Food for thought this Lent

Lent is traditionally known as a time of prayer and fasting, a time reflecting on Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, where Christians give something up to provide extra time and space to concentrate on God.  For many 21st century Christians, and I count myself among them, fasting is not part of their spiritual life.  In the past I have made the token gesture of deciding to give up chocolate or cake; in a society where we are surrounded by such luxuries (there is always cake in our office!) it can be a challenge and a good discipline but I’m not that sure it ever brought me any closer to God.  It might be different for you, but I’m sure my motives were more about losing a few kilos rather than spiritual in nature.

I find giving up food difficult, mainly because I am a foodie, but also because I get headaches if I don’t eat frequently. Perhaps giving up a meal each day would allow me more time to spend with God. If I also gave up eating out I could give extra money to charity. Call it an excuse if you want but I decided this year that I was not going to give up food for Lent (although I’m sure I would benefit from a little less excess).

I’ve often heard people say that giving something up is negative and they are going to do something extra, something positive for Lent, like giving to charity or spending more time in bible reading.  There is certainly nothing wrong with starting new positive habits and charities need all the support they can get, so its a great idea.   For me this year in Lent I wanted to do something positive and spend  more time in silence, escaping the seemingly never-ending rush of life, being still with God.

However, to do this required ‘finding time’.  I needed to give up something  to ‘find’ that time to make a real difference to my spiritual life, in the hope that the habit started for 40 days would become lifelong.  This Lent has been about slowly changing my lifestyle so that I am able to get a better balance in my life.  I’m trying to limit my excessive ‘work’ time to provide more time for family, friends and stillness, trying to take a few minutes each day in silence (not just those moments on the loo) to sit and be with God, to be mindful, appreciate the beauty around me and to thank God for all He provides.

Books that have been helpful in this include Stephen Cherry’s book ‘Beyond Busyness – Time Wisdom for Ministry’. I’ve learned the difference between time management and time wisdom and have used various tools he suggests for making wise decisions about how I spend my time.  It’s a must read for workaholics and anyone in ministry.

The other book that has inspired me has been Mary C. Earle’s book ‘The Desert Mothers – Practical Spiritual Wisdom for Every Day’.

She writes, “When we fast (whether it be from food or noise or busyness or buying too much), our fast is not only for our own health and deepening love; it is offered for the life of the world.  When we fast from mean-spirited conversation and from the need to be always in control and think ourselves to be right, we are allowing open space in which God’s healing silence can bring forth something new, if we give it time and care. When we fast from hurry and frenetic, non-stop rushing, we not only allow the distended stress of our bodies and souls to heal. We also practice one of the most subversive acts in this society: rest in God, trusting that God’s own recreating and restoring grace will be sufficient for the tasks at hand. We put aside the addictive behaviour of working as if everything depended on our own efforts, and allow real questions to surface…..the questions are an essential part of discovering who you are and who you were called to be.”

I don’t know about you but I so relate to this passage.  Up until now my life has centred around doing…..now I’m trying to balance the doing and the being.  Who are you and what has God called you to be?  My food for thought this Lent!

 

 

 

Go to your cell

I’ve recently been studying about the Desert Christians, women and men from the third century who escaped popular culture to go into the desert to dedicate their life to God.  This was a time when Christianity had become the religion of the Roman Empire.  You might think that this was a good thing.  However, mixing Church and State meant in reality that with ‘serving’ the church came a life of wealth and prosperity, it was often socially and materially beneficial to associate yourself with the Church and people ‘decided’ to become Christians often to further their own ends.  Such a situation meant that the Church became more secular than spiritual, it was a friendship club rather than a place of prayer . It was focused on serving ambition rather than humbly serving others and sharing the good news.  Therefore, those keen to live in humility and simplicity in a close relationship with God decided to move into the desert and live either in single cells near to others or in community.  They spent much time in silence, prayer and simple work but communities also provided hospitality and spiritual direction to Christians wanting to walk in a closer relationship with God.

