Reviewing the Past Year

We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

~ John O'Donohue ~

Evaluating and learning from our own history is essential for self-understanding. Reviewing the way we lived the past year helps prepare us for the next. What mistakes have we made? How have we been changed? What blessings have we received? Like renewing a life insurance policy, how do I renew my purpose for living? Do I have a new awareness of what purposeful living means for the New Year?Without a sense of purpose for living, a life can feel meaningless. I believe every life has meaning and purpose as we make our unique journeys along towards eternal life.

My mother turns 90 years old in March. She is still very alert, physically and mentally active, still learning new things (she emails and Facebooks regularly), and focuses much of her energy towards helping others. I believe she learned to be this way from her mother who lived to be 93. Grandma Thaxton was a teacher for 50+ years in a public school in Nebraska and tutored special education students in her home until she was in her late 70's. Then she became more involved in volunteering at church, gardened, and was always seeking ways to help her neighbors right up to her last months of life on earth. When Grandma was near death she shared a beautiful vision of heaven that seemed consistent with her way of living this life here on earth, surrounded by Love and giving Love.

A practice I hope to incorporate in my life in 2012 is the practice of being more "mindful." I want to practice the "presence of God" and be mindful of God working in and through me. I also want to be "present" to people and things in my environment rather than hurrying about with my mind only partially present and the other half on the to-do list for the future. Anthony De Mello said, "The present moment is never unbearable if you live in it fully. What is unbearable is to have your body here at 10am and your mind at 6pm....."

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat  in their book: Spiritual RX: Prescriptions for a Meaninful Life, suggest spiritual practices that dedicate our deeds to God and to the greater good. What more meaningful purpose can there be to our lives than that? The thread of purpose that interwove through my grandmother's life and now my mother's is the purpose of helping others; focusing not on the self but on what can be done in these precious moments we have been given to make another's life happier.

Romans 12: 9-18 is a ten verse formula for living a purposeful healthy and happy life:

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.May God bless you and keep you living present to the moments of 2012!

The Hope of the World for All!

“O God of the exiles and stranger, find the homeless parts of me;

 guide them toward yourself, for you are my promised land.”[1]

It is the middle of Advent as I write this. I am reading about 43.7 million refugees in the world today. Over 43 million! The UN organization to help refugees has a motto: “ONE refugee without hope is one too many!” Due to wars, famine, poverty, and political strife – they have been exiled. They are displaced in unfamiliar territory with strange food (if they can find some), often surrounded by a different language and at a loss for what is familiar and comforting. Advent was a season for exiles, a time of waiting and yearning for the light that dispels the darkness. Jesus’ birth was that hope for the world that broke through and brought comfort. But soon after his birth, Jesus and his parents show their solidarity with exiles, they become exiled and were forced to flee to Egypt to save their own lives. How many of us have had to leave our homes due to threat of murder? It is quite amazing that Jesus demonstrates his solidarity with refugees, the homeless, the victimized, the persecuted while still an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. What a strong call to each of us to also be in solidarity with those who are suffering in exile. (For additional refugee information see: http://www.unhcr.org/4dfa11499.html)

Exile can also be a spiritual or psychological separation from our true selves as God intended us to be. Many people are exiled from their bodies due to eating disorders, or childhood abuse. Families are in exile from one another due to damaged relationships and a lack of forgiveness. Those without a job feel exiled from the working community, and those without a church feel exiled from a worshipping community.

Isaiah 40-55 is referred to as the Book of Consolation or the Second Isaiah. It portrays our God as one who loves the people tenderly and who longs to save them. Second Isaiah describes a God who consoles with hope and healing. This consoling message can address our inner homelessness where we have given into the values of greed, consumerism, ego-centeredness and apathy. Our souls know that we are out of place in a materialistic power-centered world.

How can we remain faithful when our spirits are in exile? We realize that wherever God is, we are home. I pray this Christmas/Epiphany season for us all to be aware that God is with us, within us, around us and works through us to bring love and comfort to others.  We know that we are not meant to conform by the ways of this world, but to be transformed by the light of love demonstrated in Jesus Christ. We trust that even though we may periodically experience loneliness and lose patience with ourselves and others, we can get back on the path of humble service as God’s instruments of peace. Then we will be back in alignment with God’s intention for our lives and be able to feel God’s blessings through reaching out to others in exile.

Joyce Rupp beautifully says, “Let us hold the consolations of God close to the exiled places of our hearts. God offers us light, consolation and comfort for our inner homelessness. Emmanuel, God-with-us, shows us the way to the land of peace, to our true selves.”  

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[1] Joyce Rupp, May I Have This Dance?, (Ave Maria Press, Indiana, 1992), 155.

Website for flight painting: http://uploads5.wikipaintings.org/images/vittore-carpaccio/the-flight-into-egypt-1500.jpg