The weather here has been unseasonably warm the past few days. In fact, that's a gross understatement. When do you ever see a daytime high of 77 degrees mid-February? I mean unless you live in Florida or something!
As typically happens, whenever the weather warms, I think of flowers, nurseries, and yard work. This weekend was no exception. I mean it's crazy because I know that more winter lies ahead, but it's like I just can't help myself. It's as if the sunshine causes all reason and rational thought to flee. I found myself wanting to replant all my patio pots (nothing left in them but half dead pansies) and just get out in the yard and do a little clearing. I refrained from doing anything with the patio pots because there is really nothing available to plant yet, but I did get out and so some general cutting and clearing of some dead perennials.
It is always fascinating to me how when I cut away the dead stalks and leaves and clear away the leaves and decomposing matter, at the base of each plant still hugging the earth, are the green, vibrant signs of new life springing forth. Without fail, each of my perennials once cut back and unearthed, showed telltale signs of already returning to life.
As I was working pruning and cutting back, I thought about how people are like plants. Sometimes if you don't look very closely, all you see is a bunch of old seemingly dead stuff at the surface. It's not until you begin to cut back and dig around a little that you can see that there is still life in the plant. Those lovely tender leaves are present- we just may not see them because they are covered over with leaves and decomposing matter. It is the process of cutting away the dead stalks and unearthing the plant that reveals the new life.
This is what I think it means when we are told that we have new life in Christ. No matter what the condition of the plant, life will flourish once more. Even in something seemingly dead for the most part. We are promised not only life, but abundant life! Just as the arrival of spring causes new growth to sprout from my perennials, when Christ comes to make his home in us He brings forth new life as well. He may have to do some serious pruning and cutting back, some unearthing and clearing of debris, but soon new tender leaves will begin to grow. This is the fruit of The Spirit.
I thank God for the promise of spring. I thank Him for the unexpected gift of a brief glimpse of it in the middle of February. I thank Him for being the Mater Gardner and for bringing forth new life, both in the world he created, and in the children He calls His own. Shalom!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
ChChChChanges!
David Bowie may have said it best. "Turn and face the pain....changes!". What is it about change that evokes so much stress and strain? Why do we resist it so much? This has been something I have been thinking about for awhile now. Then today I had a conversation with a friend about this very thing. She is someone who actually LIKES change. Imagine that! In my experience this is a rare thing. Most people cling to the way things are very stubbornly, refusing to even consider that there might be a better way to do something.
Now I am the first to admit that too much change happening too quickly, especially if it is major life stuff, can be a serious stressor. Been there, done that. Lived to tell the tale. But, the thing is, out of the stress produced by my "too much change" crisis, amazing growth happened. Because I finally did one thing: I stopped resisting. I stopped resisting and I started processing, reevaluating. I came to accept that I could not beat back any of the changes I was experiencing. Every single one of them was out of my control entirely. So, I had two choices. I could figure out how to "go with the flow", or I could continue to sit at the bottom of the abyss I had fallen in to. Fortunately for me, God sent someone with a rope and a voice I was able to hear encouraging me to grab it and hang on while he pulled me up and out. If this hadn't happened, who knows? I might still be wallowing down there!
Instead what happened is that I began to examine my life, my faith, my journey very carefully. I began to see that the changes which I viewed as all negative, were in fact, all part of God's plan to wake me up out of a sense of complacency and grab my attention. It worked. I woke up. I began to see clearly, in some ways, for the first time in my life. This was an amazing, amazing thing. What started out as a crisis, ended up being a time of personal growth and transformation. Yes, change is painful. But it IS inevitable and we must face it or risk living in endless fear.
This evening I sat down to read my favorite devotional "Jesus Calling". The thing that I find about this little book is that it seems to mirror whatever I am thinking about, dealing with, questioning. Tonight was no exception. Here's what Sarah wrote for Feb 17th:
"Do not fear change, for I am making you a new creation, with old things passing away and new things continually on the horizon. When you cling to old ways and sameness, you resist My work within you. I want you to embrace all that I am doing in your life, finding your security in Me alone. It is easily to make an idol of routine, finding security within the boundaries you build around your life....Don't try to force-fit today into yesterday's mold. Instead, ask Me to open your eyes so you can find all I have prepared for your in this precious day of Life."
There are no coincidences. God is speaking to my heart about change. In my thoughts, thru my conversations with others, thru my readings. I can feel His hand moving. May His kingdom come, may His will be done. Whatever that looks like. Shalom!
Now I am the first to admit that too much change happening too quickly, especially if it is major life stuff, can be a serious stressor. Been there, done that. Lived to tell the tale. But, the thing is, out of the stress produced by my "too much change" crisis, amazing growth happened. Because I finally did one thing: I stopped resisting. I stopped resisting and I started processing, reevaluating. I came to accept that I could not beat back any of the changes I was experiencing. Every single one of them was out of my control entirely. So, I had two choices. I could figure out how to "go with the flow", or I could continue to sit at the bottom of the abyss I had fallen in to. Fortunately for me, God sent someone with a rope and a voice I was able to hear encouraging me to grab it and hang on while he pulled me up and out. If this hadn't happened, who knows? I might still be wallowing down there!
Instead what happened is that I began to examine my life, my faith, my journey very carefully. I began to see that the changes which I viewed as all negative, were in fact, all part of God's plan to wake me up out of a sense of complacency and grab my attention. It worked. I woke up. I began to see clearly, in some ways, for the first time in my life. This was an amazing, amazing thing. What started out as a crisis, ended up being a time of personal growth and transformation. Yes, change is painful. But it IS inevitable and we must face it or risk living in endless fear.
