Category Archives: Holidays

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On a Spiritual Quest: Holy Week Reflection

image(1)It is a week of quiet commemoration for those who hold the truths of Holy Scripture dear. I see in myself a growing, longing, desiring, of sacred things that speak of God. Of all the stories found in time and eternity, the story of redemption through Jesus Christ tops them all. I have grown to adore Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of all that a person could want in another person and all that a person could want in a God. The God-Man was just that, human enough to understand the frailty of man, human enough to make it real to us, God enough to provide the perfect sacrifice, God enough to bring the human into a right relationship with God.

A confession: When I wrote my book, I was recovering from a lost relationship in which I had caused pain and also had received pain. It was a thoughtful time for me, one of sorrow and sadness. Understanding pain was nothing new for me. But this time I felt a piercing deep in my spirit. Confusion in the relationship centered on our Christian beliefs, strangely enough, which we both held with high regard. He was active in a liturgical church, I was active in a protestant church. Doubts had cluttered my ability to think clearly. I was afraid of our differences, letting fear become my undoing. I couldn’t quite make the leap, to embrace what was foreign to me–although it was never asked of me to do so. After the breakup, I found myself still curious. I had tasted just enough of the liturgical forms of worship to want to know more.  I began reading beyond the scope of my background. A door had opened that I could not shut. The more I read, the more I wanted. I was thirsty. I found much richness in that of which I read. Those people of faith, saints and martyrs, loved and adored the same God that I love and adore. Reading their thoughts was like eating a rich dessert, the delightful and delicate part of the meal.

A positive result: In the end, my viewpoint altered. I had been afraid of something I did not understand. Assumptions had been made by me that were not true. My thoughts were purified and enlightened. The more I sought to know, the more I came to know. I found I could fellowship with people of the faith with whom I differed in some areas. What united me to them was our beliefs concerning God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and the plan of salvation for humankind. It is Christ who frees us from our bondage and enslavement. He sets us  free to live full lives of love,  grace, and truth.

Because it is Holy Week, and because I am going to church services that commemorate Christ’s Last Supper, death, and resurrection, I want to do my part in sharing some of what I have learned. I would encourage you to visit another church than your own sometime this week. You may find that God will speak to your soul in a new way. That’s a good thing. Don’t be afraid of it. Ask God to speak to you. That is what I used to do before I developed an appreciation for another form of worship. To end this writing, I want to share with you text from my book that touches on the subject of this blog. I want to draw you to the Savior, the Lamb of God who came to pardon our sins and offer us a new identity. His identity. Open your eyes to see, your ears to hear, your heart to love, and your mind to truth.

my bookTHE MEETING PLACE: Book quotes are from pages 181-184

“I found myself on a spiritual quest, seeking a new direction, searching for truth and understanding beyond my strongly held Protestant beliefs and scriptural interpretation of bible doctrines. I began to read some of the saints and mystics from the Middle Ages and more recent writers of Christian thought from the early and mid-1900s including several women from the 1800s and 1900s; Protestant, Anglican, and Catholic in breadth. A hunger grew in me for more of God in personal unity of “relationship.” I began to read life stories and expressions written by people who knew God, not just about God. I could identify with many of these various writers, their words ringing true in my thinking. Some of what they recorded I could have written; the tone was the same with a warmth of expression one finds in the writings of people who love God. Their words addressed what had been closed and unmined prior to my exposure to their vibrancy. One can find the heart of the person by what they say or the affective filter of their collective works. I no longer was looking so much at their theological positions but more at their statements regarding God and his influence, his outworking in their lives. As a result of this, my quest of which I am still on, my outlook changed immensely even though my interpretation of scripture remained much the same. I began to see with new eyes. This was a powerful gift God gave me during this period of dryness in my spiritual life, my “dark night of the soul.” In addition to my walk with God, this has particularly and significantly contributed to the inward changes in my person. I will never be the same, and that’s an understatement. It has fundamentally altered me in how I think and how I approach the Christian faith and also the family of believers. I have become less rigid and more kind, less certain but more open, less opinionated and more loving. It is a spiritual journey outside the box of religious convention and limited parameters, yet not one of compromise or the forsaking of biblical truth. My belief in the fundamentals of the faith and personal salvation through Jesus Christ remain firmly in place. More of God and less of me. Praise the Lord.

“However, the problem still remained. It has never been easy for me to accept change or address friction in personal interactions, or to “let go” when their time has ended. While I traveled this darkened spiritual path, most every waking moment I experienced a constant troubling in my thoughts and spirit, like something unsettled and not quite right, out of focus and gray. As much as I tried, I could not remove its thorn from my heart nor find inner peace. Because of its persistence and presence, it was difficult to deal with the many responsibilities on my plate. The sorrow and the aloneness were strong, taking with them my energy and free spirit. My months of visits at the meeting place helped resolve some of its pain, but nothing could completely remove its sorrow. Slowly over time, I regained my footing with God and returned to my “sweet place” of receiving grace and love from his abundant mercy. One morning a year or so later, while I was getting ready for church, I sensed God’s voice telling me what the real trouble had been, my part in the problem. It seemed as if God was explaining to me that when I had voiced my concerns by stating my doubts, they originated in my uncertainty and need for security, and in the doing of it, I had failed to trust him when I could not see the way. I had failed the test.  . . .

