The Gift of Light

Dear Pamela,

I awoke this morning at about 3am, the time when the monks at the Abbey would likely be finishing lauds.  As I normally do when I awake so early, I simply lay in bed and pray.  I prayed for you, I prayed for my other friends and colleagues, I prayed for my family and for the church of Christ.  I must have fallen back asleep because the next thing I knew it 6am.  I got up and started the coffee, filled with a sense of the Holy Spirit.  Pure Joy, that’s what it was.  

Was the source of joy my new washer and dryer?  I am quite thrilled not to have to hang all of my wet laundry everywhere in the house now like I have been for the past week and a half since my dryer quit on me!  But, that’s not where the joy came from, of that I am sure.  I think what happened is that I slowed down long enough in the past 24 hours to allow God to speak to my heart.  I, like many of my pastor colleagues, have a hard time during Advent and Christmas- there is so much going on!  Six baptisms, a handful of new members, Sunday School Christmas program, Live Nativity, home communions, two services on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas, and then all of the duties required of me at home to get ready for the “big day.”  It can be exhausting, which I know you know.  But yesterday I only worked for three hours and then spent the rest of the day reading, cleaning, meandering around a clean house.  Nice!  This morning I woke up refreshed and ready for God to give me whatever it was that I needed.

As Martin and I headed out to the biketrail it was still dark, but when we turned around at the half way point and started for home the sun was peeking out over the trees in the distance.  I heard God say to me, “Amy, let go of all of the anxiety, all the worry about others, all the tasks and busyness, let it go.  Because the Son will Rise!”  I realized, once again that which I have to be constantly reminded of, that it is God who is in charge of things. God who sent his only Son into the world to rescue us from sin and death is ever-present, loving us, forgiving us, protecting us, walking with us.  As I ponder the nativity of the King of kings, I am reminded of how the story ends (and where it begins for me and for you)!  The Son will RISE!  

With Christ in our lives, what on earth do we lack?  

May the light of the world bless you and keep you always my dear friend.  

In Christ’s love,

Amy

Early morning in Norwalk, Ohio from Firelands Rails to Trails

Dear Amy,

So a week has gone by.  As the marketing world invites us to return or exchange or even buy ahead for next Christmas, we are invited to savor the time at hand -- the days of Christmas.  Time has passed with a delightful blend of light and dark, sheer delight and tender grief.  

The time between Christmas and Epiphany is characterized by potential, particularly for the children of God.  We open the most precious gift of Christmas, the Christ which has been born again and again in the darkness of our world and in our hearts.

It seems that part of the mission we share is to remain in this gift, this Christ is a gift that is a perfect fit for us right where we are.  But there is so much more than the way that this present suits us now.  As we "put on" Christ we are transformed, reformed, and shaped in new ways for the glory of God and the good of others. There is no way we can predict how this gift will unfold.   If we are willing, there is no limit to its capacity to radiate the brilliant beam of truth and love, and, ultimately, PEACE, in the regions of our being and our relationships which are still in darkness.  There is no way we can predict where the gift will lead.  

Every day we have the opportuity to begin another day of cherishing this gift.  As we pray, we are drawn into a conversation with God, who reveals His complete knowledge of us and His unconditional love for us through Christ.  

For those of us in Northeastern Ohio where the mists and fogs of Lake Erie often blanket the sun at this time of year, this is very, very good news.  In Christ we have all of the Light we need.  Praying with this truth may be one of our most effective ways to meet Seasonal Affective Disorder toe to toe!  
Surely this is a gift that provides all of the Light we need.

Yours,

Pamela

Wanting What We Cannot Have

Dear Pamela,

Why do we always want what we cannot have?

It seems to be our sinful nature that leads us down paths that we be would be prudent to avoid:    food, drink, consumerism, and other carnal desires.  

What do all of these things have in common for us?  We think they will satisfy some deep need inside of us.  

A fleeting thought creates an impulse that a new gadget will keep us occupied for a little while so we can escape the boredom and mundane existence we are trudging through.  But it doesn’t deliver, we simply get sick of being plugged in, exposed to the world.  One more drink, we think, might numb the pain but all we end up with is a rotten headache and a night of fitful sleep.  One more donut might make the hurt disappear for a second, but not so. . . we end up feeling guilty and our blood sugar skyrockets (and then crashes!).  What about all the other temptations that we succumb to that really cause havoc and destruction?  We try to justify our behavior but at the heart of it is a simple issue: we are broken and in need.  Things, substances, people. . . they cannot fill the hole inside of our hearts.  Only our great companion, Jesus, can fill the gap inside of us.  When we reach that point in the trail where it says, “Closed,” what then shall we do?  Push through as if we don’t see the sign?  Go around it and ignore the warning?  Obviously there is danger ahead and if we would take time to trust our instincts, our friends’ advice and admonition, our prayer life. . . perhaps we could save ourselves from falling into the chasm that lies ahead.  

