Dear Spiritual Companions,

Did you ever find it difficult to relax?  I am settling more and more into my retirement.  God has opened various doors for opportunities for service so it isn’t like I am doing nothing.  Isn’t it interesting that I even allude to that fact?  More about that later.  Doing things without deadlines, except personal ones, is so freeing.  If I choose to do something that is fine, but if somehow I don’t who is going to say anything?  What I have noticed is the pressure has left my world for the most part.  I now have two day weekends.  The relaxation in my life continues to grow, BUT there is still that inner uneasiness of whether it is alright to be living in this state of calmness.

Where do we get those messages of having to do something with our lives?  One thing retirement has taught me is I wouldn’t want to simply stop doing.  I have this inner longing to want to spend my life in giving ways.  We are bombarded so often with the  message that we are lazy and have to be told what to DO that we never stop and see our inner desire to offer ourselves wisely as a given.  By being bombarded with this constant anxiety of doing we never slow down to discover this truth.  This is because we use the wrong kind of fasting.  We speed around busy all the time and then we wonder why time flies.  Not too long ago I was picking up my morning coffee, after my walk on the levee, and the cashier was taking some extra time.  She apologized about taking so long.  I told her, “That is alright I have all the time in the world.  Life is going fast enough so I don’t have to rush it.”  The world’s definition of fasting is to be in a hurry so you can get on to the next thing that has to be done.  We are on a merry-go-round of hurry with no destination.

How do we end this ride to nowhere.  STOP!  This is the real definition of fasting.  It is more than stopping our eating, which by the way cleans the impurities out of our body.  Now we can stop our mind to clean out the impure thoughts and be reminded of the God thoughts.   I find it interesting how often religions talk about the impure thoughts related to our sexual identity.  To me this is another distraction.  By telling us we are bad for having such thoughts we continue to believe there is something terribly wrong with us.  That is much more of an impure thought than our sexual ones.  Did you ever try to stop thinking about something?  The more you try the more that is all you think about.  If, on the other hand, you come to realize it is just a thought and isn’t harmful unless we act on it, now it begins to fade.  This is because we are stopping old behavior thinking patterns that were self defeating.  Now we can find a new pattern found in accepting that whatever we think, it doesn’t change the fact we are made in God’s Image of Love.  By the way notice becoming more relaxed.

Prayer isn’t an Olympic spiritual sport where we show God how good we are.  No prayer is simply an opportunity to STOP.  If all kinds of thoughts keep filling us it just means we have a lot of thoughts in us.  A way to handle this is to notice there is another thought and let it go.  The more we do that the more we find our spirits relaxing.  If we pray for God’s Will to be done and not for this person to be healed or fixed we also become more relaxed.  If we become aware how the challenges of life are actually building blocks of God’s Love, we will find a House of protection to be surrounding us no matter what is happening or not happening to us.  Because we have fasted from what has been told to us as truth we now can relax into the real Truth – “Fear not for I am with you.”  The more people who believe this the more chance we have to stop the merry-go-round of not knowing what we are doing.

Maybe retirement can be discovered at any age when we grow ever closer to God’s Love found in the gift of relaxation.

Peace

Gary

I want to fix something

   In another person’s life

I try and try

   But to no avail

I am at the end of my rope

   No one is there

Oh really

   Look again

Still no one

   Maybe that is because it can’t be fixed

Everything can be fixed

   Oh really

Sometimes in life situations can’t be changed

   Especially for those we love who are hurting

   Especially for those who are powerless 

   Especially for those who don’t deserve such pain

I can’t believe that

   And so there is no one at the end of our rope

But if we do believe that

   We will find God holding us not fixing things

Is being held by God enough

   For us and those we love

Dear Friends,

We live in a very interesting time.  An old Chinese Proverb states, “The worst time to be born is in an interesting time.”  Why would that be the case?  I have searched my heart and the answer I come up with is because it is so easy to become distracted.  Now we need to ask from what?  I would venture to say God.  This is an important idea to put in the context of Holy Week.  This is of course a key time for Christians.  We move from Parades, to Communion, to Prayer and Betrayal, to Death and who knows what will be next.   I believe it is crucial to not move too quickly to Easter.  We need to embrace the uncertainty of death and what happens next.  We claim in our faith to believe in eternal life, but there is a small part of our faith that wonders – Oh Really!  Maybe not.