Their time in prayer and listening to God gave them immense wisdom and sayings of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, although written 1700 years ago, are still relevant to us today.

Lets take the example of a saying from Mary C. Earle’s book The Desert Mothers.  She quotes Amma Syncletica:

“If you find yourself in a monastery, do not go to another place, for that will harm you a great deal. Just as the bird who abandons the eggs she was sitting on  prevents them from hatching, so the monk or nun grows cold and their faith dies when they go from one place to another.”

As Mary explains, this is not just a message for monks and nuns in the third century, it ‘is addressing a universal temptation – to miss our lives by living completely on the surface’.

Our culture encourages competition and ambition.  We are highly mobile, with it often being common to flit from one job to another, one relationship to another, and to move from place to place.  There is an inner kind of rootlessness. Even when we are at home we are rarely still, if we get bored we move on to something else.  We don’t take time out to be still and go deep, we live our lives on the surface.

Amma Syncletica taught that faith was like hatching eggs, it needs us to be still and patient and to wait out the boredom.  There is temptation for us to go and do other things, but at what consequence?  Our chicks will never hatch.

We need to give time to our spiritual life.  We need to go to our cell each day (any quiet place where we will not be disturbed) and be still, encounter the divine and pray. It may be prayers of word, or silence, or a combination of both, but in doing so we will root our lives in prayer and faith. If we get bored, we must persevere because we will miss the deeper spiritual life if we are always on the move.

The Desert Mothers and Fathers told followers of Jesus to let their cell be their teacher.  Mary C. Earle explains:

“Staying the in cell, or ‘sitting on the eggs’, means noticing our appetite for over stimulation. The cell teaches us to slow down, to be less of a slave to our impulses, to notice what is right in front of us. The wisdom that the desert mothers offers us is that by staying with ourselves, with our inner ups and downs, with our hurts and our fears, we will bring forth the new life that God is creating within us. The cell teaches us to trust in the Presence even when it feels like absolutely nothing is happening. The cell helps us to see that skipping from one activity to another, from one interest to another, from one focus to another results in never putting down roots, never getting into deeper meaning and purpose, never going beyond the surface reality.”

Where is your cell?  Do you have a space, a particular chair or area in your home that you can go into each day to be still and root yourself in the Presence of the Divine?  A place where you can ‘be’ rather than ‘do’? Why not give the wisdom of the desert mothers a try and spend some time each day rooting yourself in God? Doing so will enable you to live life in depth and fullness – not just on the surface.

 

Meditation on Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd.…………….He is the one who cares for me and protects me from the dangers of life, warding off evil. He knows what is best for me and leads me on a safe path.  He searches for me when I am lost and brings me back to the fold, tending my wounds and nurturing me so I grow to follow Him.

I shall not want…………………………Just as he cares for His sheep and the birds of the air, making sure they are fed, so he cares for me.  If I trust in Him and follow Him, He will provide for my every need.  When I am secure in Him I do not want the things of this world, the fame and fortune, I am satisfied with His provision and thankful for His presence and abundant blessings.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures………………When the hustle and bustle of life seem to take over, He brings me to a place of rest.  He encourages me to lie down with Him, be still, take time out and experience the wonders of His creation.  The beautiful, lush grass feeds me, nourishes me and gives me the strength to carry on.

He leads me beside still waters………………….Waters where I can drink my fill of the water of life and emerge refreshed. Gently flowing waters where I can bath, be cleansed and feel energized with the cool water against my skin; where my sin can be washed away.

He restores my soul………………….With Him in the the stillness of creation I can feel the peace that passes all understanding. In solitude, with only Him as my companion I can be; be me. Restored in my relationship with Him, my heart unburdened, I can rest in Him, emerging from the silence with my soul restored and His peace within.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake……….He has a plan for me, to prosper me and not to harm me.  He wants what is best for me but I must follow His lead.  Only when I choose to turn away from temptation and follow Him where He leads will He bless me and use me for His glory.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil…………….When the gloom of depression closes in, when the inner demons attack and drag me down, questioning my value, knocking my self-esteem, calling me unworthy. When there seems no way out or no way to carry on, I need not fear, for He is there protecting me.  He is battling with the demons of despair, disbelief and unworthiness, determined to win me to Himself.

