Blest Guest Wednesday #10: Like Poison or Honey? (Lynda Young)

At times, my crazy travel schedule interferes with my ability to post regularly, and I have to bring a little sanity to the blogging part of my life by asking for help. I am now entering one such crazy period. Some wonderful fellow bloggers have been willing to write guest posts for me on Wednesdays, hence the name "Blest Guest Wednesday."

As today's "Blest Guest," I asked Lynda Young (Fearfully and Wonderfully...), who comments on Blest Atheist frequently, to share something she thought would be interesting to BA readers. I think you will find her post interesting, so here goes:

Like Poison or Honey?

Did you know that the poison from an oleander plant is so strong that it can poison a person who simply eats the honey made by bees that have digested oleander nectar? That’s some serious honey.

When we ‘digest’ all the things the world has to offer – gossip, greed, pride – it’s like eating the oleander honey. It becomes poison to the soul that spreads like a disease. It will eat away our love for others. It will corrode our love for God and it will convince us that we don’t need to rely on God.

However, when we ‘digest’ God’s word and make it a part of our lives, then our natural response is to spread the goodness. Not only do we benefit, but everyone around us benefits. Rather than reacting with equal insensitivity when someone wrongs us, we respond instead with love. We stop the poisonous cycle. This is because we have become more open for God to shine through us.

So, fill yourself with God. Embrace His ways. Practice His truths. And share the sweet honey of His salvation.

Written by Lynda Young
http://lyndayoung.blogspot.com/

Trust

Two years ago when I was teaching a research methods course to undergraduates at Lithuania International University, a Christian college located in the town of Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea, I gave several speeches at the request of the chaplain. As a result, one of my students felt emboldened to approach me after class with the question, "Do you think we can really trust God?"

When I answered in the affirmative, she indicated some hesitation to take my word for it although my chapel presentation had given her some courage in this respect. So, last January, when I returned to do an intensive seminar on the same topic and the chaplain approached me again for a speaking engagement, I knew the topic I had to address: trust.

Among other things I presented to the students, I told the story of a lost credit card on a trip to Washington. I called the bank, wanting to cancel it, but colleagues, one from Jordan and one from Morocco, both, ironically, Muslims, talked me out of it. "Allah always takes care of you," they pointed out, confidently predicting that my credit card would be found in my hotel room. It was. For some odd reason, I had forgotten that I had used it on the plane as a bookmark. The title of the book? Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God (Brendan Manning). I think God might have been sending me a message with that experience!

We all need that lesson from time to time, no matter how great our faith and trust. We need the lesson so that we will not try to take problems back once we give them to God. Why give them to God if we are going to continue to worry about them and not trust God to handle them in ways that only He can -- so much better than we ever can, no matter the amount of worry.

As I told the college kids in the chapel that day, when we lack trust, we can always ask God to help us trust Him more (along the lines of praying for help with unbelief). I believe that God delights in answering such prayers for He seems to answer them, at least for me, with great alacrity.

Monday Morning Meditation #40: There Is No One Like You, O Lord!

As I read further, next to catch my attention in I Chronicles was a phrase that popped up a little beyond where I left off last week. King David uttered it in prayer to God: "There is no one like you, O LORD."

Reading: I Chronicles 17:20

Meditation: Eight short words. Eight powerful words. So many times this is exactly what I have discovered: there is no one like God. We cannot, with our independence and rugged individualism, charm, skills, or even collaboration with others, come close to doing what God can do for us without any effort at all. No king or government can do for us what God can do for us without any effort at all. So, why do continue to go to the wrong sources for help? To other humans? To human organizations?

I recall one conversation we had on a similar topic in our prayer group. One of our members had been jailed by accident and somehow the key seemed to have been thrown away. No lawyer was able to get him out even though the jailing was an accident. Yes, really! Our prayers for his return to us were all couched in words like "if You wish" and the like. Obviously, God will do as God wants, but some of us saw no reason not to ask for exactly what we wanted -- get our friend out of that place, please! And so, after a short discussion, we prayed again, this time directly for what we wanted. The next day, a lawyer friend of mine in another city put in touch with a local lawyer who was able to get our friend out. However, the story he had to tell at our next prayer group meeting was amazing: there was a person in that jail who needed him, to whom he was able to minister, and it was right after that person had received what he needed that our newly found lawyer showed up and had our friend out in a matter of hours. And so I repeat, "There is no one like you, O Lord!"

