Too Good to Be True?

When we say that something is “not too good,” we mean to express our displeasure, as for a half-cooked pie that is almost inedible. When we describe an experience as “too good to be true,” we try to communicate an overflowing sense of surprise and delight. We emphasize a feeling more than a fact; our affective response, not our level of belief.

Some of us might think that few events in our lives would merit the remark, “too good to be true.” If we reflect for a time, we might broaden the list of life-experiences that have evoked reverence and awe within us. Whatever occasions our spontaneous response of “too good to be true,” whether spoken aloud to another person or kept within as a personal comment, is almost always about a particular occurrence, not life in general. Yet many significant moments involve our present recognition and appreciation of long-held general truths.

Just as we use “not too good” as a negative, and “too good” as a superlative, we also say of some events that they are “true.” When we are convinced that an occurrence is real and factual, we call it “true.” But if we say, “too good to be true” we might, for all the joy in our experience, also indicate that our acceptance is tentative and perhaps doubtful. While we might be enthusiastic about what has taken place, we might also hold an attitude of limited expectations. We can even diminish or limit what God can do for us if we allow ourselves to be bound by constricting thoughts of what is possible.

What are some of our general beliefs? Life after death: “too good to be true” or taken for granted? God loves us as we are: something that applies to everybody else, but “too good to be true” for me? When we reflect on some of the beliefs we have, we might get beyond the habitual thoughts that contain no surprises for us, to a more immediate awareness of the truth. When we appreciate, in the present moment, something we have perhaps known for a long time, we might have a new experience of awe and excitement. God’s goodness can break through into our awareness with surprising power when we take a little time to focus our attention of one or other of our beliefs.

We might also want to recall some of the events that have taken place in our lives that could have evoked the expression “too good to be true.” The paralyzed man whom Jesus healed experienced an extraordinary gift. Perhaps, as he stood up and walked away in great joy, he might have thought that it was “too good to be true.” What have we received, as children of God? Many of us have passed through painful challenges, difficulties from without and also within, and may yet recognize that we are loved and loving, glad to be alive. Even our failures and setbacks, and especially the things that did not go according to our plans, seem to have worked out ultimately for our benefit. Rather than being irrevocably damaged, we are in a living and unending relationship with God in love. This we did not earn, create, or attain on our own.

Each one of us can recall in our lives one or more incidences of the great good news that is particularly ours, and very likely experience some of the consolation that naturally follows. The more we consider what we have received from God, the less we will doubt or hesitate to accept as gifts all that has been given to us. Not one of God’s blessings is too good to be true.

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Praying, From Here to There

Some people drive a car while talking on a cell phone, and some people walk in stores and many other places, also talking on cell phones. Many of us have carried on a conversation with a friend while both of us were engaged in some occupation. Communication does not always require our full concentration. The more fully our attention is needed for whatever we are doing, the less we are able to participate in a dialogue. Conversely, if we are performing a habitual action requiring little attentiveness, we can maintain a fairly involved exchange with one or more persons.

Sometimes, when we are not wholly focused on a task, we enjoy companionship with others even if we do not converse. We might experience wordless communion while walking away from a particularly intense meeting, or sitting together in a waiting room at a hospital. We can share mutual concerns at times when words would be inappropriate and unwelcome, or when brief interchanges would be sufficient. Our communications with one another vary greatly, according to the circumstances of the moment, yet all can be quite significant. Since our availability for face-to-face dialogue is limited according to our occupations and priorities, we adjust our interactions with others accordingly.

When we pray, all of the modes and manners of human communication apply in our relationship with God. At times, we arrange for private, personal encounters with God, leaving all other interests aside. At other times, we might be partially engaged in some activity, and still carry on communication with God. We might be driving a car or walking somewhere, and purposefully turn off the radio or iPod. Though we drive or walk with appropriate attention and care, we can also choose to open ourselves to the experience of travelling from here to there, with God.