This evening I sat down to read my favorite devotional "Jesus Calling". The thing that I find about this little book is that it seems to mirror whatever I am thinking about, dealing with, questioning. Tonight was no exception. Here's what Sarah wrote for Feb 17th:
"Do not fear change, for I am making you a new creation, with old things passing away and new things continually on the horizon. When you cling to old ways and sameness, you resist My work within you. I want you to embrace all that I am doing in your life, finding your security in Me alone. It is easily to make an idol of routine, finding security within the boundaries you build around your life....Don't try to force-fit today into yesterday's mold. Instead, ask Me to open your eyes so you can find all I have prepared for your in this precious day of Life."
There are no coincidences. God is speaking to my heart about change. In my thoughts, thru my conversations with others, thru my readings. I can feel His hand moving. May His kingdom come, may His will be done. Whatever that looks like. Shalom!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Learning to Pray
Today I did something I have never done before. I prayed for close to an hour. Back and forth. In a sacred space. With a sacred friend. It was as peaceful as waves lapping at the ocean shore. The day was cold, gray, drizzly outside, but in this space, it felt as though the warmth of the sun was shining on my face on a perfect summer's day.
Prayer for me is a tough discipline. I think much of how we approach it is just plain wrong. I think for a lot of people it is an afterthought in their day if they think about it at all. For many. it is something they only do when things are going badly in their lives. Then they come to God and ask for what they want and expect it to be doled out like He is some kind of giant candy dispenser in the sky. Then there is, of course, the inevitable disappointment with God if things don't turn out as we had hoped. Which in reality speaks nothing at all about His faithfulness and everything about our lack of it!
I resolved several months ago to change my prayer life. Basically I decided to get one. A real prayer life. One in which I started each and every day with prayer, reading, and quiet time. Instead of approaching it like some kind of haphazard housekeeping detail that I might or might not be able to squeeze in that day. It was difficult at first. But as with all habits we try to cultivate, it has grown easier with time.
I think prayer is one of those things people talk a lot about but in reality don't really do. Because it is difficult. Sometimes I don't know what to say. At other times I seem to talk too much. Sometimes I wonder if He is listening. At other times I wonder if I am. What I would really like to learn how to do is to just sit in silence and marvel at His glory. I'm not there yet. Silence and stillness. Both things I value but struggle with....
Praying with others either in a small group or like I did today as a dyad is yet another aspect of prayer that pushes me out of my comfort zone. But I realize that growth only comes when we take risks and when we learn to confront the things that hold us back. What I am finding at this point is that the more you do this, the more comfortable it feels. It's a bit like breaking in a new pair of shoes. At first they hurt your feet, but after while as you walk around in them they begin to feel more natural to your feet. Praying with others has been a bit like this for me.
In Jude, Ch 1 verse 20 we are extolled to "pray in the Holy Spirit" that we might keep ourselves in God's love. I think this is what happens when we unite with others whose hearts and spirits we share. There is a power and strength there that exceeds what we as individuals are capable of. It is a bit like starting down a winding road hand in hand with someone. You just aren't sure where it will end up, but you keep to the buddy system and follow The Guide. Knowing that wherever you end up it will be a place of unsurpassed beauty.
So give it a try. Sit down and begin a conversation with the Almighty. Ask a friend to do it with you. Open your heart and begin to speak. Or better yet, just sit in silence and wait for Him to speak. Maybe do some of both. For if you do, surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. Shalom!
Prayer for me is a tough discipline. I think much of how we approach it is just plain wrong. I think for a lot of people it is an afterthought in their day if they think about it at all. For many. it is something they only do when things are going badly in their lives. Then they come to God and ask for what they want and expect it to be doled out like He is some kind of giant candy dispenser in the sky. Then there is, of course, the inevitable disappointment with God if things don't turn out as we had hoped. Which in reality speaks nothing at all about His faithfulness and everything about our lack of it!
I resolved several months ago to change my prayer life. Basically I decided to get one. A real prayer life. One in which I started each and every day with prayer, reading, and quiet time. Instead of approaching it like some kind of haphazard housekeeping detail that I might or might not be able to squeeze in that day. It was difficult at first. But as with all habits we try to cultivate, it has grown easier with time.
I think prayer is one of those things people talk a lot about but in reality don't really do. Because it is difficult. Sometimes I don't know what to say. At other times I seem to talk too much. Sometimes I wonder if He is listening. At other times I wonder if I am. What I would really like to learn how to do is to just sit in silence and marvel at His glory. I'm not there yet. Silence and stillness. Both things I value but struggle with....
Praying with others either in a small group or like I did today as a dyad is yet another aspect of prayer that pushes me out of my comfort zone. But I realize that growth only comes when we take risks and when we learn to confront the things that hold us back. What I am finding at this point is that the more you do this, the more comfortable it feels. It's a bit like breaking in a new pair of shoes. At first they hurt your feet, but after while as you walk around in them they begin to feel more natural to your feet. Praying with others has been a bit like this for me.
In Jude, Ch 1 verse 20 we are extolled to "pray in the Holy Spirit" that we might keep ourselves in God's love. I think this is what happens when we unite with others whose hearts and spirits we share. There is a power and strength there that exceeds what we as individuals are capable of. It is a bit like starting down a winding road hand in hand with someone. You just aren't sure where it will end up, but you keep to the buddy system and follow The Guide. Knowing that wherever you end up it will be a place of unsurpassed beauty.
So give it a try. Sit down and begin a conversation with the Almighty. Ask a friend to do it with you. Open your heart and begin to speak. Or better yet, just sit in silence and wait for Him to speak. Maybe do some of both. For if you do, surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. Shalom!
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