For you are with me………………….Even in that place of darkness where I feel so alone, He is there.  He is walking with me in the shadows ready to guide me out of the valley and help me climb up the mountain to the summit, so I can get out of the fog and view clearly the abundant blessings He has prepared for me.

Your rod and your staff they comfort me……………Just knowing He is there, guiding me with His rod, protecting me with His staff, I can rest assured that I am safe.  I can take comfort in knowing that I am a child of the Almighty God and He cares for me so much that I need never be afraid.

You have laid a table before me in the presence of my enemies………………He has invited me to the feast, chosen me to dine at His table, provided me with fine food and wine in abundance. He has invited me to share in the bread and the wine, to accept the sacrifice that He made for me upon the cross, as my enemies watch on.  As they ridicule me and gaze at me looking for all opportunity to criticize me, He reassures me that He has invited me especially to join His feast.  But He wants me to share this abundance with others, not just my family and friends, but also those I don’t know and even my enemies who look on, so that they too may taste His bread and wine and come to know Him.

You have anointed my head with oil and my cup overflows……………..The High King of Heaven has anointed my head with holy oil, claiming me as His own and joining me to the priesthood of all believers.  As His child I can approach Him at all times without barriers. He has filled me with his strengthen, the power of the Holy Spirit, to the extent that my heart overflows with His love, allowing Him to touch the lives of others through me.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life……………As I continue to walk in His way, filled with His spirit, following His path and loving others, He will fulfill His purposes in me. I will be blessed, forgiven and experience the goodness and mercy of living in His kingdom surrounded by His love.

And I will live in the house of the Lord forever…………….This life of living in goodness and mercy provides just a taster of what is to come, a taster of what it feels like to be one with God. The time will eventually come when He calls me home. Death will not be a time of sadness, but rather as the challenges of this world are over, I can rejoice in the presence, peace and joy of the Almighty Creator God who made me, loves me and will care for me for eternity.

 

 

 

 

Rain on me

I’m in Sri Lanka for a short time by the beach so I wanted to make the most of it and so had prayed for sunshine today. However we need to remember that prayer is not answered just when we get what we want. God can also answer prayer with a no, or at least a wait. He has his reasons and knows what’s best for us. That’s what happened today. God knew best and was determined to rain on me!

 

Thinking of God

You know what it’s like when you get a song in your head, well today’s was the chorus “Reign in me, sovereign Lord reign in me” (click on the photo above to hear it in Sri Lankan style sung in English and Tamil). As I walked to sit under the umbrella on the beach it became rain on me, sovereign Lord rain on me. I pondered the discussions we have been having in work recently regarding God raining blessings upon us and realised that if we let God reign in our life – our work, family and relationships then he will rain on us the blessings of his love.

God is synonymous with love so we must let love reign in our life, being filled with compassion, servanthood, peace, a willingness to challenge injustice, to support those in need, to sacrifice ourselves for others. God sacrificed his Son for us, sacrificial love. As His disciples we are called to love sacrificially too, be that sacrificing our time to be with God, our desires to serve others, our wealth to bless others, our home to welcome others.

Practicing Mindfulness

In my mindfulness practice I’m starting to try to give my time as a sacrifice, to spend more time in the ‘now’ as a means of spending more time with God. So I sat under the umbrella in the rain on the beach experiencing the ‘now’. I heard the rain drops as they touched the umbrella and the roaring and crashing of the waves, felt the warm breeze blowing my hair and water droplets gently touching my skin in the breeze, the gritty sand on my feet. I rested there in stillness and felt the peace, power and love of God.

Mindfulness meditation

As I closed my eyes I was bathed in His light, the warmth of the breeze was like being enveloped in His embrace, the sound and power of the waves welled up inside me and I knew in my heart – not just my head – that if I let Him reign in me I could do all things through Him who gives me strength.