At our desk, in a brief pause between tasks, or at home doing some simple activity such as folding laundry, we can direct some of our attention towards God, who is certainly interested in us, no matter what we might be doing or not doing. We can work at some minor chores while quietly communicating with God. During periods of intense and complete occupation, we might pause briefly to take a conscious breath, and to be aware of God who is with us in all our thinking, creating, imagining and working.

We do not have to be in a church or dedicated space to relate with God, any more than we must be in a special “conversation room” to speak with a family member or talk to an acquaintance. Whether in a vehicle, walking across a yard, or climbing the stairs, we are able to pass a word with another person, and we can do so even more easily with God. We don’t have to call out to get God’s attention. We are gifted with the capacity of choosing to “aim” some of our thoughts and concerns to God, who is present wherever we might be.

When our minds are not fully occupied with some task, thoughts come and go. Some of those “empty times” are fine occasions for recalling the Other who is present. We can, with or without interior words, become grateful for the companionship of God. Another practice for some of those moments when we are not fully occupied, is to look ahead in the day, imagining what we will be doing, and invite God’s inspirations and presence for those future actions, events, or matters of concern.

We can pray while we go from one place to another: from here to there. Whenever we pray, our attention and focus moves from our hearts to God’s and God’s heart to ours. Distance is not a factor; our intention and desire make possible the movement of prayer from here, where we are, to there, where God is.

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Jesus and the Moon

Astronomers have been finding planets in distant solar systems, many of them with one or more of their own satellite moons. Earth’s moon seems very particularly suited to our needs – unlike all the other arrangements that have so far been discovered in the universe. Our moon is extremely beneficial: taking hits from many large meteorites that would otherwise have disrupted life on earth, orbiting at just the right distance to cause tides which in turn keep the oceans in healthy movement, which in their turn bring about necessary fluctuations in weather. The moon is one of the significant cosmic factors that make our lives possible on earth.

While scientists notice and list the many variables that converge to favor human life here on earth, those who believe in God as Creator see God’s care for us demonstrated in the sizes and orbits of the earth and moon. As some cosmologists have noted, the cards of evolution, even at the level of the stars and our solar system, are “stacked” to provide for life here on earth. We who are alive can appreciate and take joy in recognizing the beauty and order of the “blue planet” on which we reside.

Into this world, God has come as a human, in Jesus Christ. Jesus, like the moon, can be taken for granted, or considered merely as a pleasant light in the sky. For those who reflect on the alignment of Jesus and humanity, the world is seen as centered and focused upon love. Our world – all that makes life worth living – depends upon love. Jesus makes this known to us, “taking the hits” of human selfishness and insensitivity so that we might still achieve our true purpose in life. Suffering is not an obstacle to love; Jesus suffered. Choosing power and control as top priorities cuts us off from love; Jesus did not seek to exercise power and control over others.

In Jesus, the motions of our “spiritual weather” are revealed: just as we can sense the difference between a nice day and one that is not, the Spirit of God poured out upon us by the Risen Jesus enables us to distinguish the thoughts and inspirations of God as radically opposed to the pushes and pulls of a spirit that is not of God. All options that are truly good and worthy of us bear some discernible signs that we can recognize, and so also do the negative and selfish impulses and thoughts that come to us.

Jesus is our direct way to transcend the physical restrictions of the earth, the moon, the sun, our solar system and the entire universe. All are subject to entropy, total loss of energy, and death. The arrangement of moon, earth, tides, sunlight, and seasons is, for all that it offers in favor of human life, winding down to a conclusion. We are passengers on a vehicle – earth - that has a limited fuel supply. But we, the passengers, through our trust relationship with God that is most clearly found in Jesus, have free passage through death to unending life.

Scientists have been intrigued in reflecting on the significance of the moon for the existence of life on earth. Those who wish can consider profitably the effect of Jesus upon this world. God reaches out to us not just at the level of reason and Science, but in the most deeply human part of our affections, our love. Jesus comes to win our hearts by first loving us, and drawing us to love in return. The consequence: we are enabled to pass from the world that dies in entropy to pure and eternal love. Quite a gain! Jesus is far more important for human life on earth than is the moon.

