For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
I started out this year knowing it would be a journey to a new place and that we would have lots of celebrating to do in 2013. All I had to do was be willing to move and let go of some things and embrace the new! How hard could that be??
Richard Rohr said this: “A good journey begins with knowing where we are and being willing to go somewhere else.”
But what’s wrong with where we are? I am so used to it, and can’t imagine living life any other way! In fact, I am in the habit of living life certain ways and am blind to the dysfunction of it. In the busyness of our lives, we can be so used to the muddle that it seems so right! When there is muddle, it’s hard to know what you are dealing with, because it is so confusing!
Muddle: to make muddy; to mix up confusedly.
Ruth Haley Barton, in her book – Invitation to Solitude and Silence – said this: In the midst of the outward busyness of my life there was an inner chaos that was far more disconcerting…what was motivating the frenetic quality of my life and schedule? She went on to say that help came to her from a spiritual director, who said this to her, “Ruth, you are like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to sit still long enough that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear.”
Mike and I have both read this book and went back to it over and over this year. It has been a life changer for us both. I would highly recommend it and have this entire year. We have bought many of these books and if you would like one, please come ask someone at Habitué or The Living Center. It has not only changed us, it has brought change to everything we are responsible for. Stewardship is so important.
This journey has truly been about our willingness to see ourselves as we are and to name it. And we are safe to do that in the place of solitude with the Father.
Solitude is that place of sheer silence, where we find peace in the very presence of God. Solitude is the furnace of transformation… (it) is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter-the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self. – Henri Nouwen
As we both have been able to sit long enough to allow the sediment to settle, there has been clarity. What we have seen has not always been easy, but it is good. We have unity and we know that we are in this together. That is so important for us all. We trust that as we pass through this difficult place that there will be something deeply good that comes from it all. God is rearranging our lives and many things are being disturbed in the midst of the transformation. But with the rubble, there is also glory! All by His grace being poured out on us! Grace is undeserved kindness by which salvation is given and the power-word describing the Holy Spirit’s operational means! Grace is a force as well as a favor!
May God’s grace be poured out on you as you sit in His silence and receive His peace this Christmas season. It will transform our rubble into His glory! We are the beloved of God, accepted and cherished by Him in all of our beauty and brokenness. The love of God comes to us in solitude and begins to pour through us to others. Only God can do this in me and I will continue to go there and allow the waters of my soul to clear so that I can discern what the moment calls for. He will show me the rhythm, the cadence that I so need. I trust HIM.