That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I must retire to private prayer, to thank God for who and what He is, to praise Him for all the ways in which He is indeed like no other, to repent for those times that I forget this, and to ask Him to keep on being just the way He is, even if it sometimes means deluging me with taskings that I am not sure I can do and that often embarrass me in the doing of them. I would not trade those experiences for anything. Now, as I do not know whether it is late night or early morning, I will leave you to spend as much time as I can in contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will now leave you to your prayer and contemplation, but first, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:
Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I hope you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts.

For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs that follow the enumeration of Monday Morning Meditations on the sidebar of this blog and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Sabbath Sunday #20: God and My Job

Fr. Christian Mathis (Blessed Is the Kingdom) has made the suggestion that we "rest" on the Sabbath by taking a break from our normal blogging and sharing an older post of which we are particularly fond. Rest? Gladly! I don't get to do that very often, but now, thanks to Fr. Christian, I get to do it at least once a week -- and it gives me more time to spend with God, which is a wonderful gift.

For this week's post I chose is one I referred to in yesterday's post on Temptation so it seemed appropriate for today. Both posts are essentially about submitting to the will of God and what God does when we do not! Here is the post: The Jobs God Would Not Let Me Have and the One He Insisted I Take and Keep.

Wishing you all a blessed Mother's Day, whether you are a mother or have a mother!

Temptation

When the High Muckety Muck from my organization was leaving this week and a new Muckety Muck arriving, a party followed the passing along of the muck. At that party, I met an old friend and colleague from Washington, DC, DR. He is getting ready to retire, he told me, from his influential position. Then, he asked me if I had considered retiring from my current position.

I have enough time in the organization to do that because work in related organizations in the past counts, but I am not old enough. However, I could take an exceptionally early retirement and make out okay, especially if I were to take a post-retirement, double-dip job, which is what DR had in mind.

He went on to tell me that there are not one, but THREE, positions of high status (and big money) in Washington about to open up because their long-term incumbents are retiring soon. DR told me that all three incumbents, including he himself, would like me to be their successor. I do have the qualifications and experience to hold any one of those jobs and would just have to nibble at the bait that they are holding in front of me.

Certainly, the money would be much better than I am earning now, especially if it were to be added to retirement income from my current job. Opportunities for moonlighting and consulting would be much more plentiful. So, from the point of view of $$ and what they will buy -- a comfortable retirement, a luxurious home, money to travel now and after retirement, nice stuff, an inheritance for the kids -- these opportunities are enticing.

From the point of view of excitement and rubbing shoulders with national power mongers, just thinking about any one of these positions brings a rush of power-fueled headiness. I would be associating not only with the people about whom one reads in the national news but also with the people who write about them and who would write about me. Now that brings a great sense of importance! Self-efficacy, Self-esteem! Confidence and pride!

From the point of view of making a national contribution, the work itself will be a contribution. I could leave a legacy, see my name in lights, make my kids proud.

It sounds like I could have any of the three without much competition. DR suggested that I drop by the next time I am in Washington and, preferably, sooner rather than later. Neat! I did not drive home. I floated home on some kind of elevated cloud and wisped up to Donnie, giving him the great news.

He looked at me quizzically, "Would you really want to move away from San Ignatio? I would not trade San Ignatio for Washington!"

Oh, yeah, that! I would have to leave my sleepy little sacred town for the big city of neon and naughtiness (well, and a lot of goodness, too). No, I don't want to do that. Not really.

"I have a thought," I countered. "Since they are coming to me and not the other way around, I could probably work nearly any kind of deal with them within reason, including ten-hour days, so that I could have 4-day weekends, allowing me to commute from here."