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The Power of Trust

When I was younger, “trust walks” were common on retreats and other gatherings that were intended to improve communications among participants. One person would be blindfolded, and “trust” the other to lead him or her around obstacles and through various experiences. On one such occasion, when I was wearing a blindfold, my leader chose to have us run together, but gave me no warning about a drop-off in the grassy area where we were in motion. I fell, and learned something about trust: each of us must decide the proper measure of trust that we will place in anyone.

Because trust depends upon our free choice, it is quite powerful. We might think that by trusting, we place all the initiative in another’s hands. But we choose whether or not and to what degree we will trust another person. Rather than diminishing our humanity, we grow as persons through the many and varied levels of trust that we place in others. We can hardly do anything of value in this life without trusting God and our fellow humans. But our trust is neither generic nor total; trust is appropriately particular and is exercised in the complex of our circumstances.

The power of trust misplaced can be seen in choices people make about “security” that are based primarily on fear: opting for any and every service, law, or advertised product that promises protection from life’s uncertainties. For us to experience the gift that God intends us to have through trust, we need to focus on the positive: What is it that we seek and desire? When we choose to trust leaders, programs, or medicines, we can do so with true power when we attend to the ultimate impetus from within, the love of God. When the Spirit of God suggests “Come,” we are empowered by the source of our very life to take a step forward. God does not play tricks with us. Every decision to trust is best made with honest reference to our relationship with God.

One of the sayings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels is, “Your faith has saved you.” In caring for people, Jesus was, and is now, primarily interested in our trust. We are not playing a game, as with a temporary blindfold, but quite often we really are unable to see how all possible variables will fit together; we are in a position to trust in God. Like a box with instructions “some assembly required” we cannot put our lives together all by ourselves. Because we are truly free, trust is the connection that we must have with God if we are to experience the power of God at work in and through us.

We tend to trust the people who manifest care for us. Usually, we trust more fully those who go out of their way on our behalf. Trust is earned; it is not deserved simply by certain persons’ titles. We respect authorities, but we trust them when we learn about them, and reflect upon our experiences of them. Though we know by reason that God is absolutely trustworthy, our trust in God grows through what we learn from the results of individual acts of trust that we make. We also find support and encouragement in what others say about their experiences of God. And we can find in the Gospels many examples of Jesus’ love, healing, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice that apply to us in the present, not just to the people of history. The Spirit of God living in us helps us to resonate with both the stories of others and our own inclinations towards trusting Jesus. We learn for ourselves that God is utterly trustworthy - incapable of willing us harm. God can challenge us by calling us to live up to the potential for which we are created, but lead us towards harm - never.

For us, the power of God is manifested in love. In us, the power of trust arises from and moves towards the love of God, and neighbor.
 

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Listening to Our Questions

Children often ask “Why?” They are curious, and want to learn. Though we have learned much over the years, we still retain some curiosity. But many of our questions arise from more than a desire for information. We want to know what we are to do, and how we are to proceed, where we are going, when, and with whom. We ask questions of one another, and we ask many things of God.

We are capable of reflection, even about our questions. We can notice whether we have stated a question in a final form, or have posed it as still tentative. In asking a question, even of ourselves, we might be musing about something of minor interest, such as which pair of shoes to wear, or a matter of deep concern, about which oncologist to consult. Some questions are more important to us than others.

We can listen to our questions, and perhaps find out that we are engaged in a process, obtaining information incrementally, so that our next question will be more focused. We obtain not only the immediate answers to our questions, but we also become aware of what it is that we really seek. For example, we might ask a friend for advice about traveling to another location, and become aware from the tentative manner of asking, that we are more concerned about our relationship with the person than we are about gaining information about a place on the map. We might, as a result of our instantaneous evaluation, re-state our question, directing it more towards our friend’s opinion than about obtaining directions. When we ask questions, we can receive answers, and we can also learn something about our dispositions and the level of concern that underlies our questions.