That first Lent and Holy Week sounds like an interesting time doesn’t it.  It could have been so easy for Jesus to lose His focus on God.  Maybe He did.  Remember what He said, ”If it is possible God let this cup pass from me.  My God, my God why have You forsaken me?”  Those could have been comments filled with wondering what will happen next.  Jesus was honest in His relationship with God.  He didn’t move too quickly over the death parts of life.  Because Jesus did that we are able to catch glimpses of God in the rest of the story.  Like being with Jesus as He said, “If this cup cannot be passed from me let Your Will be done,” and “Into Your Hands I commit my Spirit.”  God was going to have the last word.  How did Jesus know that?  Because God had consistently been with Jesus throughout His life and ministry.  We have no greater assurance from God than God’s continual faithfulness.  The problem, over and over again in the Bible, is for people of faith to trust God to be totally in charge.  We read about failure after failure in the faithful’s lives.  Is God really with us? is asked over and over.  This question continues down to today.  

As you read these words we may be at war.  The economy may continue to be in decline.  The stock market may be in chaos.  The education of our children may still be facing a shortage of funds.  Medicare and health insurance may be sky rocketing.  The poor will still be with us.  In other words, various forms of death will continue to be everywhere.  People like you and me, who are sensitive and caring individuals, are hurting.  We would like to make it all better or for it to be all better.  We have done all that we can, BUT nothing has seemed to change.  Where do we go with our feelings about this?  To God of course.  But what do we say to God?  Let this chaos pass away!  Why don’t you do something?  Sounds a bit like Jesus doesn’t it?  The cup will not be passed from us and we may very well feel like God has forsaken us.

But life goes on, even in the midst of death.  This is the tension we live in and in interesting times like ours we need to keep our focus on God.  We may be living on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter.  We don’t know what will happen, BUT we know God will happen.  This is the very moment to embrace the words, “Be not afraid for I am God.”  Even when our best efforts have failed to make a difference, God’s Efforts always will!

Peace

Gary

Dear Friends,

The edge of Lent – 40 days, not including Sundays, of going into the Wilderness is about to begin.  Recently, in a sermon I preached I included the idea of Wilderness and discovered the meaning of the word.  To be in the wilderness or the desert was a time of getting to know God.  This startling fact, for me, was I had never thought about being in the wild parts of life and inside of me as an opportunity to relate to God.  Oh sure I had heard and read about the desert mothers and fathers monks who lived in places like that.  I had also heard a lot about people who went into times of silence to meet God.  I have done a lot of that myself.  But I had never thought about wandering around in my inner spiritual wilderness as a time to meet God.  Why not?  It sure makes sense when you stop and reflect on it.

Lent was Jesus’ time to go off and fast and pray for 40 days and nights.  He was then tempted by the devil with those parts of life which would cause Him to lose focus on God.  Maybe this explains my misunderstanding.  I have fasted, not eating, at various time in my life but that is one spiritual discipline which has not worked for me.  There is however another kind of fast which is also spiritual.  It is to empty ourselves for God.  Actually that is the definition of celibacy.  We have been a bit confused about that one in the church.  We think we need to fast from intimate relationships with someone we love to serve God.  That certainly works for some people, but to say this is the way for all I believe is a mistake.  Of course, to say anything is the right  way for all people has always struck me as off the mark.  Now if we think about fasting from that which takes us away from God’s Love, we can begin to see how we can get to know God more fully.  We might see why we might shy away from this idea also.  It takes a lot of work to do this, or it may even mean giving up something we can’t live without.

This brings us to the second thing which might have caused us to not see our inner wildernesses as an opportunity to grow in God.  The idea of facing our temptations.  Sometimes we may think it is easier to live life unaware.  As long as I don’t know what sets me off, I don’t have to face it.  The major problem with such an approach is we continue to live a life which is unfulfilled.  Jesus didn’t choose to do that.  As hard as it was for Him to face his inner demons, He realized He could not know God if He didn’t.  So Jesus took a look at what would take Him away fom God.  In the midst of that He found out who God was in life’s temptations.  To get to know God is to see God as an active Partner in whatever happens to us.  Does this mean our temptations go away? – No.  Does this mean we will never fail in meeting them? – No.  What it does mean is God loves us in and through our temptations.

I hope Lent will be a very rich Wilderness time for you.

Gary

Dear Friends,

Here I sit at my computer with another opportunity to write a letter to you.  I have to come up with something to write.  What if I don’t feel like writing?  Fortunately, for me, I love to write and be creative.  What if I can’t come up with anything?  Again I am very blessed because, like writing sermons, that has rarely happened to me.  What if I would rather be doing something else?  Once more I love what I do, so that isn’t a problem for me.  So, here I sit at my computer with another wonderful opportunity to relate some of my inner thoughts with you.

