.

3. It's hard. The cross is the most incredible invitation to lose your life - but that is exactly what happens. Jesus really means to come and die - to self, success, bigness and shallow... to live again is to live a deeper, truer version of yourself with the help of heaven.

There is a lot more. I'll leave you with a quote from the book as a sample and encourage you to read it for yourself... it's a powerful wake up to God's work among us.

"What the American poet William Carlos Williams said of poetry could well be applied to the living of our lives, "If it ain't a pleasure, it ain't a poem." My director of novices, Leo Rock, used to say, "God created us - because He thought we'd enjoy it." We try to find a way, then, to hold our fingertips gently to the pulse of God. We watch as our hearts begin to beat as one with the One who delights in our being. Then what do we do? We exhale that same spirit of delight into the world and hope for poetry." - Father Boyle