When we ask questions of God, we need to listen carefully not only to the inspired thoughts that often come to mind as answers, but to our questions. God can relate directly with us through the words we use in our questions as much or sometimes more than in separate “answers.” Rather than a one-time question and a one-time answer, we might find that we are led to re-formulate our question so that we ask again, more fully expressing our desire. We might decide to pray for someone, and in the process of relating to God our concern for another’s well-being, we find our hearts getting more involved. We might start out like the child, asking, “Why does my friend have to suffer,” and recognize that the question comes from sincere affection. We might then ask that our love and God’s love coincide for the benefit of our friend. As the Spirit guides us in listening to our own questions, we find – if we do not close off the dialog - that we modify our questions, so that they become more in keeping with our relationship with God as creator and lover of all persons.

God moves in our hearts even in framing our original questions, and then draws us to engage our trust and love more deeply as we hear what we say. If we choose to allow God to work with us in a conversation that includes our questions, we will come to understand and appreciate our deeper desires, and give them ever more honest and direct expression. But if we treat our questions of God as though we were querying a computer database, expecting only the information we want, we might receive nothing. The God of loving surprises is not bound to answer our questions in a linear fashion, especially if we do not really know or appreciate what we are asking. God, who knows and loves us and all of creation, responds to questions that are framed in at least some level of trust and respect.

Listening to our questions is a means of encountering God.
 

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“Proof”

When I was in high school, a religion teacher showed us several “proofs” for the existence of God. At this time in my life, I tend not to think that humans have the means to prove or disprove the existence of God. Certainly there are no arguments that can force a believer to stop believing, or a non-believer to begin believing. God is not a thing to be measured and examined. But we can have direct experience of God, and interact with God in a loving relationship.

When I look at some of the pictures we have from the Hubble telescope and other modern tools for looking out into space, I think immediately of God, and find myself deeply pleased at the creativity of the Creator. Often I am amused, too. I know that some of the brilliant astronomers, investigators, and interpreters of these images are intensely interested in attempting to understand the Universe. And I, with so little knowledge or even capacity for knowing, smile inwardly (and sometimes outwardly) at the thought of an infinite Creator, lovingly putting forth, out of nothing, things both vast and tiny that we humans cannot fully come to describe, know, or understand even if we add to the sum of our fast-growing body of sciences for another 2,000 years.

It is amusing to me that even with the greatest of telescopes and other means of observing the heavens, every new discovery of events and processes seems to open still more questions. Scientists take much pleasure in reasoning to a theory that explains one particular question, yet each piece of new learning seems to lead on to two more mysteries yet to be understood. It is as though an extraordinary author, knowing the patterns of thought in his or her readers, always imagines and writes new stories that continually delight and surprise those same readers.

God knows us very well, and gave us the desire we have to know all that we possibly can. It is part of our nature to inquire into the making of stars, the interactions of galaxies, the effects of gravity, and the workings of quasars, quarks, and dark matter. And God has more, much more, absolutely unlimited more, available for us to investigate and, more importantly, to appreciate.

Appreciation is for me a spontaneous response to recent explanations of astronomical observations and to still newer discoveries for which there are not yet even the beginnings of reasonable explanations. The beauty of nature is not limited to what we know, but includes enjoyment of what we observe. With our modern instruments, we have close-up views of individual craters on the moon, and can take delight in seeing what our ancestors could not have imagined. But our grandparents and their forbearers looked at the moon, and enjoyed their view and the knowledge that they had at the time. We are not better than they, nor are we any happier because of the additional knowledge about the moon that has been gathered in recent years. The pleasure we have in coming to know “new things” is the same as the pleasure that all of us experience whenever we personally learn something that we did not know before.

Rather than “proving” that God exists, I find that considering the stars and everything else that is or that might be “out there” invites me (a believer) to take joy in the thought that the discoveries will never be completed – the gifts will be new and exciting, interesting and challenging – for as long as humans exist. I have thought too, that God is not limited to preparing surprises for us in “this life,” as if there were a finite number of things for us to learn. This learning process can go on forever – literally, forever. Yes, each of us will die. But God is infinite. If we pass through death to life with God, as we believe is available to us who trust in God, we will never stop learning, never come to know all that God creates.