Those three questions I raised in the previous paragraph speak to the essence of our lives.  What if we don’t feel like doing something?  Does this mean I only do the things I feel like doing?  What if doing something I don’t feel like is actually helpful to me?  For example, I may not feel like doing dishes, but if I don’t I won’t have clean dishes to eat off.  So even though I don’t feel like it I will do it because it will be better for me in the long run.  The tricky thing about feelings is that they ebb and flow with our ongoing daily activities.  To let our feelings rule our lives is asking for trouble.  Sometimes we may need to rise above them to embrace our true desires.  At first I didn’t love to write, but as I become more disciplined in writing I found it is something which is an important part of me.

The second question deals with how our abilities arise.  To be afraid of not coming up with something means I have to do it.  If God is the source of all things than God provides me with these ideas.  I no longer have to depend on me.  This leads me back to staying in touch with the endless font of thoughts.  I know I need to have my quiet time with God to be attentive to God’s Voice.  I also know I need to read various books and other things to be refreshed.  What provides you with the ability to stay in touch with God?  What creative activities provides the inspiration for you to do your calling?  Each of us has our own path to walk with God and our gifts.  We spend our lives discovering this fact.  Remember as you do this God is a God of abundance.

The third question relates to what we want to do with our lives.  I think we are called to do everything in our lives that comes from our inner Being.  Who we are translates into what we do.  When we are being who we are there is a passion of spirit which drives our actions.  We feel energized rather than depleted.  The final piece to the puzzle called life is found in always doing what we want.  In the process we spend day after day determining what kind of life we will co-create with God.

I share these questions knowing each of us have the answers to them in our hearts.  May God bless us with God’s Presence as we journey forth.

Gary

Dear Spiritual Companions,

     Yesterday was Pentecost.  For us Christians it is as important as Christmas and Easter.  It is the day of the arrival of the Holy Spirit.  The followers of Jesus were waiting for Its Appearance so they could begin the next step in their spiritual journey.  Yesterday, when my wife and I were out walking on the levee by the Mississippi River, I asked her, “What does Pentecost mean to you?”  She thought for a moment or two and said, “A time of renewal.”  I have been reflecting on her answer ever since.

    The disciples were waiting to be renewed, but for what?  How would they know what was right for them to do?  Sound familiar?  Every day is a new day so we are being renewed every 24 hours, but for what?  This is where the Holy Spirit comes in to guide us.  She is often referred to as feminine.  That is very important.  The inner feminine side of us does the reflecting and inner searching for what we are called to do.  Our masculine outer side acts those reflections out into our external world.  It is essential for us to keep these two in balance.  In general, men are much more in touch with their masculine sides and women their feminine sides.  We tend to act on what we know.  I think our spiritual calling leads us to develop our weakness.  As the Apostle Paul said, “Out of my weakness comes God’s strength.”   So men need to develop an inner relationship with their feminine side and women need to develop the masculine side.

     I believe one of the reasons we are having so many problems is because we are out of balance.  A number of years ago we had a Native American Holy Person give a lecture in our church.  When he was done I told him I appreciated what he had said.  He looked into my eyes, the door to my soul, and touched my body where my heart was.  He said, “Walk in balance.”  It was a like a shot went through my entire body and soul.  I have been working on that inner balance ever since.  It has changed my life.  Instead of running off and doing all the time, now I stop to contemplate my actions first.  I have come to see how actions done without inner reflection, even in the name of good, often leads to problems.  I believe so often things done in the Name of God that are harmful come from a person out of touch with the feminine, Holy Spirit’s leading.  Prayer of whatever form that works for us is the key to discovering how the Holy Spirit is renewing our lives.

       I am not a woman so the next few words will come from my experiences with women over the years.  In general women are called to get more in touch with their masculine side.  Intuition is wonderful, but without action it tends to lose its power.  The problem is our world has defined women of action as overbearing.  A woman is not encouraged  to find their voice because it often intimidates insecure males.  As a male I find my life greatly enhanced by the women in my life who have claimed their voice.  Like the inner balance of our masculine and feminine we also need to continue to balance the outer world of men and women working together equally.  True renewal can only come when this happens.  I don’t care whether we are talking about spirituality, politics, jobs or whatever.

      Could this be the kind of renewal the Holy Spirit is leading us into?

Peace,

Gary