Reflections

Keep It Real

Found a quotation from author C.S. Lewis in a blog entry on prayer:

“The prayer preceding all prayers is ‘May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to.”

A very appropriate statement to preface our prayer efforts. May we always strive to examine ourselves to make sure that we approach God as our TRUE selves… may we always approach the true God (and not an image of idolatry) in our prayers.

I also think it appropriate in current context of myself. This quotation comes as an answer of sorts to some recent, personal concerns regarding prayer. I sometimes worry that I have not prepared myself for the mindset or the right attitude for prayer during my daily 10 minutes. Again, the answer to this wordly concern is in the form of a little prayer and intention.

What About the Wicked?

Read a great blog entry by “Stushie” about “payback” in the form of a quick devotion inspired by a life experience. The intro to his article has a good reminder for many of us who feel wronged or crossed by our neighbor:

Sometimes we are too zealous in our outrage at the world that we want to payback evil with evil. Payback belongs to the Lord; we are meant to love our enemies and forgive those who hurt us.

Amen to that. Of course, I will be one to admit it is more easily said than done. Often times I carry grudges in an effort to “avoid” getting harmed again – but that goes contrary to the whole concept of forgiveness. Forgiveness lets go. And generalizing other people in the future goes contrary to treating our neighbors with love… imagine, receiving others with hostility or suspicion just because of a bad past experience… the cynicism of it all ruins all our future relationships and closes our hearts.

Each day I have prayed through one devotion or another for freedom from the grudges I have carried over the years. I find that the more I reflect on my release from their chains, the more my burden seems lightened. It seems that reliving past wrongdoings is different when you put it in the light of prayer vs. plotting or seeking revenge and payback. There are times that I even look back on the related experiences and noticeably felt that I really didn’t care about them anymore… my feelings were at best neutral and waning on forgetfulness (thank God for that!)

On a closing thought (also from Stushie’s post):

… Help us to do whatever we can do to make this world a better place through the strength of your Love…

I like Stushie’s thoughts on the topic. What is to become of the wicked people who harm us in this world? It’s not up to us. So stop brooding and get on with living and enjoying life!

I’m sure a search for “4 minute devotions” (a similar theme to “10 minutes for God”) may yield more of his posts on various topics related to prayer, life and reflection. Enjoy!

Where Does Prayer Fit In?

We’ve been reflecting on prayer a lot lately in this blog, and I thought it to be an apt point to ponder. Why so much emphasis on prayer? Why do we pray? Doesen’t God know what we need before we even realize it enough to ask for it? The answer lies in the principles of humility. Until we are able to approach God, broken and helpless, we are simply deluding ourselves. Our everyday needs, our worries and our problems should all be given over to the hands of the Lord – everything is provided for by God and it is point to humble ourselves enough to realize that.

When we settle down each evening at the dinner table for our meal, do we dive in and eat hungrily, self assured that our hard labor has earned us our nourishment? And how do you suppose you got your job? What is the nature of your employment and the daily factors affecting it? It is too often that we allow the “ego” to rule our minds and our hearts. “I” worked hard. “I” earned my salary. “I” bought this food… the truth is, YOU didn’t do anything by yourself. It is the Lord that has provided for you; a point of humility… and thankfulness is the reason why prayer is appropriate at mealtime.

A recent blog article I read regarding the power of prayer raised an observation I think is common amongst many of us. The writer talked about how he realized that while trying to help a friend in trouble he ran through his mind all the things he could do to help… and only when he had no alternative left, he offered a prayer as the last resort. If prayer is so important, he argues, why did he save it for last? The answer to that is the mindset. Again, the “ego” comes into play – we may think that we are the “masters” of our destinies or at least the one in control for the many problems we encounter in our life… but that really isn’t the case. God is still behind the scenes running the show.

If I were in a similar situation, I would consider praying first. Ask God with humility for guidance and ask Him: “What would you have me do, Lord? Please help me help others… and when I cannot find the answer, please guide me to what is your will…” It is different when we look to God for guidance in the things that we do. In the action, we surrender ourselves and our needs to the hands of one who knows infinitely more about our destinies and what is best for our well being.

On the other hand, there is a difference between asking for help, then sitting back and doing nothing. With prayer there is also action. But it helps to put our minds in a prayerful state, humble and helpless, surrendering ourselves with the knowledge that it isn’t our individual efforts (as our big ego would like us to believe) that drives our destinies… but the providence and grace of God at work in our lives. 

The Failings of Gossip

A thought for the day on the origins and effects of gossip…

Blogger Yeweifang writes in her article: Loving God With All Your Mind, a challenge to one’s mindset on relationships. She writes that “We often wonder about what a person isn’t saying or try to read between the lines of what he or she does say…” which is true. Some people chalk up such a practice as simple “sensitivity” to others… we read between the lines because others perhaps find it difficult to communicate what they are actually thinking or feeling.

The Bible suggests otherwise however. For example in Matthew 18:15, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” We are encouraged in Matthew’s gospel to be truthful and direct with our neighbor. In doing so, we are freed from worrying about what other people think of us or what they might be saying about us behind our back. When we stray from this principle, isn’t that what feeds the practice of gossip? Speculation (often negative) about others and their intentions hurts us because it encourages us to harbor evil thoughts about others.