My mind begins to “boggle,” trying to imagine the unimaginable: being on an eternal learning-curve. In the admission that neither I nor any or all humans together can ever “know it all,” I find delight. We can experience true joy when we observe the goodness of God’s creativity, even if we cannot have “proof” that God is God.
 

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“Nis”

“Nis” is “sin,” spelled backwards. Sin is a backwards kind of word: the opposite of ideals, progress, fulfillment, integrity, honesty, and all that is important to us. Life is a gift; life is not to be wasted, misspent, or destroyed by choices contrary to our status as beloved children of God.

We are not created for, and are not at our best when we are drawn into selfishness, insensitivity, and negativity. Yet we have been on the receiving end of such movements, and also, at times, on the giving end. Both forms hurt us. We might not use the three-letter word to describe the painful experiences we have had, but healing is required if we are to move beyond them.

We have all been hurt by the actions and words of others, whether they were intended or not. And, whether or not we were fully aware of the consequences of some of our choices, we can be sure that we too have added to the sum of suffering in our world. Whatever names we use for words and deeds arising from selfishness, insensitivity, and negativity, we do not display them for all to see as we might with pictures of graduations, weddings, birthdays and other celebrations of love or achievement.

Love is our highest calling and ultimate purpose; whatever we have received and whatever we have chosen that is opposed to love is, like the broken TV or toaster oven, “out of order.” We can live with a certain amount of disorder in our rooms, but we are not comfortable with being treated as less than fully human, and our hearts trouble us if we regard others as though they were not our equals in human dignity. Our hearts and minds fall into disrepair when we act contrary to the one affection which is intended to guide our lives: love.

The opposite of hurt is healing. For all the suffering we endure - from injustices, misunderstandings, and honest feelings of true guilt - we can be healed. We have a choice, regarding every hurt within us: we can hold on to thoughts of destruction and control, or we can bring our experiences to God and let our focus turn to healing. Some of us might take pleasure for a time dwelling on thoughts that keep anger and pain stirred up within us; we are also capable of a holy selfishness in which we seek God’s help to pass through the negative thoughts and feelings to a state of relative peacefulness. We, who have been created capable of suffering at the hands of others and from the consequences of our own decisions, can bring our suffering and pain to God, who recreates us in his own Spirit.

The name we use for the mistakes, misdeeds, and negative interpretations and judgments that we and others commit, as well as the kind, just, and honest words and actions that we omit, is not as important as are the decisions we make when we reflect upon our experiences. We and our world have much to gain when we turn towards God for healing, and act as though “sin” really is a backwards kind of word.

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Honest to God

Perhaps children still use the expression “Honest to God,” when they are trying to convince others that they speak the truth. At this time in our lives, we might be more concerned about our relationship with God, considering whether or not we are honest about some of our thoughts and actions. To the degree that we are honest, we will find satisfaction in bringing to God not only what we think, but also our experiences of feelings and inarticulate movements within us.

Being “honest to God” requires that we be honest with ourselves. The two go together, perfectly. When we are honest with ourselves, and do not deny, avoid, or suppress the thoughts and feelings that spontaneously arise within us, we can bring them to God as we become aware of them, and gain the freedom we need for making appropriate responses. When we are consciously and freely honest with God about all that involves us, we experience a wholeness that enables us to live with self-respect.

If we compartmentalize some parts of our lives, never bringing them into our prayer, we can easily become sick in spirit. When we are honest to God, and therefore honest with ourselves, we have an experience similar to a Spring day, when we open all the doors and windows, and allow fresh air to pervade the whole apartment or house.

“Honesty is the best policy” when we consider the quality of our relationship with God. When we hide nothing, intimacy deepens. As we develop friendships with people, we reveal more about ourselves; trust deepens. Yet there is no one on earth with whom we can say that we have shared all of our successes and failures - acts that we are proud of and those we are not. Only God can and does receive us completely in our every thought, feeling, word, and deed, and in all the decisions that we have made.

