I loved our textbook reading from Genesis. I read it aloud to myself listening deeply-- “God spoke, and it was so…God spoke, and it was so… God spoke, and it was so…” I let the repetition of these words sink into my being. What a powerful mystery! Then I listened carefully again and heard--“Out of chaos, order.” And “From emptiness to fullness.” This remarkable transformation was perhaps a foreshadowing of how God works in our lives. What an incredible miracle! Also, I noticed long before the sixth day when God created Adam, he was speaking life—and it was good and he blessed it. What a gift! (Interesting, isn’t it, how much this story isn’t about people.)
It may be a huge leap, but when I’m outside and awake to God’s creation, I often sense my chaos becoming ordered. It’s not like a magic formula—walk and pray and everything will be okay. It’s more like the mysterious process of learning to lean into God’s sustaining presence—his presence in me and in all of his creation. Difficulties and problems still need my attention, but I’m somehow strengthened knowing God and his creation join me. I’m not alone—a miracle.
Another dimension of sharing my pain is the way creation somehow absorbs it. Erazin Kohak catches some of what’s happening in my spirit when he said, “God…is teaching Job the wisdom of bearing the pain that can neither be avoided nor abolished but can be shared when there is a whole living creation to absorb it." Amen! I am a practical person and ever ready to help, i.e., do something to fix problems. I’m learning “to do” isn’t always what God wants from me. So now I’m working on the “being present” part. And I think that is why I find myself asking God to help me absorb the pain of those I love. And like Job I’m learning how pain can somehow be shared by God’s living creation—a mystery, a miracle, a gift!
No comments:
Post a Comment