I stilled my mind and opened my heart by repeating over and over again the words ‘reign in me, sovereign Lord reign in me’.

Filled with His presence

Then in total abandonment in the Spirit I ran along the empty beach in the rain into the waves and sang at the top of my voice REIGN IN ME SOVEREIGN LORD REIGN IN ME. I was worshiping the Lord surrounded by water, both around me and with droplets bouncing off the surface of the sea, floating and being carried over the waves.

And God said, “Trust in me, I can a calm the storm but I want you to experience my love so sometimes I need to carry you over the waves of life, so you can trust in my power and strength and how much I care for you. Believe in me in your heart, love me and I will keep you afloat. Near the shore when you are just touched by my love the waves break and you find it difficult to cope. Trust in me, come deeper into my presences and I will raise you up so you can be carried over the waves and feel the joy of being surrounded by my love as I rain blessings upon you. Don’t struggle against the tide doing your own thing, ride the waves with me, live through my power and I will deliver you safely to shore. I am always with you, but when you come out of those times when you have bathed deeply in my presence don’t wash away the salt with which I have covered you. Go and be salt and light in My world.”

Click on the picture above to hear ‘Reign on Me’ by Brenton Brown and below for Paul Baloche’s ‘Reign on Me’

 

 

Christian Mindfulness – Part 4

Who are you?

How do you generally answer the question ‘who are you’?  Perhaps the first thing you say might be your name. Then what?  Cultures vary on this one:

In the UK you are often defined by your job, so my response is likely to be “Head of Programmes at The Leprosy Mission”.  In fact, my job is so much part of me I find it hard to separate the two.  Who would I be if I was not The Leprosy Mission’s Head of Programmes?  An entrepreneur with my own Cookie business?

But isn’t there more to me than my job?

In India registration documents of women require that you give the name of your father or spouse – defining you as a child or wife of ……. So I suppose I am daughter of Chris and wife of Amit.

In Zimbabwe women are usually know as the mother (Amai) of their first child i.e. Amai Tasha.

These responses all state who I am in relation to others or  what I do.  But if we take that away, who am I?

Philosophers and social scientists have debated for centuries the concept of identity and I’m not going to go into that now.  However, during my recent studies on Mindfulness, I’ve become conscious that life in not just about doing, its about being – being one with God, being who God has called us to be.  So some of the questions I have been pondering are: Who am I? What is the real me like? How can I be more Christ-like and live the life God has planned for me, being the person He wants me to be i.e. the person He created – ME?

Being still, sitting quietly in reflection I’ve been trying to consider who I really am and what the difference is between the ‘me’ that I portray to others and the ‘real me’, the ‘me that God sees’.

How much do I bury the ‘real me’ and put on an a facade so that I seem stronger, more confident , more capable and more acceptable to the people I am with?  How much do I conform to cultural expectations and what I perceive to be the expectations of others, rather than ‘be me’?

Today I watched the Hindi film Tamasha.  It starts off with a man and women who meet in Corsica and agree not to tell anything to each other about who they are (i.e. the labels indicated above in terms of job and relationships) – they are just themselves, have great fun and a bit of a holiday romance.  After a very enjoyable week together they go their separate ways. Two years later they meet up back in Delhi. However, Ved is not the man that Tara met in Corsica.  He is an office worker who follows a routine, conforming to the rules and society’s expectations. Tara sets about convincing him to be the real ‘him’, the free spirit, rather than the corporate slave.

The movie made me reflect that we spend so much of our life doing the things that others want us to do, with our thoughts and actions shaped by the society in which we live.  I’m not saying that we should all break the rules and do what we like oblivious to the needs of others, far from it.  Although it is great to break the rules sometimes, if they are man-made rules rather than the God given ones. Our actions should be shaped by our beliefs and values.  However, should they be governed by our culture and our perception of the expectations of others, or should we  be ourselves?  How can we be ourselves and better enjoy the moment, rather than shoehorning ourselves into the shape of the world?