We learn about honesty in our dealings with one another. Some people deserve our trust, and we can tell them almost anything about ourselves; we are naturally cautious with those whom we sense might harm us. God knows us, but will never use against us that we reveal about ourselves. God is neither jealous of our achievements nor looking for something in us to condemn.

Honesty with God is a measure of our trust in God’s love for us. The tendency to “hide” from God is often but a symptom that we are trying to hide something from ourselves that we do not want to admit or acknowledge. But we can bring to God our most negative judgments, the disordered things we have done and those we have considered, and even the selfish and vain thoughts that have come to us. We can take them all to God, and will find both healing and the grace to make changes in our actions and attitudes.

We do not invent honesty. We find it in our hearts as a great gift of God, to use if we choose. As soon as we decide to bring some of our barely articulated self-knowledge to God, matters will become clearer to us. We will, in the loving acceptance of God, experience insight and inspiration that will help us make choices that are in keeping with our ideals and our purpose in life. As Ignatius of Loyola discovered during the period of his conversion, even the strongest negative thoughts and images lose their power over us when we reveal them to God - or to someone we trust as a “friend of God.”

We have implicitly committed ourselves to making whatever changes might be appropriate when we are honest to God.

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“Surplus Love”

“Surplus” has at least two commonly understood meanings. We can, for example, receive more food or other material supplies than we thought we would – an unlooked for benefit, or, we can possess some items that are no longer in demand – cheapened in value. The first meaning is the more positive of the two: we did not need, intend, or earn what we now have in abundance. If someone has a surplus of fruit from a tree in the back yard, he or she can store some and also give some away. The “market value” is not important; the profusion is.

God loves us more than we need and certainly more than we can earn or deserve. But the “surplus” might not be perceived. We might think that we are scarcely loved at all, even though we are surrounded by love. We do not so much need more love as we need to recognize and accept God’s love that is readily available: poured out, offered, and intended, to a degree that is beyond all our needs.

Not only does God love us more than we know, but some people have loved and do love us, though we have been and are at times oblivious to the quality and quantity of that love. Most of us have loved and do love others who do not know or appreciate our love for them. Children seldom know or appreciate the real love that underlies their parents’ or teachers’ day-to-day activities on their behalf. Love might not be lacking, but it is often unrecognized.

Most of us have expectations, and perhaps specific images, of how we want to be loved. Our limited concepts can prevent us from appreciating the words and deeds of others as the love that they intend. For instance, if I decide that my way of expressing love is the model for how I am to be loved, I can miss entirely the love that anyone with even a slightly different personality bears towards me. Love is universal, but it comes in a huge variety of expressions. Love is shown in deeds more than in words, and love is not limited to our feelings - either as givers or as receivers. We do not always accept love as it is intended; we are capable of misunderstanding, of misinterpreting, and of holding on to judgmental attitudes. We can miss entirely the “surplus” of love that is around us, both human and divine.

“Surplus love” cannot be stored up, as one might do with food, by putting some in a freezer. But “surplus love” can be brought into the present from the past, which we cannot do with material goods. Many of us have reflected on our lives and on our relationships with people, and have discovered anew some of the love that was ours then, but neither recognized nor accepted at the time. We have learned through experience that love is far more than “getting what we want.” As we have grown in loving generously, without counting the cost, and without expecting an equal return, we can look back and now see with clearer vision the many ways that family, teachers, friends, and co-workers treated us with real love. Time period by time period, person by person, place by place, we can bring to mind our past, to look for and very likely find some of the love that was directed toward us, and that we were not then able to receive.

Many of us make use of a prayer about “surplus love” on a daily basis. Supposing that God’s love has been a constant presence in the day, we ask of Love to now reveal, inspire, or otherwise enable us, to notice and to receive some of the love that was intended for us at different moments during the day. We are often pleasantly surprised by the rather ordinary but frequent experiences of affirmation, inspiration, insight, and support that we are enabled to recognize as coming from God directly and through others.

“Surplus love” is priceless, and freely given.
 

