The Extra Step to Victorious Living

[ellenmelon]

A continuation of how God is good. From the Word Among Us, Thursday July 13th.

Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9

"Hosea announced that God could never let his people go, and that even if they turned away, he would not come to them in anger. Just so, God loves us unconditionally. Even if he must discipline, it is always in love, AND HIS DISCIPLINE ALWAYS BEARS A MEASURE OF HOPE AND ENCOURAGEMENT." (caps are my emphasis)

[bluebird]

Neat! Dd and I had accupuncture last week. She is doing better than she has in five years? I am learning about all different tpyes of healing in college....

[ellenmelon]

I am very glad that allopathic and homeopathic realms are melding together.

Got to go so hi to everyone here and God Bless Your Hearts in all endeavors.

[ellenmelon]

Today's little step was to stop in at the church and spend a bit of time in quiet prayer. With the job I have not had time to say any active sort of prayers and it was really nice to catch up on it all. I said a whole round of the rosary instead of just a decade or two. I was the only one there and the candles lit were new ones in a very pretty blue. A calming environment in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

[ellenmelon]

This morning I would like to pause and bring up a reflection I have made in the past to many in my home environment but I don't think yet here on FC.

Years ago I went to watch a couple friends run a marathon. I stationed myself at the four mile mark before the race began.

In a huge marathon, the runners are often positioned according to their qualifying times. Therefore, the front runners are the ones with the best times. These people are the ones who run 4 minute miles, mile after mile after mile.

The four mile mark was a small stone bridge. I sat on the side of the bridge wall, waiting, waiting. This was before cell phones so I didn't know when the runners would begin to arrive. (It may even have been before wrist watches were invented! jk!)

It was a hot day, lazy, and the bugs buzzed around, the trees rustled, and then there was a gentle whoosh.

I looked up in time to see a flash of long and sinewy legs, most of which were views of the backs of the runners. The first pack of runners had passed by. There were five of them, running in comfort, without sound, with only expressions of determined calm. A fluid pack. I knew that they would finish the race without losing a bead of sweat. And even though they were competing, they were companionably settled in with each other in group support.

A few hundred yards behind them was another pack of runners. My attention now on them, they passed me. Knitted eyebrows, pumping arms, jostling elbows, skipped steps as they tried to get advantage. They, too, were fast. But markedly different, the smoothness and quiet was gone. Striving had taken its place.

The second group was most likely unaware of the differences in the two group styles. Maybe some had watched a race like I was doing and were cognizant of where to improve, they may have had a vision of good style, of excellence in the pace and stride.

What I learned from this:

1. When Jesus wants us to be perfected, He wants it in His time, His race. We all are running in the race here on earth. "Run the good race."

2. Our running style can be fluid or it can be disjointed. As we come closer to the Lord in our walk, our step evens out. "They shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall walk and not be weary, run and not faint."

3. We don't need to think about how well we are running, or our style. We aren't always as efficient as those front runners, but we are getting there. "He who starts a good work in us will complete it."

4. How beautiful it is to see the front runners! "Behold the glory of God, in whose image, we are created."

5. There is a place for each of us in the race. Find your pack and run with it and continue to work on your running style as He prompts and leads you. "Do not lose hope, for He is coming." (very roughly paraphrased)

[barbszy]

Ellen, that is so true! Thank you for posting it here

[ellenmelon]

One of the basic premises for centering prayer, quote from Open Mind Open Heart by Thomas Keating, pg. 44

"Since the will is designed for infinite love and the mind for infinite truth, if there is nothing to stop them, they tend to move in that direction. It is because they are all wrapped up in other directions that their freedom to go where they are naturally inclined is limited. During the time of centering prayer these faculties regain that freedom."

Centering prayer is a method that helps us Be Still and Know That He is God.

[ellenmelon]

While I was channel surfing the other day I came across Keanu Reeves playing a baseball coach of some kids' team. Apparently they had been through a rough time. He was counting off the players and they were one short. He was telling them, "You have done the right thing. You might not get to play today because we don't have enough teammates, but YOU SHOWED UP and that is what matters." (Shortly after that sobering pep talk, the much needed last player came on the field so they did get to play.)

YOU SHOWED UP

Sometimes centering prayer doesn't go so well, like tonight when I was all worked up about my dd1, and last night when I was all worked up about lacrosse again, and .... well, it seems I really am on the right track with learning centering prayer with all the 'working up' I can get myself into!

But I showed up. I sat in my chair with my eyes closed and repeatedly came back to the sacred word which aims me at my intention to consent to God's presence within me. Tonight was hard and I rose up out of my seat with a minute to go. But I Showed Up. I was there for 19 minutes, not always centered, but definitely there before God, dedicating that time to His work in me.

[ellenmelon]

I suppose the only reflection I have for today is on the topic of anger.

I have of late been angry about a trivial thing. Something that did not cause loss of life or limb but of influence or lack thereof, of being ignored and treated poorly. Oh poor me, my intellect, emotions, and ambitions were truncated.

Today I learned of two situations that make me pause and wonder why we spend our energy on things that on the outside are of little importance. What I have concluded is that it does not matter the importance or magnitude of what the situation is. What is important is the level of acceptance, do we see it as God sees it? Do we handle it within his equipment he has given us, the fruits of the HOly Spirit.

I am not going to do a bible study or anything intellectual here but simply to relate these other two incidences and ask that each of us reflect on when we get angry and think, now why this, why now, why would I respond in this manner?

[ellenmelon]

In back to back phone calls this afternoon I received word from my dh on vacation that our pet bird had flown into two windows at full speed when startled by something she saw outdoors. She is bruised and scared, and we are watching her for signs of internal damage. My dd1, who is no friend of this bird and its beak as the bird has put her on the bottom of the pecking order which means she frequently gets nipped at, did not respond with joy but with concern. Never mind that she often wishes the bird gone and out of our lives, upon hearing of its accident and possible injuries, she was concerned and wanted the bird to not be hurt. Her daily irritations and disgust at this pet who does not like her was overcome by her love for all things living.

The next phone call brought news that my dd2s godmother's only sister had died through a tragic course of events following a routine hospital procedure. The anger this family feels at being unable to secure for her better medical care, better resolution to the problems she faced and the sadness with which it is combined serve to remind me and all of us of other situations where anger gets mixed into the confusion.

What brings anger to you? When do your neck muscles tense? When do you wish you could have the power of God and slay all those in your path? Would you, though, would you be doing it out of love or out of self interest?

Reading the Old Testament passages this month in the Catholic sequences has been an ongoing tug and pull of God's love for his people and his sometimes mysterious demonstration of that love in punishments and disasters. What we do not understand is the mind of God, that he is always looking at the end result, that he knows when and where to get our attention, when and where to stroke and when and where to hit our mulishness with a 2 x 4.

Here is a quote to consider, not intellectually, but the next time you feel that anger, the injustice of a situation, rising to the fore: