Category: Giving and Receiving

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Solitude and Service

God, I had an aha moment today. A friend halfway around the world and I were texting–have I thanked You lately for the technology that, first, allowed us to find each other after 40 years, and second, allows us to so easily keep in touch–anyway, we were texting and she asked me if I am an introvert. And I replied that yes, I am. Here is, basically, what I said to her, what led up to my eureka. 

I love people, I said. I love talking to people, getting to know folks, sharing with them, and I think I am a born storyteller. HOWEVER, all that being true, it is also true that I recharge in solitude. That is, in solitude deliberately spent one-on-one with You, and preferably, outside. I need time and space, I said. I need alone time precisely to fill up again so that I can go back into the world and give out, give-away. And then, depleted, I need to go back into solitude to recharge, and be able to go back to my public life. Finally, I noted that I always feel as if I need to apologize for wanting alone time, for feeling that I need it, and I don’t know how to really ask for what I want, what it seems I need.

Then I said how this whole conundrum reminded me of something Richard Rohr wrote about Jesus, how Jesus needed His time alone in communion with the Father in order to go out into the world and minister. That was my aha moment. If Jesus needed time “alone” — meaning, not with the crowds but not even with His disciples either — then surely it is okay if I do. No wonder I feel out of balance, or unrested. I am not honoring the process at all! It was exciting, actually, to have a door of understanding swing so easily open. What is not so easy is trying to explain it to all the people in my life who rely on me for so many different things–or whose life experience or personality is different enough from mine that they genuinely have no frame of reference to understand what I need, or why I need it.  So what would You say about that?

Richard Rohr goes on to write about creativity, about the need for solitude and recharge time as well as time immersed in the world for creativity to flourish. That is certainly true of you, and it explains why you feel stymied creatively much of the time. What I told you recently about healing and restoring the part of you that is a writer is tied directly to this need you have to both go within and without. This is the Way to find your path within prayerful solitude, the path that leads directly to the making a difference you so passionately want to do, in your world. It is a circular sort of path, not unlike a labyrinth, in that you will constantly be circling back through solitude and out into the world, as long as you remain committed both to Me and to the calling you sense so strongly, to share. You have thought these were opposites instead of two essential halves making up a whole, a whole life. Instead of either/or, this is another both/and, and the combination makes The Third Way. It is not selfish of you to need time alone; it is essential. I made you for this. Let that sink in. I made you, as you are. I made you to need, to crave, time apart, and I made you to long to give to others. Let the war within you cease now. Embrace the totality of who you are, who I have made you to be, and be. Be fully, deeply both/and.

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The Power of Pentecost

“Teach my lips to speak the language of Love.” Lord, it’s Pentecost. Some say Pentecost is history, some say a mystery, some say a fallacy.

I say Pentecost is Reality, the 8th day of creation, when symbolically humankind received a way back in to the Garden. Pentecost created the possibility of unity, overcoming the divisions caused at the Tower of Babel, which were all prompted by a lust for power. Pentecost came in response to a prayer for purpose and what was the Gift? Power. Power to speak and Power to be understood. Power to forge and find common ground. And what was the common ground? Praise. “Each of us heard them praising God in our own languages.”

That is why the right creed is important. You cannot praise someone you don’t know. You can flatter with empty words and trite phrases, but true praise, that describes the Person being honored, is always based on knowledge–and in this case, on the knowledge that comes through a close relationship.

Animal-speak is one gift Pentecost has bestowed on you. But gifts, including spiritual gifts, are meant to be opened and used and developed–not displayed behind glass where no one can touch them or reach them.

So this Pentecost, think about the gifts you have received already. Think about your use of them. How much have you grown because of the gifts you’ve received? How have you developed your gifts? These are spiritual questions. Are there gifts you believe you still lack, still need to ask for?

Babel was about power to rule, about power for power’s sake; Pentecost was about power to love, and share, and build up others.

Babel focused on human greed; Pentecost focused on God-gifts.

Babel focused on conquering and led to division; Pentecost focused on gratitude and praise and led to unity and connection.

Think about fire. Fire can destroy. Fire can warm and create. Your own planet, as I have told you before, could not last without the Sun. Many have sought Power over the ages. Power is not the problem; nor is it bad or wrong within itself. Don’t fear Power. Rather, embrace its potential as I intend it to be, a force for good and love and beauty and peace in your world. Receive Pentecost’s power to share and connect, and you will never abuse the power of My Gifts.

 

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Summer’s Southern Gifts

Lord, You have talked to me about the North, and then about the West. Are we going to talk about the South now?

Yes, now it is time to move South on the wheel. What does South mean to you?

Lord, South means connection. The heart–my heart. What I love. Affection. What I am passionate about.

The South can become a place of zeal centered in the intellect, which is its danger for you. You’ve lived in that place before, mistaking effort for genuine enthusiasm, and you are there again. Other than these few minutes in the morning, you are parched for the water you find in the south. You are withering because you are not watering your closest relationships, other than your relationship to Me. But as I have told you, you humans are meant to connect with others, soul-connect, not just intellect-connect. You need to take some time and examine your heart’s garden. The state of your front yard is a perfect metaphor. What is going on in your garden?

Well, Lord, of course it is winter here literally, not summer. But last summer for the first time we hired professional yard help. And our well is broken, or dry. It doesn’t pump the water that flowers need to grow and thrive. And our drainfield failed, so when the guys came to replace it, they dug up the whole front yard, made a real mess digging up all the old pipe, and cutting out part of the sidewalk, but then they put in a brand new drainfield and leveled all the dirt. So now the septic system works, but all we have for a front yard is level dirt–which is going to turn into a mud field as soon as it rains.

You could use some excavation as well. The thought that you have to handle as much as you can by yourself is not helping you now, it is poisoning you. You fear to connect because you think your current vulnerability or need will turn your friends off, so you withdraw, thinking, I will get in touch when I have more to Give. Give them the Gift of Giving to you. The South is the place of giving and receiving, and in this cycle of summer in your journeys around the wheel, it is your season to receive. You can still grow a beautiful and abundant crop, but only if you avail yourself of all the love and support just waiting for you to reach out.

Gosh, God, it’s that important, huh?

Crucial, it is crucial. But as with everything else, it is up to you. So will you embrace this season of summer in your life? Are you willing to admit to your need and receive help? Not just task help, life-help. Heart-help. Water, soul-quenching streams. Can you say yes to receiving?