YIELDING invites DIALOGUE

  My dear friend has two grown children: a son and a daughter. They are both gainfully employed, living in their own homes with their own friends.  Mom, however ( my friend Agnes! ) was telling me how hard it is for her not to ask: Did you floss?  Do you need any money? Have you had your flu shot?

      As she put it, I am always Mom! I cannot let go!

      We laughed together and I suggested that she consider a word I learned recently from my esteemed mentor, Walter Brueggemann. He says God invites us to yield to God.

       Yield ! What a lovely Alice in Wonderland portmanteau word!

       Yielding is not letting go. Yield is yield: letting the other take the lead. Letting the young man and young woman live their own lives without the intrusion of a loving Mom. Yield is respect for the other as Subject or decision-maker in her own life. Yielding invites dialogue!

         So Mom asks: How are you?  Great, says her son! Good, says Mom without asking if he has a warm enough coat for the coming winter, or if he is still with that woman! Mom celebrates his feeling great without taking the lead by a slew of questions asking what ”great” means.

          Mom yields to her son.  Her conversation becomes a dialogue rather than an interrogation.  She can tell about her reasons for feeling great herself, and they can celebrate their good lives together.

          Yielding invites dialogue.  Imagine the dialogue yielding to God invites!