by Liz | Jun 17, 2008 | main
There’s an old (Shaker?) hymn that has been keeping me company of late:
My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?
What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and earth,
How can I keep from singing?
I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?
Usually I sing the modified words that Pete Seeger wrote, where the Savior is Truth, Christ is Love, and the refuge is rock, etc. But the essence if still the same and it leads me to that quiet place where I am in touch with Love and Truth and the powerful Presence (of God) that is the underpinning of all creation. Once there, How can I keep from singing?
by Liz | Jun 16, 2008 | main
Susan told me I sounded mighty calm for having lost my cell phone on Saturday. Truth be told, I was very calm because I noticed it almost immediately and managed to talk to another of the shuttle bus drivers, who called another driver, who caught up with the driver who had my phone, who gave it to the next driver due to come to my location, who brought it to me. Whew! I must say, I felt like my guardian angel was working really hard on that one.
Guardian Angels – I love the image of a Guardian Angel, although I’m not sure I really believe in such a thing. And then again… Many years ago, I ran into a woman who had recently retired from the place we both worked. As we chatted, she talked about the pressures and difficulties of caring for her mother. Suddenly, I found I had reached out and given her a grand hug (this would not be a normal occurrence in this work place relationship). As I walked away, I had a real since of having been honored by being allowed to be an angel.
That sort of thing has occurred more than once in my life. Each time I feel honored.
Maybe an Angel, or even a Guardian Angel is in reality another person who is open to the movement of the Spirit and willing to be moved to action. Just as those bus drivers went out of their way to get my phone back, I pray that I am willing to go out of the way to be there when someone needs me. Sometimes it seems a bit scary and sometimes it seems a bother, but it always seems right to be the hands and feet of Christ when called.
by Liz | Jun 15, 2008 | main
The day started with noticing that my freshly printed boarding was for a different flight that I thought I was on, followed by leaving my cell phone on the shuttle bus. Add in a crowded train because two cars were “dark” (no lights, no AC). A cancelled flight, weather delays, you name it — sitting in the Newark airport for 7 1/2 hours, then flying 2 hours to Atlanta, having the slip from Park & Ride that said Lot A, but the car was in Lot C, and a 2 hour drive home translates into many opportunities to Practice the Presence of God.
I’ve been reading Ekhart Tolle’s New Earth lately. I was working on it in the airport. And so, I decided to “practice.” How many times did I pause, step back and focus on “Am I still breathing?” Add in the repetition of “This too shall pass” augmented with remembering Julian of Norwich’s declaration of “All shall be well. All manner of things shall be well.” A good day all in all.
It’s much easier to survive such a day if you can rest in the present moment. Learning to accept what is, right now and not try to drown that sucker seems the better way through.
As I write this, I think of Jesus’ words in Luke 11:
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“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
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But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
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Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”
It seems that if all you do is turn that devil out by ignoring it, or placating it or ignoring it, it will come back with reinforcements. It seems that spirit is looking for rest. So, instead of driving it out, put it to rest. Embrace it, shine the light on it, transform it. Let it rest — or rather, put it to rest. That way, you can be done with it.
And so, as each problem reared its ugly little head yesterday, I found that it was best to just go ahead and put it to rest. Look at it – observe it, refuse to give it power, tuck it in, put it to bed. Put it down.
Now – I wonder if I can remember that today…
by Liz | Jun 9, 2008 | main
We deal with many mirrors. There is the mirror of our friends, relatives and coworkers that reflects back to us what they see in us. There is the mirror of God in which we hope that we can see the perfect creature that we are meant to be. But the mirror that is giving me fits today is the one in my bathroom.
That’s the one that greets me first thing in the morning and insists on showing me that I am neither as young or as slim as I’d like to think I am. It’s the one that reminds me of my encroaching double chin and the sunburn that my nose tends so strongly toward. It’s the one that reminds me that it was probably not a good thing to eat a whole, large Dove Milk Chocolate Bar last night even though I really wanted it, and really enjoyed it.
I’ve got to come to terms with that mirror. I think first I have to accept the face that looks back at me. Then maybe I can love the face that looks back at me complete with the puffiness under the eyes from sleep. Then, and only then, do I stand a chance of standing my ground and remembering to do those things that make that face happier, less stressed and possibly not quite so well padded.
Jesus told us to love your neighbor as yourself. If I am to love my neighbor, I suppose that I must learn to love me, in the mirror at 6 am.
by Liz | Jun 7, 2008 | main
When we name something or someone, it is an attempt to capture it in a way. To name someone or something is to label it so it can be filed into its proper spot. A name gives us some control
It seems that naming God is an attempt to capture the essence and put it into our own limited framework. That is indeed useful at at times – it’s really difficult to talk about something or someone without naming. But, it can be deadly. My name for God (God) might be different than your name for God – Allah. Division erupts. I had the right name. You have the wrong name. How can we both be right?
When Jesus taught us to pray, he started “Our Father in heaven. Holy is your Name.” While Father could be construed as a “Name” to me it seems that is really is a handle on a relationship. It proclaims the sacredness of the Name – without using a name. There’s a difference between my saying “Mama!” and when I called my mother “Martha.” One is her relationship to me, the other is her name. “Mama” implies what she means to me, “Martha” is far more objective.
The Our Father or Lord’s Prayer, continues in an intimate person to person relationship: Thy will be done, [You] give us this day our daily bread, [You] lead us not into temptation… it’s a prayer of relationship. It’s a prayer that where we lay out our needs and desires and trusts the other to provide.
I can never capture the whole of God in a name, but I can stay in the relationship and learn more about the other. That’s even better.