Romans 12: 2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

I am beginning to recognise that mindfulness helps us to do just that. In the stillness we are able to question the ways of the world, to better understand who we are in God, so we can be our true selves – the person God has created us to be.

When we are silent and resting in God, in union with Him, we are perhaps the closest to our true self as we will ever be.  And what’s wonderful is that I can be ‘me’, the ‘real me’ and know that despite my imperfections God still loves me, and has plans to prosper me and not to harm me (Jeremiah 29:11).

So today when the movie finished, I decided to be the ‘real me’.  The ‘conforming me’ would have walked quietly out of the cinema hall and back to the car discussing the movie on the way.  The ‘real me’ danced out of the cinema hall and gave Kung Fu Panda a run for his money….. mindfully enjoying the moment!  Watch out folks – I think the more I get into this mindfulness business, the more you might get to see the ‘real me’ ….

 

 

 

 

 

Christian Mindfulness – Part 2

Launde Abbey, near East Norton in Leicestershire is one of those thin places where God is close. Set in 450 acres of parkland it has had people praying there since 1119 when the Augustinian Priory was founded.

The Launde Abbey Prayer says:

Father,  here may the faithful find salvation and the careless be awakened;
here may the doubting find faith and the anxious be encouraged;
here may the tempted find help and the sorrowful comfort;
here may the weary find rest and the strong be renewed;
here may we all find inspiration, and that peace which the world cannot give: your precious gift to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

For me it is certainly a place of peace and relaxation where you can feel God present. As you enter the Launde bubble you step away from the distractions and busyness of the world – even the mobile signal does not work – and you have the opportunity to rest in God. This special place was the setting for my mindfulness retreat.  The 12th Century chapel has a time for contemplative prayer each morning at 7.45am, a great way to start the day sitting in silence before the Lord.  This is followed by morning prayer. The place exudes God’s presence.

However, the place were God spoke to me most during by time there was not in the chapel, but just outside the chapel door in the ‘quiet’ garden.  I had been taught how to do a mindfulness walk.

Mindfulness walk

A mindfulness walk is walking the same 10-20 steps backwards and forwards, gradually slowing down the pace, at the same time experiencing the sights, sensations and smells around you, and experiencing the sounds and images from around you and within. Its important to experience the moment and to listen to God.

As I chose my path to walk the first thing I saw was the chapel doorway.

The bible reading I had been focused on in morning prayer that day was Matthew 7:13-14:

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

As I walked slowly back and forth along the path to the chapel door I felt God saying, “Take the narrow gate, the gate of heaven.  The path may not be easy but just trust in me. I will be your strength and your guide. You can do all things in Me.  Don’t rely on yourself. Trust in me and refresh yourself as you rest in me and visit my house.”

Then my attention turned to the path.

It was covered in holly berries.  As I walked slowly along the path I looked down at the berries, scattered both on the path and on the grass to the side.

I heard God say, “I have chosen a path for you. Each person you touch, you bring a bit of Me to them.  Even when you stray off the path I can use you to touch others with my love. Share with them the drops of blood I have shed for them. Let them know that I love them too.”

Berries – a profound symbol of the love of God shed through the drops of blood of his Son.  It reminded me of the words of the carol the Holly and the Ivy….‘The holly bears a berry, As red as any blood, And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, To do poor sinners good.’

Then I looked more closely at the holly and the berries, and listened to the birds singing. It reminded me how God takes care of his Creation.

I heard God say, “I am the God of Creation. Just as the holly bears beautiful berries (despite being a bit prickly) and glorifies Me, so do you.  I provide the berries to take care of the birds because I love them; how much more will I provide for you because I love you. Sometimes you look so worried, as though you have the cares of the world on your shoulders. Let me carry your burdens.  People hurt you, you have become weary.  Do not worry, bring your hurts to Me and I will heal you and give you rest.”

As the wind blew that day the trees swayed and creaked, and the cool breath brushed against my cheeks.  The leaves were blowing off the trees and dancing across the path in front of me.

