Be Midbar

I went to class with my mom today at the Major Seminary, and needless to say, it was awesome sitting in that class room. So many Holy guys just giving God a chance to work in their lives. And there is something interesting about hearing a lecture on scripture where the background theme is "how can I take this to a congregation and how can this help me in my Sunday preaching?"

Anyway, we were talking Numbers (like the book in the Bible, not math) and I (always paying attention) wrote a small reflection, enjoy!

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It is in the wilderness, the wasteland where God Provides.

The place where there is no protection, no food; the place overrun with the wild and with the untammed. There in that place there is only room for trust.

When our lives are full of turmoil, when chaos rules our every moment. When our future path is unmade and unwalked. When we can barely see the next step. We find ourselves in the wilderness of life, scared and unsure but needed to move forward, it is there that we need to trust and seek God.

We are supposed to call out to him, like the Israelites in the desert wandering, We must shout, "Lord I'm here and need provisions, Lord I need your light, I need your support, I trust you, but also need your presence."

In the wilderness and chaos of the live we lives - Calling out to God and trust in him are essential and through that we will find peace.

M18, p&f, love

We are creation made out of LOVE &
called to carry that love to ALL we meet.
If we are bringing the LOVE then GOD will also be present.

We were created with Gifts&Talents through which we experience and bring God to :::others:::. If, however, they become the ->center<- of our lives, we hinder our growth in GOD and in LOVE.

With God at the ->center<- of our Lives
EVERY MOMENT becomes and opportunity to grow Closer to Christ.
Let's find where our Christ centered life is leading.

Once discerned, don't let any
selfishness...pride...
other person...reservations...
or any type of FEAR

:::STOP YOU::: from following the CALL.

Because w.a.l.k.i.n.g. that p.a.t.h. is where you find happiness,
as you give more&more
of yourself
to GOD.

M18 ::: Surrender to LOVE ::: TAP the BACK

The Invitation - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I went on a retreat called Guidance earlier in the year. On the retreat, one of the speakers used the poem entitled "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. It is a beautiful Poem, and I hope to come in and edit this post with my reactions at some point, but until then, here is the poem:

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

It is a good poem, and very deep. What ever readers I have - It's your turn to reflect - comment, I'd love to see what you think :)