Are you clingy?

When we cling too tightly, we lose our way.

William Shakespeare once said, “The eyes are windows to the soul.”

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to meet some psychologists from Johns Hopkins who were doing some research with clergy people. I had the opportunity to engage in some discussions with them about life, heaven, hell, and The Divine. It was a powerful conversation and because the research they were doing was totally based on how we connect with God in our everyday lives there was a palpable energy in the room as we discussed our ideas of God and Love.

An interesting part of the time together was that every single time, upon my initial introduction with someone new, they would stare intensely into my eyes.

For a full minute it seemed, they would just look deeply at me. Not the “up and down” look . . . just truly, looking into my eyes.

The first time I was unnerved.

The second time I started to figure it out. By the third, I knew, “Ohhhhhh, they are looking deeply in me to see what they see.” (And then I hoped it was good things!)

Yet, as they looked at me, and I looked back, there was an unmistakable sense of peace.

In the Gospel of Matthew, when the women encountered their best friend resurrected, they clung to him.

Jesus even said, “Don’t cling to me so tightly. You don’t have to be afraid.”

Do you know what happens when we cling to someone tightly?
When we cling to them, we can no longer see them.

Sometimes we have to let go of our death grip on people/relationships in our lives and situations that we face to see the beauty and find the peace that is within.

I have no doubt that if the women had looked deep within the eyes of their Savior, Jesus, they would have seen nothing but unconditional love, value, and acceptance. Their fears would have been eradicated and replaced by a peace known by no other.  

May we not cling so tightly out of our fear and sadness.

May we release those things so that we can look into the eyes of Love, however, that manifests itself in our lives.

Let’s not cling today!

Matthew 28: 8 – 10
“Good morning!” he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, “You’re holding on to me for dear life! Don’t be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee and that I’ll meet them there.”