If you went looking, where would you find God in our world these days?
Could it be in the place where we make the comforting connections with one another when we are at our weakest? Does God dwell in the plea for help, in the sigh of a surrender , in the bleak passages where tears accumulate? Does God's presence seep into the cracks of broken hearts?
If you went looking, where would you find a human being in our world these days? Is it in the same places as you would find God?
We are our most human when we make the comforting connections with one another when we are at our weakest......when we are at the messiest, most doubting and trying times in our lives. It makes me wonder if we discover ourselves and our faith more through the pain we may have to endure while we figure our problems out....that through our vulnerability, the raw wounds can lead to much deeper connections with other human beings who are willing to be with us during those times.
Interesting that brokenness can manifest love and belonging if we want it to. Interesting how showing our human beingness to someone else passes on God's light. He dwells in all of us.
We are all we have. As human beings we must listen and respond to the weeping of others, don't you think? Our primary goal in life is to feel needed. Let us fulfill this goal by offering ourselves to others in need.......unconditionally. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
9 comments:
We are all we have. As human beings we must listen and respond to the weeping of others, don't you think? Our primary goal in life is to feel needed. Let us fulfill this goal by offering ourselves to others in need.......unconditionally. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
What a wonderful world we would live in if everyone heeded these beautiful honest words Dana. Glorious pic up above too.
Gypsy....wouldn't it be a much different place? I was reminded of this listening to an interview of Jean Vanier last night on the radio (while carving pumpkins!)
His lifework is an inspiration to me because he truly lives these words. He believes that "growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness.”
He has very strong beliefs in the power and purpose of community, as he has spent his whole adult life living and working in the L'Arche communities he personally founded for people with disabilities. Vanier believes.......
“Community is a place where people can live truly as human beings, where they can be healed and strengthened in their deepest emotions, and where they can walk towards unity and inner freedom. As fears and prejudices diminish and trust in God and others grows, the community can radiate and witness to a style and quality of life which will bring a solution to the troubles of our world. The response to war is to live like brothers and sisters. The response to injustice is to share. The response to prejudice and hatred is forgiveness. To work for community is to work for humanity.”
If I could choose to sit down to break bread and to share some wine with anyone right now, I would most definately hope I could choose Jean Vanier.
AMEN! I find evidence of God in everything and almost everyone.
Dana,
Fantastic thoughts! Oh, and I loved the pic. Did you take it? It has such vivid color and clarity. Amazing.
Judy...me too. I spent most of the morning with a woman who is dealing with many health issues and a sense of not being heard or validated. She began by telling me that "I am a human being." It floored me because of the emotion behind those words, and also because of what I had written here last night. We talked about many things over the course of two hours. Then, I showed her my blog and this post and read it to her. I almost didn't make it through the words, realizing very vividly that I had written it about this broken woman who had shared her story with me. She understood the serendipity of the moment too.....leaned over and gave me a hug..........told me it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard.
It was a truly magical moment....one I will never forget.
Dustin. Thank you..... Yes, I took the picture sometime last summer. It was taken on the same evening as the one I posted yesterday. I changed the exposure and it came out just like it is shown.
how i imagine a piece of heaven.
Unconditional is such a beautiful word. Our presence here(in the moment) and in the lives of others may be our only calling. Wonderful how you shared your words here with someone in need. Sometimes it is just the recognition of someone else's need that triggers the exchange of energy between two people. In that moment you had something to give and she was open to receiving. At the same time she gave a gift to you. God present.
Happy Halloween to you!
Matthew
I love the word unconditional too. And if we are open to the sense of unconditional, we may have the opportunity to exchange the energy, as you say Matthew. Yes, it was a gift sharing kind of morning. amazing it was.....!
ps. my afternoon wasn't too shabby either! it just seemed to be a day when i was blessed to be present with human beings who felt comfortable enough with me to share their brokenness.....and by so doing felt lighter for it.
and now, i'm exhausted.....but satisfied.
we are all we have, and that is enough... if we share it..
our humaness is our biggest blessing and our greatest downfall.
I seem to have lots of thoughts going off at a tangent here...
what a fantastic serendipitous moment, Happy Halloween Dana, x
Love this writing because that's how I think. I always call our good part secretly the God part.
When reaching out you touch other people's heart. I want to add that you easily can reach out when there seems to be no high need, like a scout doing some little good deeds and giving some smiles.
Post a Comment