When God Shouts At You

Children love a good joke. I especially love the ones they make up themselves. My baby sister had a particularly great one about a turtle and a bucket that made no sense whatsoever, but it made us laugh just the same.

One of the first real jokes I can recall memorizing is one that continues to provide me deeper inspiration today. Here goes…

It started to rain pretty heavily in a small town. Seeing that the waters were rising, a man climbed onto his roof to wait out the storm. A man in a rowboat came by and asked the man if he wanted to come along with him. The man on the roof shook his head and said, “The Lord will provide.” The man on the rowboat shook his head and rowed away. An hour or so later as the floodwaters had continued to rise up the side of the house, a man in a motorboat came along. He asked the man on the roof if he wanted to come along with him. The man on the roof shook his head and said, “The Lord will provide.” A few hours later the water was lapping at the man’s feet on the roof. A man in a helicopter came by and asked if he wanted to come along with him. The man on the roof shook his head and said, “The Lord will provide.” Within the hour, the floodwaters took over the house; the man on the roof was swept away, drowned and died. He found himself in Heaven face to face with the Lord. He said to God, “Dear Lord, why am I here. Why did you not save me?” And the Lord said, “What else did you want me to do? I sent you a row boat, a motor boat and a helicopter.”

What a difficult battle we fight. We’ve been given these amazing brains, hearts and bodies; these amazing abilities; these amazing gifts. How incredible and fulfilling it is when we use them. We dare to believe…to believe in ourselves and to boldly make a difference in the world around us.

But, somehow, there always seems to be a but…something that nags at us.

But is this what I was called to do? Am I living fully? Could I be doing more for others? Could I be happier? Could this be easier?

Sometimes the light shines so brightly we can’t help but bask in God’s glory knowing that all is right in the world. We give great thanks. Other times, we wonder…are we on the right path? It sort of feels like it, but sometimes things seem quiet…too quiet.

And so, let me introduce to you the blessing of God shouting. Maybe it’s not really shouting, but it seems like that because if you’ve finally gotten yourself centered, thoughtful and quiet enough or into a tizzy of white noise, you might begin to hear or to notice hints being thrown your way. It might start to feel like shouting.

In the last week, God has been shouting at me.

The radio show asked, “What are you waiting for? When are you going to start writing?”

A daily meditation I read reflected, “Are you living into your calling? Are you writing?”

A church friend (or two) asked me, “When are you going to write your book?”

A young person preached my own words back to me without knowing I had shared them in the first place, and several friends and readers texted or emailed me to let me know.

My beloved mother-in-law questioned me, “Have you been blogging, writing down your thoughts?”

So what is it about living life that still leaves me wanting? What have I been waiting for…that rowboat, that speed boat, that helicopter? Is God sitting there stumped wondering what it will take to inspire my gifts to use?

How many life rafts will I need before I drown? Drown in my own self pity because I won’t listen. Drown in my own unhappiness because I’m avoiding something that brings me joy and fulfillment but is hard and takes time. Drown in my dissatisfaction because I feel like I’m not being the full me I was meant to be.

These suggestions do not mean total change, but there is always room for adjustment and improvement. I’ll take it. I’m blogging today.

How is God shouting at you?

With love and light,

LT

Oh, Anger, Go Away

Anger is a frustrating emotion that not only damages the recipient it incapacitates the initiator. It is the ultimate cover up. It hides the sadness or pain someone may be feeling by coming out as an attack instead of a cry for help. It dismisses the tiredness, stress and anxiety of recent days, weeks, months or years with a loud voice that really needs quiet and rest. It often lashes out at the people that could bring the most love and care to ease the angered's woes. 

Oh, anger, go away. Let's be honest with one another and seek shelter in each other's love instead of hiding behind our anger.

Try peace.

Try rest.

Try forgiveness.

Try quiet.

Try kindness.

Try love.

Feel better.

With love and light,

LT

We All Need Quiet

We all need quiet, even the most extroverted of us. With a full time career that involves a lot of interaction and communication, a husband, who also works full time, and two smallish children, life stays pretty busy around here…and noisy.

I take great comfort in the example of Jesus who often went off to pray, alone. I’ve always imagined him in beautiful shaded landscapes or along the shoreline…sometimes surrounded by lush green growth with sun or moonlight filtering through the leaves, other times in the sand under the shade of a tree with water lapping against the dry earth as birds hovered above or skittered back and forth on the land. His beloved friends and disciples may have only been a stone’s throw away, but he still gave himself the opportunity to separate himself, to be quiet, to disconnect from the here and now and to focus on something greater.

Stepping away from others and into beauty and creation at least once a day helps me to center in my connection with God. It helps me breath in new life and the love that will sustain me as well as flow out in my relationships with others. Without these refreshing moments of renewal, my interactions with others can lack the depth I seek or the kindness I wish to share.

I will admit that I haven’t been completely successful in giving myself permission to do this everyday. I do pray every day, but it is not always the quiet connection with creation and silence that I need for full renewal. That being the case, it’s important that several times a year, I create opportunities for myself to have even longer times of reflection. Silent retreats have been especially refreshing in my spiritual journey.

The first Friday of every month, a group of women, some regulars, some new, gather for silence at St. Columba Conference Center in Bartlett, Tennessee. The St. Clare retreats are open to all women of any denomination and have been taking place over 12 years. As one woman explained during my last visit to St. Columba, “don’t wait until you are old and wise”…to take advantage of the opportunity to be quiet, to pray, to study and to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation for yourself.

Before each retreat begins, participants have an opportunity to greet one another over coffee. The retreat itself opens in prayer and the presentation of a short reflection with the beautiful wooded background of the St. Columba property in the background. Afterwards, hours of silence in which participants are encouraged not to make eye contact and disturb someone else’s quite begin. You can read, you can knit, you can sketch, you can journal and you can walk the property, which includes wooded paths, fields and a beautifully created labyrinth lined with moss and stones. In cool weather, you might curl up by the fire with a cup of tea or as it warms find yourself in a rocking chair on the screened in porch. Nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays and wrens flit about in the brush as you look out the windows and inspirational quotes catch your eye as you move from place to place in the retreat center.  An all-transactions-silent bookstore is available for you to peruse at your leisure.

As you find that your soul has been renewed, a gentle bell begins to ring summoning you to another communal prayer gathering. The silence is over, but it is ok. You have been welcomed back to the laughter and noise of your everyday life. Women throughout the room bravely share what inspiration and thoughts may have come to them during their time of quiet. Sometimes prayers are shared, as are revelations and words of gratitude.

There are smiles. Eyes are sparkling. Shoulders have relaxed. Breathing has gained greater depth. The retreat closes as the women gather around tables in the dining room for a delicious homemade lunch prepared by the St. Columba staff. It’s as if we’ve found the renewed energy and innocence of children and are being rewarded with a meal prepared by loving hands. Whether walking away in the rain or the full sunshine, each retreat for me has been filled with light and love.

Although I highly recommend attending a St. Columba retreat or something similar in your neck of the woods, please remember you can create this type of renewal for yourself wherever you are. Take some time out for yourself. Find a special reading or meditation. Find something beautiful to surround yourself, whether it is retreating to the outside, lighting a candle, reflecting on a painting or sitting in a favorite room or bench at the park…just take some time out. Be quiet. Be good to yourself. Reconnect with you and with God.

With love and light,

LT