It’s easier said than I done, I think.  We are stubborn human creatures who don’t like to listen all that much!  I guess they call that “original sin.”

Yours,

Amy

Dear Amy...  

Ah!  Why do we want what we cannot have?  That is the question that is at the core of much of humanity’s angst!  And in many ways capitalistic society depends upon it!  It is a question that helps us understand the tension in much of the holiday season!

The world has always (and increasingly so) been in the business of stimulating desires for everything that is not “of” God.  Think about marketing techniques.  Advertisers are in the business of making us yearn for something we didn’t even know that we wanted!  Junk food is made with ingredients that make us want more of the same junk.  Marketing tempts us, and the victory of temptation rests in its power to claim our attention.  That is, we pay more attention to what we don’t have than to what we have been given so freely by God.  

I have been told by folks much wiser than me that our best defense against sin is focusing upon Christ -- not trying to resist the temptation with our will.  In our resistance we are still focusing upon the temptation, not Christ.  

The great news is that God has placed within each of us God’s fervent desire for us.  This desire, which is of God, stimulates our hunger for God!  M.Scott Peck refers to a “God Shaped Vacuum” that is satisfied only by the presence of God.  It is a void...a hunger...a “hole in the soul.”  Since it is a vacuum, it draws in whatever we are seeing as our “comfort.”  Yet since it is God-shaped, nothing but God completely fills it.  

So... in simplest terms... perhaps we want what we think we can’t have because God made us to want God, who says to us:  In Christ, you have me!  St. Augustine says it best: Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find themselves in thee.    

Yours,

Pamela

Life's Roadblocks

Dear Pamela,

As I was walking the trail this morning, this is what I found. . . the wind had taken down this tree overnight. It deposited it right in the path where bikers, joggers and walkers traverse. Since it’s so cold there was no traffic, but it got me to thinking about how seemingly out of nowhere, roadblocks pop up and are planted right in our path.

In ministry, it has occurred to me many times, that once we get some real momentum going in our parishes, when we are moving to the rhythm of the Holy Spirit, when we are growing spiritually and numerically, then something comes along to steal that peace. Some issue, real or perceived, rears its snarly head and seeks to disrupt the flow of things. It’s easy to get anxious and upset about these roadblocks. It’s human nature to try to squash them, to keep them from taking control. It’s less easy to see options available to us in these times.

That tree on the ground did not prevent my dog and me from continuing down the trail we tread each day. We certainly had options. We could over it. We could go into the woods and around it. We could turn back and head home if we wanted to; we had choices we could make. We didn’t just stop there and look at it, at a loss as to what we might do now that something had changed in our normal routine.

Perhaps roadblocks are blown into our lives to see how creative and resilient we can be. They test our fortitude and our vision. They force us to decide.

There is one more option that I could have taken with that tree branch. I could have picked it up and moved it off to the side, without violence, without malice, without anger. Then the path would be clear again for the next travelers, but you know- in the moment I didn’t think of that. I was too busy looking at it and taking a picture of it.

Yours,

Amy

Dear Amy,

That tree was a gift for you. It stimulated thoughts that would not have been given if your walk had been ordinary, unfolding according to your assumptions or expectations. As a loner you and your dog were able to let the barrier walk with you in your thoughts (the end result was a fresh pool of ideas about roadblocks or obstacles).

I think of how you would have responded differently if you had been trekking with a group. The possibilities would have been varied, depending upon the temperaments of the followers. What if there had been discord and debate about what to do next? What if everybody was physically able to simply leap over the barrier? What if some people were differently abled with walkers or wheel chairs?

Think also about the surrounding atmosphere and how that affects our response to barriers. As it was, it was chilly, but generally a benign situation. But, what if a storm was brewing and other trees were on the verge of falling? What if you were being chased by a coyote?

It is interesting how anxiety alters our perception of a barrier. When we are calm and collected we perceive roadblocks as opportunities to pause and figure out how to proceed or what detour might be equally interesting (and might actually be a delightful byway). In many ways the barrier becomes a friend!

But (oh my!) when our emotions are ratcheted up or incited by communal worry or frustration, the size and scope of the barrier grows far beyond its reality. It becomes a gargantuan adversary.

Perhaps in congregational settings it would be helpful to gather together our team of leaders and practice some trekking in different situations. Maybe the leader could even go out beforehand and “prepare the trail,” including providing some roadblocks and barriers, just to see how the group responds to them.

Yours,

Pamela