Good morning…
“Thank you,” she said after yesterday’s post, I Think Of You At Sunrise. “It really matters to me that you take the nighttime shift of prayer on the behalf of so many of us. It matters that I am thought of, prayed for, and bonded with you each day. Our reliable connection matters because so much else has fallen away over the past year.”
“I used to enjoy the contagious smiles of cheerful people each day,” she continued. “I used to love going to work, talking with a wide variety of people. Now work is quieter, much less lively. I used to be energized, excited to wake each day, now I feel like I am just trudging through the motions. Hidden behind a mask, I am growing complacent, and I feel my joy evaporating.”
“So, I am grateful for your post, knowing that I matter to you deeply, that you think of me each sunrise, and that God is truly with us.” She concluded, “Your daily blog helps me feel less alone.”
Then my conscious awareness grew. I blinked myself awake from this very real-seeming dream. The interaction felt so vivid, and I dearly love the person involved, though I see her very sparingly. I got out of bed, and, snuggling onto our couch with my coffee, I unpacked with God this powerful dream.
After filling six blank journal pages, the Spirit led me to a centering quote from last week’s Waking Up Whole study. “There is so much pain in the world, but there is so much more joy. Many people resign themselves to God’s will, but they do not overcome into the deep joy. You have seen them; they even bear the marks of suffering in their physical carriage and their health. But the face of one who has learned to thank God in the midst of anguished sorrow is finally transformed by the soft luminosity of profound acceptance” (Crenshaw and Snapp’s The Hidden Life Awakened, 52).
I love that phrase, “the soft luminosity of profound acceptance.” I felt spurred by the Spirit to reach out to my friend.
“Good morning,” I texted her from out of the blue. “I woke thinking of you today, grateful we are bonded by our blog, but I would love to see your smiling face. I dreamed that you wrote me back after this morning’s post, thanking me for thinking of you each day at sunrise. You went on to tell me how your joy had been evaporating with people masked, people interacting less, people isolating more. So I thought I would check on you. How is your joy meter? I want to support you in behind the scenes ways since your ministry matters so immensely.”
“Hi Sue,” she texted right back, “you do have a way of knowing things! It was a rough weekend, had another tough funeral to attend. The family is strong in their faith and the dad was just an incredible man and such a witness to everyone who met him. But I go to sleep and wake up thinking of his sweet wife and children and the grief which is all-consuming. As far as my joy meter, it’s been pretty low lately. So much of what I love are the big events and the excitement which comes with hosting. So much of this has been lost this past year. I would love to see you too and thank you for being a great prayer warrior!”
“I do love that God laid you on my heart as I woke this morning with a very elaborate exchange about joy,” I responded. “There is such a difference between just pushing through the motions and feeling the exuberance of joyful collaboration, free flowing and life giving. We have lost so much of this collectively as we are held away from one another, behind masks, at a social distance, fearful of spreading the virus. In contrast, as we deeply learn to thank God in the midst of our anguished sorrow, gradually our faces will be transformed by the soft luminosity of profound acceptance.”
…Sue…
P.S. Here is last week’s material for the Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul study I am writing week-by-week with God.
Week Four: Healthy Body, Part One
Segment One: The Soft Luminosity of Profound Acceptance
Segment Two: God is Working in You
Segment Three: I Became Aware of a Warm Presence
Segment Five: Overcome Poor Habits with Good Habits
Entire Study: https://www.northsideumc.org/waking-up-whole-study/
