Do you know what I've noticed about Americans (I hope I don't offend anyone, but since I am American I feel like I can safely talk about my own culture)? They don't take time to grieve. When life is filled with pain - whether from death, a broken relationship, disappointment, or just everyday challenges - instead of allowing ourselves to feel those emotions and begin to heal, we distract ourselves with busyness or noise in order to avoid the pain.
I'm reading this book on silence and solitude; at first I thought, "I've been away from friends and family for over one year... reading about solitude is the LAST thing I need!", but since a friend sent it to me, I felt it only fair to take the time to read it. Am I glad I did (thank you, Kathy)! I am learning that I don't take enough time to stop and listen to - or just BE with - God. This stuck out to me today:
"Elijah's wilderness experience is a powerful metaphor for the vast emptiness all of us must walk through on the way to encounter with God. But how we as human beings seek to avoid this truth of the spiritual life! The experience of our emptiness is so painful we will do almost anything to avoid it - and most of us do for a long, long time. But try as we might we cannot escape the fact that willingness to walk into the empty places is a precursor to finding God... While the experience of being empty is painful, emptiness is a prerequisite to being filled. As it turns out, the presence of God is poured out most generously when there is space in our souls to receive Him. In the vast emptiness of the human soul there is finally room for God." - Ruth Haley Barton, Invitation to Solitude and Silence
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