by Liz | Apr 13, 2008 | main
Last night my laptop got so confused. It couldn’t use its backup disk – I could point it to the backup, and mount the drive, and look at the files, but the poor little MacBookPro just couldn’t seem to understand. Finally, I had to reboot, let it forget some stuff and start over again. Then everything worked beautifully once more.
That’s rather like my relationship with God. I read articles, I follow blogs, I go to retreat days, I deal with people around me, things go good or bad with work or church or family. I get so many ideas going that they can get twisted up and very confusing.
Reboot.
Get quiet and let go of all of these things. Go back to the basics: go back to the relationship and start at the beginning, start at the heart. Listen to the words of Jesus in the scriptures. Listen to the prophets and the stories. Sit with the Lord and just be in the presence of God. Then and only then will the other stuff sort itself out and begin to make sense and begin to work properly once more.
The OS on a computer is like the foundation of faith. It relies on the hardware, but it controls the way that the hardware is used and what is can and will do. There are times when patches must be applied to correct some ways it works, or protect from evil entrusions. And very often, these patches won’t really take effect until the machine is rebooted – restarted clean.
When I have to reboot it’s a clean start with the basic assumptions in place. It might happen after reconciliation: wipe things clean, reload, restart with a cleared cache. It might happen just in prayer by myself. Or it might happen just after a great insight (there we go – patch the system and reboot).
This morning I had to reboot. Alleluia!
by Liz | Apr 12, 2008 | main
Today was Retreat Day for the current Women’s Cursillo team and the theme was no surprise to me (I know the retreat master.) First, we were presented with the concept that we are meant to be “human beings” – and too often we are just “human doings.” Then we were presented with Brother Lawrence and practicing the presence of God.
My thoughts are really random on this. The things that stuck included: If I can Be in the presence of God, the doing will come. Or in my reworked Cursillo terms: Pray (Be in God’s presence), Study to understand better those things that have been revealed in prayer and then the Doing will happen.
So often, trying to sit and create a post for this blog brings the presence of God in my daily activities and relationships into sharp focus. I sit to write and often struggle for an idea. And then, as I consider what I might write about, I begin to see God in everything. Just as I am made aware of the presence of God on Wednesday mornings at breakfast as we reflect on our past week.
And, just as several women today observed, this practice is sometimes helped by reminders. For me, knowing that I made a decision to try to write daily, my reminder comes when I sit to compose a post. For another woman, the clock tower at her university rings out every half hour and she uses that to stop and take a moment to practice. Another has a reminder in her email that sends a note “TTJ” (talk to Jesus) that pops up periodically.
But then there was Brother Lawrence who made this practice such a part of himself that he was equally aware of being in God’s presence in the kitchen, scrubbing pots and pans as he was when he was sent to chapel to pray. It mattered not to him.
In my life, it still matters — I am still distracted by the hubbub around me, or the tension in relationships between people or the pressures to “get ‘er done!” Lord, help me to be able to practice Your presence more and more often.
by Liz | Apr 1, 2008 | main
Today’s observation comes from watching Cooper and Grace (a couple of miniature schauzers that share my home):
The best place to rest is in the Master’s bed – preferably snuggled up on the pillows. It is so much like heaven to rest peacefully surrounded by her scent, in the comfort of a soft mattress and pillows. I can relax and be close. It gives me strength and energy for all the other exploits of my day. It makes me feel safe and content. My first choice of resting places is anywhere that she has been, because she leaves behind reminders of her presence.
I hope that I too can learn to rest in the Master’s bed – to be willing to be loved.