God said, “As the wind blows in the trees and has power and force, so do I through my Holy Spirit.  I am a powerful God able to act and bring change. Sometimes the storms of life can be a bit scary but trust that I am in control, blowing through change.  Just as the wind blows the leaves off the trees and they dance along the path and I guide their journey, so I want you to dance with joy and move through life in my power and strength.  Allow me to lift you up, to twirl you around and send you in the right direction so you can do my work.”

Then I saw the lamp post.

And God said, “Realise that I am not just the light of the world but I can angle my light to shine it in the darkest of places. I shine my light through you. Be prepared and open and allow me to use you to light the way for others. And remember, I am your light.  I will show you the way.  You just need to look and I will light the path.”

Then as I walked away, back to the group I glanced at the gate post.  It was covered in ivy and its head had fallen on the ground.

I heard God say, “You are like this gatepost. Ivy, the stresses and strains of overwork, are pulling you down. You have lost your head in the busyness of life. Put me back where I belong as head of your life and I will help you, guide you and help you to guide others on the narrow path to union with me.”

What comfort I drew from these words.  And how a realised that mindfulness practice, such as meditative walking, can help me to be still enough to hear that ‘still small voice’ of the Lord.

 

 

Christian Mindfulness – Part 1

Is Mindfulness Christian?

If you are reading this I’m guessing that you have heard about the concept of mindfulness – “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.”

It’s often regarded as a Buddhist meditation practice or a new age self-help phenomenon, and as such some Christians have been wary of it.  However, the more I learn about it the more I believe it is in synergy with the teachings of Christian mystics such as Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross and the author of the Cloud of Unknowing.  Used well, Mindfulness practice gives us space to appreciate the moment; to be rather than to do; to be responsive rather than reactive; to feel rather than to over analyse; to appreciate our senses and the blessings God has given us; to love God, ourselves and others from our heart and not just our head. It enables us to be still and quiet, rest in God and hear that still small voice.

How much of our life do we waste pondering the past or worrying about the future?   Do Not Worry – Jesus said…(Matthew 6:25-34)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

In 1 Peter 5:6&7 we are reminded, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Christian Mindfulness teaches us that it is the present that is important: it is the present where we can enjoy life, experience the blessings God has given us and be with Him.  By allowing our thoughts to wander, dragging things up from the past or planning for a future out of our control we waste precious time; time that we could be using to enjoy the present. Instead of appreciating the moment we often reside in a life of anxiety or despair.

By rushing through our day, always busy doing, we miss so much of what God has in store for us.  I’m sure you remember having driven somewhere and not remembered how you got there, operating on auto-pilot.  Not only is this not safe but its a sign that the mind is too busy working on other things and is not actively experiencing the present. The huge demands of life lead us to become stressed, prone to burn out and we end up taking our frustrations out on others, having a negative impact on their lives as well as our own.

Mindfulness practice gives the the space we need to appreciate the wonders of this life, to enjoy the moment, to be still, to rest in God, to love Him and to experience His love. It is intrinsically linked to prayer. Not so much prayers of words, rather prayers of the heart, where just like the contemplatives Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross we come to a place where we can just be with God and love Him; where we can follow the most important of the commandments to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength^‘ and to ‘love your neighbour as your love yourself’.

The challenge for many of us is that before we can truly love God and others we must learn to love ourself.  This means first getting to know the ‘real me’, not ‘me’ in terms of what I do but ‘me’ in terms of who I am.  How would you answer the question ‘who are you?’? We spend so much time rushing around ‘doing’ that we often define ourselves by what we do – our occupation or our role in life, as parent, spouse, carer, etc.  We don’t take time out to reflect on who we ‘are’ and how God sees us. This often results in us failing to appreciate the wonders of our true-self and prevents us from growing in the likeness of Christ.

Mindfulness is a simple concept – its about being mindful of the present and how we are experiencing it, and being mindful of God – but its not easy to do. It’s a long hard journey which takes a life time.  However it is a journey where even the first few steps will start to transform your life for the better, letting you appreciate the wonder of the present and enabling you to know, love and experience God and yourself in a new and special way.