“I have learned much though in my search for understanding and truth. People of many denominations and religious affiliations worship the same God—in spirit and in truth. Only God knows an individual’s true heart and in whom or what they base their faith. It is belief in Christ where one finds truth; it is the one uniting truth that crosses religious boundaries or constraints and brings the universal church of God together in harmony and freedom. One can keep their biblical stance and interpretation, religious formalities, beliefs, and doctrinal positions—without compromise and still have the capacity to extend love, grace, and acceptance to sisters and brothers across the aisle, who have this same love of God in their hearts, who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior. But there’s the rub; we don’t always know who does and who doesn’t have genuine faith. Be loving anyway. How freeing this is to know and believe that God calls us to be faithful to the vision, the central truth of Christ’s Life, which he has given to each one of us as his children.”

GOD BLESS YOU,

Norma

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Easter Truth: Resurrection, Redemption, Rebirth

IMG_0304EASTER CELEBRATION

CONTEMPLATION: Written on Saturday at a monastery.

This week is such a significant time on the Church calendar.  It is a time of reflective celebration referring back to the most pivotal event of ALL history. This is true for all who believe in the finished work of the cross. The death of Christ. The resurrection of Christ. You cannot have a resurrection without a death that precedes it. Jesus IS the Resurrection and the Life. No one will get to the Father except through him. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

All of time in the earthly realm relates to Christ’s death on the cross. The Old Testament looked forward to the cross. The animal sacrifices given for atonement for sin, were an illustration of what was yet to be. The New Testament gospels recorded the time of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It also details the eyewitness accounts and years following Christ’s return to heaven. Next we have the Paulian epistles which document a looking back at the cross as the church got its legs so to speak. The Church Age, the Age of Grace, is inter-connected to the events of the crucifixion and resurrection: the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It is a beautiful picture, the sacrificial lamb of God slain for the sins of the world whereby redeeming the lost . . .  so that we might live, experience rebirth in our souls, made righteous by a Righteous and Holy Savior-God. Christ redeemed our souls. He was crushed for us. He was wounded that we might live. The redemptive cycle was complete. “It is finished” were Christ’s words as he hung there on Good Friday. The sky grew dark. An earthquake quaked the ground. People ran for cover. The world would never be the same again. And then. “He’s alive!” Death could not keep him. The Savior conquered sin and death to save the world.

Life is that way too. In fact, most of life is a story of redemption. There is life, burial, resurrection, new life—in cycles that occur and reoccur, over, and over, and over again. We see it in the seasons, the plant life, the events in our lives: physical birth and life as it is lived: childhood, middle-age, old age, death, then the resurrected life to be lived for eternity. It is one continuous circle that goes round and around. Some want off the circle, pain hijacks their ability to enjoy life. I wish for them freedom that will lift them out of the cage. But I can’t do it for them. I am only used as a way to lead them to the door. I say to them, “It is possible. It’s your choice. God offers it. Take his gift of grace, the salvation he offers for your soul. Be free.” After that, it is up to them and God.  It will take both joining together in purpose and in power. Some who I know, are fighting the fight to get there. They can’t quite give up to go with God. Some want to, they desire it, but they haven’t figured out how to let go of the bondage of past indiscretions or paralyzing fears. These dear ones want to throw in the towel because it is getting too hard. But they haven’t, thankfully. It takes courage to face your demons be they self condemnation, past hurts, sinful practices, or even depression. It can be intense. Usually, it is. It gets worse before it gets better. But then. Then comes the surrender, the embracing of Christ, the lifted face in tears of sorrow turned to rejoicing as the sting penetrates the soul and peace heals its inner wounding.

Life becomes one sweet Ode to Joy when the battle is won and victory has been secured. You know you will never return to the pit from whence you came, from which you have been released. Not there yet? Keep fighting the good fight until you can rest in the arms of Jesus. He is the Healer and Comforter, and the Man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Jesus understands when we hurt and are fearful. He wants us to be free in him. His arms are wide open. Come to Jesus.

Thank you Father, for a resurrected life. I feel like I’m sitting in your presence—that Jesus just walked in the door and greeted me. I feel myself attracted to his person. Jesus radiates the self-assured, holy life, a transparent, yet hidden glow of self-contained radiance. His smile is accepting of me and of all he meets. I want to be like Mary and sit at his feet. To talk with him and ask him the harder questions that trip us up, the ones I hear day in and day out that confuse the unbelieving and believing alike. Most of them are about pain and suffering, and the nature of God. The more I know of your nature, the more that I realize that your love is that of a loving father who deeply cares for his children. Thank you, dear Father God.