Now, I have to give Donnie a lot of credit. He did not think the idea of commuting was crazy. You see, at one time I was living in California and working in Jordan. That was quite a commute. Another time, I was living in California, working in Washington (same commute that I was suggesting to Donnie), and, at the same time, going to school in Moscow. So, my definition of commute is pretty broad compared to the general population of the USA. The only folks who have a longer commute, I would say, are the astronauts, who commute from Cape Kennedy to the International Space Station.

There was only one fly in the ointment. The town I live in is the place God planted me. The job I have is the job God picked for me (for details, see my post on this: The Jobs God Would Not Let Me Have and the One He Insisted I Take and Keep). I have already seen some reasons for both my location and employment. I assume that there are more reasons that I may or may not find out later. The reasons don't really matter. What matters is being where God wants me to be. Thoughts about these new Washington positions created feelings of excitement in me, independent of anything holy. Thoughts about my current position, San Ignatio, and Old Mission bring feelings of peace, happiness, comfort, and belonging. Ah, hah! I think that is what discernment is about -- determining where God wants us.

I suppose if I were to try to march away from here, God would close those positions, just like he did others earlier. I like to think, though, that it is much better to walk away from the temptation on my own and accept the work that God gives me.

So, good-bye big money. For what did I need you, anyway? I already have anything you can buy. My current job will give me a comfortable enough retirement. I really don't need much to be happy. A luxurious home creates the need to pay cleaners and helpers, pour money into maintenance, and spend more time in caring for the home than in other more important endeavors such as caring for the homeless. Money to travel? Puh-leez! My current job has me up in the air most of the time. My great desire is to be on the ground, my own ground. Nice stuff? And just what am I supposed to do with it? Donnie and I already once gave away nearly everything we owned when we moved in 2000 from a 13-room house to an RV. An inheritance for the kids? Well, back in the year 2000 give-away, the family sentimental and heirloom stuff went to them, and as far as any large monetary sums are concerned, that is not the kind of inheritance I want to give them. I want to leave them diligence, self-reliance, knowledge, capabilities, parenting skills, study skills, and good character, along with a sense of joy, peace, and love, i.e. the ability to make their own inheritance.

But wait, what about that great sense of importance and self-esteem that comes from rubbing shoulders with the powerful? Oh, right, I am already important as a child of God, and there is no one more powerful than He with whom I could possibly rub shoulders. Anything more is illusion and hubris. Nope, I don't need any overweaning pride or false self-esteem.

So, golly, I guess I am not going to make that national contribution, not leave a legacy. Hm, wait. I am already making an international contribution through my current position. True, I don't get a lot of personal international headlines. The contribution is known, but the contributor is not. I think that is how it should be. Yes, I can be and am happy with that. I don't need my name in lights, and, as for my kids, they are already proud of me, just the way I am, as I am of them, just the way they are. There is nothing lacking after which I have to chase across an entire continent. Better to remain still and enjoy what all that I have right here.

As I reflect on the negative sides of these tempting offers, it is easy to see the immense treasure I have right where I am. Most of my children are here. So is God, according to Doah, who announced when he first arrived at our new place, "God here," and according to a friend from, of all places, Washington, DC who announced after walking around town for a few minutes, "etot gorod namolein" (this town is soaked in prayer). So have been the tasks that God has given me in the last few years. My support, too, has been here, in the simple folk in our prayer group, in the naive teens in our catechism class, in the yearning-for-understanding townspeople in our Bible Study group. Good people. God's people.

Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for me to see the potential job offers for what they are: a temptation to move away from where God put me, step back from the taskings He has given me, and surround myself with people other than those to whom He brought me. I do get to choose, though. That is what free will is all about, right? In that case, I choose what God wants for me. I find just as much, if not more, excitement in that than in the money, neon, and power being offered by DR. More important, just the thought of choosing God's simpler, humbler way brings a sense of perfect peace.

Whew! Close call!