Now I expect you are wondering what you have to ‘do’ to start this mindfulness journey. First remember its not about doing, its about being mindful!  Here are a few simple tips to get you started:

• As you shower, appreciate the feel of the warm water flowing over your skin, the smell of the shampoo, the texture of the soap, watch the condensation on the glass, enjoy being clean – and thank God for the blessings of clean water and the ability to keep clean, pray for those who do not have such luxuries.
• Eat your food slowly without talking, look at the colours, feel the textures and taste each flavour – and thank God for the abundance of food He has provided for you, pray for those who are hungry.
• Rather than rushing through all those emails in your inbox, before you open each one – thank God for the person who has sent it and pray for God to bless them.
• Go for a walk in the countryside or park, feel the wind or the sun on your cheeks, look at the patterns of the clouds, hear the birds, see the leaves on the tree, the flowers, appreciate the beauty of your surroundings – thank God for the wonders of His creation.
• When an issue arises or someone is confrontational don’t react. Take a step back (either physically or figuratively), breath, put the situation in God’s hands and respond calmly and with love.
• Sit or lie quietly for at least 10mins each day (more than once if you can), close your eyes, breathe deeply – in and out, in and out. Hear the sounds around you and before naming them gradually push them away. Do the same with any thoughts that come to you mind, acknowledge them and then push them away. Let your mind be quiet, feel the warmth of God’s presence within you, His love surrounding you and rest in His peace.  Take three deep breaths in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, before returning to the world.

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Lenten reflections – Falling Upwards – the journey of life

We’ve just been through a hard time, where a loved one was told she would have to have surgery for what looked like a life threatening illness.  The whole family was turned upside down. Living on different continents did not help; feeling inadequate at a distance. Flights, accommodation, tests and surgery would not come cheap.  Getting time off work to be there, worrying about how she would cope with surgery, the long term prognosis and how we were going to support her and fund her treatment was exhausting.  The emotional and financial stress took its toll. As Christian’s we put the situation in God’s hands, got the pray warriors praying but despite a deep trust in God the underlying question as to “why” rose its ugly head.

I’m sure all of you have been in a similar situation, you may even be in it now, where a loved one is suffering. So why does God allow it? I’m certainly not one of those people who believe suffering is a punishment for sin, after all Jesus died to wash away our sin.  Perhaps we can talk about the fall of mankind and that sickness is now just part of life in our mortal bodies. We can talk of the laws of the natural universe and suffering being the result of the decisions of mankind. But why does a loving God allow His children to go through such physical and emotional trauma when he could step in?

Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest, his book “Falling Upwards” got me thinking about the meaning of life and the part that suffering plays in it.

Rohr says life can be viewed in two stages, the length of these stages vary between people and some, even followers of faith, never reach the second stage.  The first stage of life is largely about striving for success.  We all try to do what seems like the task that has been given us. We establish our identity, home, relationships, friends, career and build our platform for life.  Part of this involves building our ego, our self-esteem and putting on a façade for the outside world that shows us as being the things that society, colleagues, family and friends expect of us. We respond to the expectations of the world, or perhaps as Christians to what is expected by the church or other Christians. We may strive to follow the Bible to do what is right.

But life is not rosy, we often feel inadequate, unable to live up to the expectations of others. As we strive for success or even trying to live a good life we realise that there are barriers in our way, we are not perfect and problems and suffering are integral to life, often removing the joy of living.

So we are back to the “why” question. Why does God let His children experience tragedy, sorrow and pain? Look back over your life and think about the times when you have been closest to God, when you have grown the most, spiritually.  Is it during the times of joy or time times of sorrow?  My experience has certainly been that when things are going well I feel like I can cope on my own, God is in the joy, but it’s not necessarily the time when I put my greatest trust in Him. But when problems arise or I have done something wrong, that’s the time I go into prayer overdrive and rely on God for help. And it’s definitely during the hard times that I have seen the most spiritual growth.

Yet the human ego prefers anything but falling, changing and dying.  It likes the status quo.  We don’t like it when our plans for life are spoiled, when things go wrong; when problems arise that turn our life upside down.