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Found by God

“Finding God in all things” expresses a high ideal proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The attitude is commendable: seeking and expecting to find God present in everything we do, in everything that happens, and in all of creation. If we decide to look for God, we can be sure that God will find us.

Our seeking for God is a grace and a gift, an activity that arises from a desire that God plants and continually nurtures in our hearts and minds. God wants to meet us more than we want to meet God. The intensity of our need to encounter God is an indication of how much God wants to relate with us. God leads, by inspiring; the origin of our deepest desires is the Spirit of God within us.

The experience of finding God in a view of the night sky, or the innocent delight of a child, or a moment of prayerful reflection is consoling and satisfying in itself. Though we might recognize the presence of God in some event or in some place or thing that is outside us, the experience of finding God takes place within us. God is in both “places” at the same time: in the Scripture we read, the kind word we give or receive, the beauty we observe, and also in our hearts and minds. God is present in our inmost self, where we decide whether or not to believe, to trust, to hope, or to love. We are able to find God, because God is there, welcoming us, and making possible for us the revelation of “God in all things.”

When we have one of those moments when God finds us open and available, we might say that we have “found” God. We have had an experience akin to a discovery, that elicits joy, peace, or even some interior feelings for which we do not have names. We do not invent or create the experience, any more than the prospector creates the flakes of gold that are found in the pan. We do not invent or create God; the expression “finding God” is an easily understood description for some of the insights and revelations we receive. But it was and is God who finds us; and in the encounter, we find out who we are. When we find God in any thing, consideration, or reflection, we become more aware of our relationship with our creator, savior, and lover. We are those who have the capacity to love God, who loves us.

If we look for God, we will surely find God, because God is everywhere. But any recognition of God’s presence is far more than an intellectual fact to be stored in memory. Finding God is an interior event involving the mix of thoughts and feelings that accompany God finding us in the moment, revealing to us that we are valuable, cherished, and worthwhile. When we meet and are met by God, the encounter always uncovers the love with which we, and all else, are created.

Rather than a game like “hide and seek,” the real event of life is to seek, and to be found by, God.
 

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One Way?

A one way street is an agreed-upon but changeable arrangement for the sake of orderly traffic flow. When someone says “There is only one way to do this,” or “Only these words can be used” they are often attempting to “direct traffic,” but they are not referring to unchangeable realities. Jokes about “the right way, the wrong way and the Army way,” can be applied to almost every human organization. Almost anything that involves the ways we describe experiences and beliefs allows for differences; seldom is there only one way for us to think, explain, or act.

Though there is only way to stop a car – by applying the brakes - no two people use the brakes in exactly the same way. Though we might each of us be in a relationship with One God, none of us responds to God in exactly the same way. Many people insist that the words and concepts they use are the only words that can describe a belief, a truth, or some reality. We understand that there are preferred, sanctioned, or – as with one way streets – socially accepted expressions that we use for the sake of human communication. But if we consider “one way” from God’s perspective, laughter is an appropriate response. Who are we, as those whom God creates, to say that there is any limit to God’s ways of relating with us?

Our choices and decisions are not usually between right and wrong, but about what is better or what is less good. God’s inspirations within us are not cloned as if there was one appropriate choice for all people at all times; inspirations are particular specific gifts given to help us in our immediate present circumstances. God is always at work within us, promoting our choice of better options, but not preventing us from opting for an action that might not be in our best interests or those of others. If we look for the one unique way of acting that we can apply to all times and circumstances we will not be satisfied. God works with each and all of us within our many limitations of mind and heart, of understanding, experience and good or bad will.

God deals graciously with us as individuals, each with our unique characteristics, while drawing us into community with one another. Our best response is to open ourselves to God’s unlimited love, not to limit, through erroneous categorical thoughts, God’s ways of encountering us. We have reason to beware of imagining that everything is relative, as though none of our decisions mattered. But God’s wisdom and rights to deal with us as God chooses is absolute. So our concern is best focused on seeking to learn what God wants for us rather than on trying to gain control of our relationship with God.

