Sunday November 10: Unlikely Freedom

To Practice

• Prayerfully re-read these passages again in the manner of Lectio Divina, reading them aloud to engage more of your senses and feel the vibrations in your body. Gaze at the image. What do you receive for your journey now?
• Make an intention to notice the small details in another person. Intentionally be present to them, to their behavior, to their spirit.  Notice everything about them with compassion.  What do you notice as you continue to do this?
• When asked to do something not on your agenda for the day – something that will cost time and perhaps even inconvenience—or when something doesn’t go your way, pray the Welcoming Prayer as a way to feel what you are experiencing, and affirm the freedom of your true Christ-self. If it’s something that you simply are not free to do, how do you respond in a way that is still warm and generous?

If you wish, you may re-read the full email reflection here: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/2024_word-of-the-week-nov10

I woke up too early this morning with all kinds of wanting -to-do dancing across my mind ….its been a consoling week with family members nearby.

i get a coffee and sit for centering prayer . The sunday lectio is right there as i emerge, having done lectio divina with my church group this week. Then, so tired, i go back to bed. Now i read this with another coffee and I am crying. What a difference you have made in my life! I am now witnessing to this to all around me, daring to be my true self after a lifetime of feeling shamed. Thank you all (with copious tearss ).

Good to hear from you, Kathleen. Peace and all Good – Pamela.

This sentence speaks volumes into my deep self:” In the warm certainty of God within, we chill out and are simply there in God’s Presence.” Today my chill out time was preceded by a telephone conversation where someone I care about was deeply upset about an aspect of our current situation. Chilling out , over powering at first, leading to a generosity of spirit in accepting this is her way of moving through a time of upheavel. My chilling out during centering prayer, makes possible our chilling out together Wednesday.

Perhaps the widow was smiling when she placed her two coins in the basket. She was free in many ways. When I lived in Albany New York, one  of my friends was Betsy. I met her at the Interfaith Shelter. A social worker helped her get her benefits and rent a small studio apartment. Whenever she had more than five outfits in her closet, she would give one away. Whenever she received a gift, she would enjoy it for a bit, but then would give it to someone who needed it more than she.  She took delight in every experience, no matter how routine it seemed to others. Her trust in the goodness of life and of each person she met taught me and others how rich apparent poverty can be.

The readings, reflections and images provided, these last six weeks have plunged me deeper and deeper into the layers of my inner abyss “of giving my all”. When is enough enough no longer haunts me. This weeks image was especially insightful. Giving my all as a roped turner , allowing others to be all they can be, enjoying their joy of skipping!!! This morning, I enter fully into the joy of being a rope skipper!!! and blessing the rope turners!!!

I am in God, God is in you, you are in God, we are in each other.

The widow placing her entire livelihood in God’s loving hands is a situation my husband and I are beginning to navigate. His health concerns have deepened to the point that soon he will have to stop working full time and go on disability. Heart rending discussions and decisions about next steps in living life, once made, produced in me deep peace, a trust God has our whole world in God’s hands, and profound serenity amidst the swirling turmoil of pacing through next steps. Truly, unlikely freedom. <3 linda

This is amazing, Linda. Thank you for sharing and bless you and your husband. – Pamela

In our Lectio Divina group, my 87 yesr old friend , sally , says ….every week ….i might die tonight …withh a twinkle in her eye. Sally keeps abreast of current events . She has a rich store of memories with her husband an fbi agent , living all over the world. She makes us all laugh.

i tell her i want to be there for the sendoff.

my psychiatrist and i agree : if you keep going down , down down , in your sadness, despair , you come to peace and to a place of light . I guess that is on the level of bodily experiencing with thoughts on the sideline.

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