Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts

Transcript

Speaker 1: Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to the disciples, gather the fragments left over so that nothing will be wasted.

Speaker 2: You are listening to Scripture for your inner outcasts. Today is April 17th, 2026, Friday in the second week of Easter. Today we are joined by Pam Malinoski, the integrator for Souls and Hearts.

Speaker 1: John chapter six, verses 11 and 12. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to the disciples, gather the fragments left over so that nothing will be wasted. As I reflected on this passage from today's gospel reading, I thought about the idea of multiplying and how Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes to feed the thousands. And how our exiles can sometimes multiply in a way that's positive and sometimes in a way that's not so positive. I thought I'd share a brief story about one of my exiles to illustrate what I mean. When I was younger, I had a worrying exile that was very active. I think she really learned her job from my mother, who tended to worry a great deal. My worrying exile spent a lot of time thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong. She spent a great deal of time in the future imagining all the different scenarios that might happen. What if my parents died? What if I got really sick? What if those kids in school made fun of me again? And as I got older, she worried about whether she would get asked to a dance if she'd get into college and what kind of job she might find. Looking back, worrying tended to beget more worrying. It multiplied the stress and anxiety in my system, sometimes to the point of losing sleep and even negatively affecting my health. As I began to understand myself better, I could see that this worrying exile was carrying these burdens, all of these scenarios that probably would never even happen.

Speaker 1: In an effort to help my overactive management team protect myself. I think that part of me believed that if I thought about every possible scenario, I could somehow be better prepared or have more control. The thing is that worrying really was counterproductive as it required so much energy from my overall system. One thing that has helped this part change her role over the last several years, as I've worked with internal family systems, is by bringing her from the possible future where she lived to the actual present, because she now has a more trusted relationship with my innermost self. She can also appreciate divine Providence a little bit more. She has, for the most part, released this burden of worrying to instead take one moment at a time. And now, instead of worries growing on top of more worries, she is able to bring a greater sense of peace to not only my own system, but to those around me. For instance, when my family or friends begin to worry about bad things happening in the greater world or just in their own personal lives, my formerly exiled worrying part can provide a little reassurance that God is in control, and I still have my moments and plenty of work to do. But I definitely sense that the multiplication is now positive, just like worrying begot worrying in the past, peace now begets a greater sense of peace today, both in my life and in the lives of those around me.

Speaker 2: If today's episode resonates with you, you can find similar content at Souls and hearts.com/content. Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again tomorrow.

Speaker 1: Let's end with our invocations. Our Lady Untier of knots. Pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint John the Baptist pray for us.