If we attempt to force reality to fit our familiar categories, we close off some approaches that the Holy Spirit of God might use to engage us. With our very real freedom to choose, we can place limits on God’s movements within our minds and hearts. For example, we can hold onto thoughts such as, “God cannot be present in this kind of incident, or that person, or those events that have been unpleasant or painful.” But thoughts, with their accompanying feelings, come and go; they do not necessarily represent our commitments. Some ways of thinking might have been protective for us at one time but no longer serve us well in our present circumstances. We continually grow and change under God’s guidance. The most effective means of facing any and every reality is with openness to God.

“One Way?” Not for God.

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A Work-Around for Praying

Home renovation contractors sometimes encounter a detail on an architect’s blueprints that cannot be built as described, so they create a work-around that takes the ideal and makes it real. A work-around supplies the practical element that is necessary to fulfill a desire or a plan. In putting spirituality into practice, each of us might sometimes need to make use of a work-around.

For example, we might decide that we want to take more time for prayer, but day follows day with no change in our habits. Something is missing between a fine resolution and practical action. A work-around for making time available to pray might be through use of an appointment book: we could make appointments with God. The link between wanting and doing would be as normal as when we make a paper entry for when we are going to call a repair person, meet a friend, or take someone to dinner. We often schedule events or actions that we want to make sure not to forget. We can do that with time for prayer.

As an alternate work-around to using an appointment book, we might metaphorically consult a map to understand how to get from where we are now - not praying as much or as often as we wish - to a different place. We could consider how to arrange time for prayer by imagining and planning a destination – a place where we can pray – plus a time frame - when and for how long we will pray. Our plan lets us know where we are going, and how long we will be there.

Setting a time for concluding prayer might be a significant work-around in itself. If we have an unconscious rule that praying must be open- ended, we are unlikely to begin. Not many of us are willing to go to a party without some sense for when we will leave. If we have a reasonable plan for beginning and ending, whether for a business meeting or for praying, we are able to put it into practice. Afterwards, we can reflect, and decide whether the length of time we chose for the meeting or for praying was appropriate, and to be repeated.

We believe that God is with us no matter where we are. If we drive a car or walk down the street by ourselves, we are not really alone. An appropriate work-around for encountering God even while driving in the midst of traffic or walking on a busy sidewalk is to turn off a radio, iPod, or cell-phone and experiment with praying while on the move. Even though we have to pay some attention to our surroundings, we can still attend to our unseen companion. Recognizing God’s presence with us as a prayer in the midst of action is not greatly different from driving or walking with someone we know well, without doing much talking. We are pleased and contented to be traveling together

When driving or walking by ourselves, we might need a work-around to assist us in staying aware of our gracious God, who is happy to be with us on our journey. Some people use a repetitive memorized prayer, such as a rosary, or make use of a favorite saying that they have found meaningful. Others mull over a passage they have recently read, whether from Scripture, a book they are reading, or some news item. Still others are content in considering that they have a passenger or a walking companion who is silent, but present. Finally, some pay attention to the surroundings of scenery and people they pass, and seek to recognize God’s presence and action in all that they observe.

Another very useful and practical work-around enables us to deal effectively with negative thoughts that arise in our minds. Many of us find that we are easily drawn into thoughts that are of no benefit to anyone: put-downs of self or others, invidious comparisons, negative judgments about others’ behavior, and impulses of anger. The same kinds of thoughts might recur, no matter how often we decide that they are inappropriate and perhaps destructive. We need a work-around that includes a particular manner of praying. Rather than telling God the obvious – that we are unable to control some negative remarks and judgments – we bring to God our awareness of the feelings that accompany the judgments and negative words. When we acknowledge the movements in our hearts as well as the thoughts that occur in our minds, we open to God the sources of the negative thoughts, where healing is needed. Instead of expecting God to take away the thoughts, we look within ourselves for an attitude, past experience, or other perhaps surprising insight that God inspires in us. When we can see the sore spots in us which make us vulnerable to negative thoughts, we are ready for the healing that God desires for us. Real change is likely to follow.

To seek a work-around for praying is to begin praying.
 

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