God Speaks

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          That person, that event, that incident, which left you sad, angry, or feeling rejected and all alone, is still holding you, locked in place, denying you a space of joy and peace.  The only way, to break the chain and stand anew is to forgive and release all sadness, anger, or rejection that is within you.  Even when you think it is all gone, if the slightest memory calls you to remember what went wrong, there is still work to do to rid yourself, to start a new chapter.  Take that which you learned and use it to propel you into the light.  Rather than curing these past issues, bless them, acknowledging that, in the end, they have left you better than you have ever been, because you took that which was and lifted it into the light wherein illumination uncovered brilliance, even in the darkest of nights.

 And The Holy Spirit says:

           If you have placed yourself in the role of victim, do not allow yourself to tarry there, resisting the lessons, refusing to budge, allowing the energy to inundate you, until you are caught in the web.  There is a way out.  And The Way is forgiveness.  Forgiveness can be a bitter pill to swallow, still do it.  Forgiveness is the correct medicine.  And once taken, and forgiveness is within you, you will be cured of the illness, and at peace once more.

 

 

Pathway into Lent

 

We have made this far into the Lenten Season.  It is now March.  Oh, and by the way, March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. March was the first month in the original Roman calendar. Along with January, May, and June, March is one of several months named after a god.  Now, back to Lent and what I would like to share with you today.

I was raised Catholic, attended parochial school through high school, before heading off to USC.  I was just where I needed to be, spiritually.  My sister first led me to question some of the rules set down by the Church.  One rule, which riled me, was that we could not eat meat on Friday.  This was particularly stinging because many of my classmates, whose parents were stationed at Fort Jackson, were able to eat meat on Fridays.  This made no sense to me.  If something is so important as to have to confess it as a sin it should not be arbitrary.  It should be across the board, the same for everyone.  Well, at least, that was the mindset of a twelve year old girl.  Yet, it was the first of many questions, for me.  However, I did not question the lives of the saints.  Now I see, with clarity, I was always in love with the mysticism of Catholicism but pushed back on many of the rules set in place.  I knew there had to be a reason, a source, for the rules, which would make sense, but I do not remember ever finding the source, except that they were rules made by another human being.  All this is laying the groundwork to say that many years later, when Michael and I met, in our forties, I had been disillusioned with The Church, and the scandals, and the seemingly empty rules, but not with the saints, not with the mystical aspects of the Church.  Fast forward… Michael and I were led out of the city up into the high mountains of Western North Carolina to establish a place of peace, where individuals and couples could come, be in nature, and reconnect with God, on a personal basis.  So, we founded, and became the operators of, The Quiet Place.  This is when major events opened my heart, brought my soul to song, and invigorated my spirit.  We were actively seeking God, in nature, in the great cathedrals of towering pines, in the song of the waterfalls.  As we began to seek through daily prayer and meditation, each morning and night, the doors opened with visions and messages.  Sometimes they were not aligned with what we had been taught as children.  But the visions and messages were not the only events leading us into something new.  As we walked and talked with the trees, as we sat with, and listened to, the grasses, and flowers, bugs, and birds, our senses were heightened.  As we slipped our hands between the trunks of conjoined trees, we felt energy, powerful energy, moving, supporting, caressing, loving.  As we sat on the benches, at the back waterfall, the swaying of the trees, and the passing deer brought messages.  Everywhere we looked messages were there, present, with us.  It was God, speaking to us, and we were not sitting in the pews of a church.  We were sinking ever deeper into Mother Earth.  We were not walking in nature, we were one with nature, and this brought even more messages, downloads, if you will.  It was God.  That is the seeking, which led us to finding that it was all God.  Now, you might think, well of course, we all know that.  But at first it shook me to the core, because I had, set in my head, an imaginary picture of what God is.  And the bugs scurrying over the log had never been one of those images.  I was more willing to accept it, piece by peace, than I was ready to speak the truth, which when found, unfolded with awe.  I was disturbed.  Then I was in wonder.  Then our lives took a profound turn, which was reflected in how we welcomed retreat guests, in how we encouraged them to pray, in how we sent each person out to sit next to a tree, or on a rock to receive that which they were seeking.  It became real, seeking, finding, disturbing, awesome, truth.