However, perhaps we are looking at things from the wrong viewpoint, with a worldview instead of God’s view. Perhaps it’s not the problem that is the problem, it’s how we view the situation and respond to it.  How about turning it on its head and thinking about our “when things go wrong” moments being God’s way to enable us to grow, giving us an opportunity to move from the first stage of life to the second, a life where we are able to experience our true self (and not just the container) and to be in union with Him.

During the recent family health issues, realisation dawned that the ‘problems’ that upset our plans of a pleasant life may actually be God’s plan for us.  I’m not saying that God necessarily sends us suffering, more that he can use the suffering we experience for our benefit and His glory.  “God turns all things together for good for those who love Him.” Romans 8:28. If we respond to the trials of life by learning from them, by being open to how God wants to work in a situation and by trusting him we can ‘fall upwards’ and begin our journey into the second part of life.

Thomas Merton, an American monk, said “We may spend our whole life climbing the ladder of success, only to find when we get to the top that the ladder was against the wrong wall.”

In Falling Upwards, Rohr says that the first part of life involves building the container the second part of life is finding the content that is to fill it. The container is not the end in itself but exists for the sake of a deeper and fuller life.  Many people spend their time repairing their container, trying to be a better person, but they never dip their nets into the deep and bring in the huge catch that awaits them (John 21:6).

However, to bring in what God has in store for us, to be filled with the ‘new wine’, we need to learn to get out of the driving seat and give up control to the real guide. We need to be willing to fall, to lose what is precious to us, in order to gain the amazing life that God has planned for us.  In the spiritual world we do not find something until we first lose it.  Take the parables of the lost coin, sheep and son (Luke 15). We do not truly appreciate something until it has been lost and then found. It’s when things have been taken away, when the problems and challenges arise that we realise who we are in God and who God is in us.

The second part of the journey of life happens only when we are led to the limits of our present game plan and find it insufficient. It’s not until we fall that we realise that what we have built is not in fact what life is truly about.  Only then do we search out the real source, the deep well, the constantly flowing stream, the living water.

When we realise, not just in the head and the heart but in the soul, that we cannot fix, control, explain, change or even understand everything, when we are willing to lose our life as we know it, we will in fact gain it.  Through the problems and trials, if we are open to Him, God will show Himself and fill us with his love, showing us our true selves and the way to be in total union with Him.

Matthew 16:26 says “Anyone who wants to save his life must lose it. Anyone who loses her life will find it. What gain is there to win the whole world if you lose your very self? What can you offer in exchange for your life?”

Only by losing our false self, the image of success and perfection that we show to the world, can we find our true self.  It is through the times of suffering that God helps us along that journey.  Eternal life does not begin at death; we reach our spiritual home when we are our true self in God. We don’t have to be dead to live!  But it is a long journey and until we choose to take it we will be homesick, experiencing restlessness, loneliness, sadness and longing. The good news is we don’t have to do it alone, the Holy Spirit is our guide and will help us to reach our destination. But we have to choose to step out into the second journey of life.

The journey, I am told, is a lot different to the first. Priorities are different; we gaze at life through a different lens. We experience the gift of wisdom, can share it with others and fulfill what God has planned for us – a special union with Him where we are able to be our true selves as God has created us and He can use us to his glory.

So how does this fit with the health issues of my loved one?  Well after further tests it was found that it was not cancer, that surgery would not be needed. It was a miracle of healing but through the “problem” God showed us that He can do more that we can even comprehend. We prayed for timely surgery, he removed the need for it altogether. He used the situation to move us closer towards our second journey. He needed to help us to put more trust in Him, to realise our dependence on Him, to strengthen our relationship and love for Him. And through the healing, He enabled us to experience together the most overwhelming sense of joy as we recognised the blessings of family and health and most importantly of a God who loves us and wants what is best for us.

Falling is not easy, it hurts, but falling upwards, into God’s loving arms is the place where we can feel the greatest ever comfort, joy and peace.