When we indulge in gossip, we fail our neighbors because we delve into “interpreting and distorting the actions of others rather than accepting them at face value.” In a word, we make our neighbors into liars and base our understanding on something other than the reality or the truth.

Those of you who have been on the receivng end of gossip and its mis-truths know how much it can hurt. Think about these implications the next time you are tempted to second-guess another person. Trust in what your neighbor says to you and try your hardest to approach her with honesty so that she may also in turn trust in you and what you say to her. This is one way we can express love for our neighbor. 

Carrying Your Cross

Why does it seem that some of us are given to carry heavier burdens and sufferings in life compared to others? Blogger Jocelyn Soriano discusses some of the points to ponder on the cross we bear in our lives in her article, Why Carry Your Heavier Cross? In summary, she highlights that while we may look at the stark contrast of the poor and the destitute compared to the “rich and famous”, what inner struggles each is given to face is virtually unknown to us. Her comments reminded me of a fictional poem I had once read many years ago in my high school American Lit class, which was written by Edwin Arlington Robinson titled “Richard Corey“…

WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town,  
  We people on the pavement looked at him:  
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,  
  Clean favored, and imperially slim.  
  
And he was always quietly arrayed,        
  And he was always human when he talked;  
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,  
  “Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.  
  
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,  
  And admirably schooled in every grace:  
In fine, we thought that he was everything  
  To make us wish that we were in his place.  
  
So on we worked, and waited for the light,  
  And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;  
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
  Went home and put a bullet through his head.

For the many of us who “worked, and waited for the light…”, going without meat and cursing the bread, perhaps we have overlooked the details in a much, much bigger picture. Nobody in the poem knew what this otherwise upright, well-to-do man was really going through in life. All they saw was the outer appearance of wealth and affluence. And so the same applies very aptly to the “Richard Corey’s” of our own life.

Ms. Soriano covers many other good points about our life burdens and ends with something I found very meaningful, it was a quote from Matthew’s gospel:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

The goal is not in being able to carry a cross – that’s just incidental in comparison to the invitation to follow Christ. In following Christ, we realize our purpose and our destiny for which

We must be passionate enough, enamored enough, enthralled, raptured, captivated, powerfully moved in following our life mission, it doesn’t matter whatever difficulties may come along. We know we could overcome anything, for the prize ahead is worth far more than the sacrifices we are to make along the way.

That comment was very powerful for me; it means “keeping your eye on the prize” no matter what life’s traumas may be thrown at you. Our life on this planet is but a brief moment in time compared to the eternity (the prize) that follows.  

 

The Tree

A Passage on Trees

From one of my reading sessions, I found a nice life-parable to share from the works of Australian author and inspirational speaker, Matthew Kelley. In his book The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion & Purpose, he remarked an observation of a tall, old tree on the grounds of the monastary where he was staying, that “despite its imperfect forms and crooked branches, it had a perfection of its own.” Kelley admired the great tree and went on to remark on its significance.

Later in the year, Kelley writes of an experience on a nature walk after a storm that revealed a meaningful metaphor for him and his spiritual growth. The violent storm had uprooted and destroyed many of the trees in the surrounding area, but this large, lone tree was virtually unaffected. He observed that

A tree with strong roots grows strong. A tree with strong roots bears much fruit. A tree with strong roots bears good fruit. A tree with strong roots can weather any storm. If a tree is uprooted and replanted often, it will not be able to sink its roots deep into the earth and therefore will not grow strong or be fruitful.

Likewise, for people, these tree roots are a metaphor for our intellectual and spiritual growth. The things that we do to grow and to establish these roots affects our strength to weather overpowering challenges and strife, as well as the quality of our existence through the fruits that we bear on our branches.

Meditations as a Tree

Another reflection on trees comes from Eastern Asian philosophy (I’m not sure exactly which one though) which I learned a long time ago as a teenager from a family acquaintance. It’s a meditation that also involves thinking of trees – its thought processes gives you the opportunity to relax and expel negative energies from the body.

Imagine your body as a tree. Your leaves and your branches on top pull in the pollution, carbon dioxide and negative energies from the atmosphere. These toxins pass through your branches, down your trunk and into your roots. As a tree, your body processes these negative energies and converts them to basic, life-giving ingredients to put back into the earth: oxygen, water and nutrients.

Imagine your tree-like body as a part of this earthly cycle. Absorbing, processing, releasing. Whatever problems or strife you have experienced and “absorbed” into your self, let it pass through your branches, down your trunk and out of your body into the ground.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Each breath pulls in more from the atmosphere, then pushes it down and releases it into the ground. Know that you are a part of a cycle – not an ending point in the absorption of those negative energies. Whatever you’ve endured to this point in the day is just as easily released back into the earth. Think and feel yourself through several cycles of breathing, allowing yourself to relax.

I like to think of life’s daily events as generators of energy (both good and bad). We can choose to react – which catches and holds on to the energy,  or we can simply let it pass. Over the years, I have managed stress and stress relief very well with this simple visualization. Give it a try and see if it works for you!