Since that time there have been so many seeking journeys, each one unfolding in the same way.  It was disturbing to think of God as a bug, or a slug, or a mountain lion.  But it was also awesome, and wonderous, glorious, and transformative for us.

The reading I have chosen today is from Isaiah 32:18-20

The Reading

March 5, 2024

“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.  Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.”  Isaiah 32:18-20

 

 

          Listen.  Feel.  When comes the daybreak, rise-up singing, announcing to the world, around you, that you live.  And then, open your arms to the light of the day   Open you heart to that which will come your way.  Do not hesitate, tarrying in the threshold of sleep and wake.  Walk slowly, so you might see things hidden from view, but for the few, who rise-up, walk slowly, and see with open arms and open heart.

 And The Holy Spirit says:

           There are times to rest and times for action.  So, rest in the lap of God, when it is time.  Then, rise-up eagerly, ready to express God’s love in all you think, and say, and do.  Rise-up.  This dawning, new, glorious day is for you.

 

 

          Do not permit your heart to bear the weight of bitterness, anger, or frustration.  While these energies might swirl around you, they do not necessarily have to invade your inner landscape.  Sit with Me so the lessons of living within will ensure the calm confidence to move through choppy, or uncharted, waters, making your way to where you are to be.  There is no power any greater than the power of a peaceful presence, for it soothes the rising turmoil, calms the anxiety of stressful matters, and delivers peace where there once was none.

 And The Holy Spirit says:

           Once you realize your true power, life, and being, are within, in your spirit, your soul, your heart will sing-out, rejoicing.  From that moment forward nothing can daunt the eternal spirit that is you.

 

          Look.  Do you see that small yellow flower?  It does not matter whether you see the flower in the meadow or see it pushing up through the cracks of a sidewalk.  You see it.  And in seeing it, that small yellow flower prompts a smile, and recognition that no matter how little you might feel: you still have the will to enjoy the delights of a brilliant meadow, you still have the will to push up through whatever has inundated you, and find the light of the sun.  That, which you will to happen, will happen.  That is the power of the will.  Will it and it shall be so.

 And The Holy Spirit says:

           Your true strength is within, and that is where it has always been.  So, when you are troubled, in any way, go within and you will know The Way.

 

 

          When the time of rest is done, and the rays, from the light of the rising sun, call you to the breaking day, rise-up, with joy, without delay.  For you have reclined within My love, restored, rejuvenated, ready for the coming day, and all it brings your way.  Now, is the time for action, a readiness to act from the love, which we have nurtured, together, as you did rest.  Face all things, without reaction, but action, streaming from the well of My love, which is within you.  You are ready.  Do not delay.  Rise-up and greet the new day.

 And The Holy Spirit says:

           It can be tempting to remain in the sweetness of sleep, reclining in the lap of God.  But the time always comes when you are to take that which you have been given and rise-up to meet whatever doth come your way.  Act in love, kindness, and the light of God will shine forth from all you do.  You are ready.  Rise-up and greet the new day, for it is here, for you.

 

 

          Do not strangle your heart with weeds of discontent, allowing rocks and stones of anger or revenge, or hurt feelings to mar that sacred space.  Permit the garden of your heart to grow, bringing forth a harvest of love from well-tended, rich soil.  Tend your heart with thoughts of compassion, forgiveness, and love, and let them rest there, until sprouts of understanding spring forth.  It is easy to let your heart harden, lacking the ability to love, from sheer will not to do so.  Therefore, do not withhold love from any one person, place, or thing.  For, with each denial a stone is placed in the soil.  Do not withhold forgiveness or compassion from any one person, place, or thing.  For, with each denial a weed is placed in the soil.  Your heart will produce that which you sow.  Cast the seeds of love upon the well-tended garden of your heart, and you shall feed the world with a glorious harvest.

And The Holy Spirit says:

           Do not withhold love, for to do so is to strangle your heart until it is hardened to the ways of love.