e has to show. He has been teaching me much lately about how boxed in I have kept him. I didn't think I had, but... I feel like I have been wearing one prescription of glasses for a long time, too long perhaps, and he has come along and taken them off my face and said, "Here. Try these." And wow. There is so much more to see beyond where I could focus before. There is so much more Truth outside of my old sphere of vision. I am taking steps to see even more. It feels a little strange wearing these new glasses. They may take a little time to get used to.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Put the mud in my eyes and let me see...
In a response to "All you need is love" I talked about my Intro to Counseling teacher taking the class through a "Buddhist meditation" and I was a little freaked. That's pretty funny to me now. What a typical response by a Western-minded Christian - to freak out about a little centering exercise. I'm a bit chagrinned now by that. It's funny how God works in people's lives. He uses whatever is going on to speak to those who will listen. Does he have a big orchestrated plan for one person to learn one little lesson? Maybe, maybe not. But I do know he will use all things at his disposal to point something out to someone who wants to see what he has to show. He has been teaching me much lately about how boxed in I have kept him. I didn't think I had, but... I feel like I have been wearing one prescription of glasses for a long time, too long perhaps, and he has come along and taken them off my face and said, "Here. Try these." And wow. There is so much more to see beyond where I could focus before. There is so much more Truth outside of my old sphere of vision. I am taking steps to see even more. It feels a little strange wearing these new glasses. They may take a little time to get used to.
e has to show. He has been teaching me much lately about how boxed in I have kept him. I didn't think I had, but... I feel like I have been wearing one prescription of glasses for a long time, too long perhaps, and he has come along and taken them off my face and said, "Here. Try these." And wow. There is so much more to see beyond where I could focus before. There is so much more Truth outside of my old sphere of vision. I am taking steps to see even more. It feels a little strange wearing these new glasses. They may take a little time to get used to.
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6 comments:
I was thinking about this post and realized it might be just ambiguous enough to really scare some people. No, I'm not embracing Buddhism. I am just saying that the Western-minded Christians do not have the market on all Truth. There is Truth all around, and we need to claim it as Truth no matter what the source, and walk in it as Christ walked in it.
Yeah, baby. This excites me, Kim. God is so much huger (Iknow that's not correct English but saying bigger is just not enough) than we have acknowledged. God is a whole world there to explore. We all explore her differently and then bring our stories together to see all that he is. Don't freak out, anybody, Christ is the center.
I'm glad you added to the post, I was just wondering what it was you were talking about. Not that you were embracing Buddhism, but just wondering what you meant.
Anyway....Thanks for your post. I'm feeling eh...the same. I wish I could just nap (I am soooo sleeping in tomorrow), and my head is all cloudy. I wish I could take something other than tylenol. Um....Also...How are the boys? I was going to text you yesterday to see how Liam was.
I hope to see you guys tomorrow.
Finally...I changed my profile...Thanks for the reminder. ;)
Yes. Christ is the center always.
I am again amazed at how God teaches me. It is often through repetition I find. This weekend Andy Glover is at TFH doing a conference on Abba's Touch. He's been talking about soaking and letting God love you, and it so goes along side what you said, Cathy, about contemplation and being aware of God's presence and our surroundings at the same time. I thought about soaking as trying to block everything else out, but he said it's not. And this is all tied back to my Counseling teacher taking us through a meditation that brought us into the present moment, being aware of everything that's around us and being present in the now. I look forward to her meditation times at the beginning of class now, because it is a time where I can get focused and let stuff drop off and be in God's presence in the present moment.
I guess that's what this post is somewhat about. God is teaching me Truth through a variety of sources and they are all pointing to the same thing in the end. It's very interesting.
Ignatius was right. God is in everything and our role is to find him in it all. It sounds so New Age-y to a Western-minded Christian but it is Truth none the less. Rob Bell said basically the same thing in Velvet Elvis. If you haven't read it, do so. It's a great book.
TIffiny, hope you get good naps, and I'll be there tomorrow with Teagan, The boys are still not well enough I don't think, but they're getting better.
Great imagery, Kim. The eyeglasses metaphor is a good picture of our culture-specific biases. Often, our "absolutes" only make sense through a specific set of lenses. This isn't wrong, but it can hold us back from seeing how big God really is. Problems arise, especially disrespect and alienation in the body, when we don't know we're wearing them (or that others' prescriptions are vastly different).
Learning to "center" can be very very helpful for exercising self-control. It's like a preemptive time-out, which is a very Christian thing to do.
There's a specific therapy orientation, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), that uses centering as a core piece for working with Borderline Personality Disorder clients. DBT is a remarkably beneficial mode of treatment that reduces serious symptoms (which include suicide, homicide, and otherwise very destructive behaviors/relationships). Centering can be consistent with Kingdom work.
oh, my! i feel right there with you. i have been so set on doing God's will i was missing His will for me! once i put on His glasses for me, i have found so much more freedom to be me, and in turn i have been able to be willing to grow and to love others more freely. it's so cool to hear so many close to me are also going through such a similiar transition in their lives.
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