7 Quick Takes Friday #26

Let's see. What could I share about this week with you and with Jennifer Futwiler, who hosts this meme over at Conversion Diary? That I ended up double- and tripled schedule all week? That on Friday I forgot to bring a gift for my boss's boss who was having a going away party? (I got a couple of enotes about that! Kind of a no-no!) That I went to a Carmelite meeting on Saturday and spent practically all day Sunday doing things like serving cake after confirmation, sharing lunch at the rectory with Fr. Ed and several other folks who worked the confirmation, followed by attending the last session of the "Spirituality for Busy People" taught by Fr. Kevin in Campbell in which I have been participating all year? That I took a friend from Washington DC who is considered one of the top Russian/English interpreters in the USA (works for the White House -- he was the person who recommended that NASA hire me years ago to put together the language program for the then-new International Space Station, one of my most interesting jobs)to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (no matter the profession, everyone loves that aquarium) and then to Mass at Old Mission? That I had some SFO friends over for dinner on Tuesday (not to fear, I did not cook; Donnie did) and lunch with Marine Corps retired colonels, one of whom works for me and the other who was my student and was giving the keynote speech at a conference for which I was responsible? Nope, none of that. Busy, but boring! Well, not boring for me to do, but boring to litanize. Or that I had problems with my pants at today's change of command ceremony? I already shared that (see The Dignity of Woman). So, instead I would like to share 7 interesting books that I have been reading, yeah, pretty much concurrently. I confess to being an inveterate multi-tasker.

1. Baring the Middle East Enigma (John Eckert). Written by a friend of mine, with whom I spent a number of months working together in the Middle East (in both Jordan and Bahrain), this book, with a good deal of humor, describes and even explains the oddities that one runs into in the Middle East. Some of the important information you will learn is why you should stand at least 2718 feet away from the tallest building in the world in Dubai. I recommend this book to anyone planning to go to the Middle East, as well as anyone who is not planning to go to the Middle East but wants to feel as if he or she has lived there.

2. 21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People (Dave Early). As I reported in last week's Quick Takes, I have been using this book with my catechism teens who have serious questions about bad events in their lives. I find the book very insightful, and I love the first chapter, "The Reason No One Wants to Hear." I recommend this book to anyone who is searching for an answer to the question of bad things happening to good people who is not entirely satisfied with Kushner's answer to the same question.

3. Things Hidden (Richard Rohr). Behind my #1 favorite book set of The Cloud of Unknowing and Book of Privy Counseling and #2 favorite author, Fr. Thomas Dubay (whose works I have bored through and pored over -- all of them -- wonderful stuff, especially for those with mystical experience) are the works of Fr. Richard Rohr. I have met Fr. Richard, heard him speak on several occasions, listened to his recordings (I especially like "Cosmic Christology") and read a number of his works. Of the latter, Things Hidden so far is my favorite. The book leaves one with a very different and highly satisfying understanding of Scripture. Rohr calls the Bible a "work in travail" and opens up to the reader a new way of approaching and understanding it. I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to look at Scripture in a new light.

4. Poverty and Joy (Bill Short). Br. Bill is the current director of our local St. Francis Retreat Center. He is also a leading authority on St. Francis. I have enjoyed his retreats and Days of Recollection very much because of his extensive knowledge. A former dean at Santa Clara University, he now teaches theology there. Because he reads multiple languages, including being completely fluent in Italian, he has access to multiple resources for understanding St. Francis, and Poverty and Joy reflects this. I recommend this book for anyone who thinks he or she knows all there is to know about St. Francis. Read and discover even more!

5. Abandonment to Divine Providence (Jean-Pierre de Caussade). I love this book, but it is not easy reading, and I have been reading 1-2 chapters per airplane voyage. I would probably fare better with the original French since the translation I have is stilted and older English. Nonetheless, I persevere because de Caussade has much to say of value to me. One of the main themes of the book is that God hides behind simple, daily activities and finding Him is a matter of total surrender to His will. I find that many of the pages, as I consider the words of the author, bring me spiritual peace. I highly recommend it to anyone for any reason.

6. Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer (Maya Angelou). Fr. Ed gave me this lovely book for my birthday, and I savor a few pages on each trip I take. I am in no hurry to finish it because then I will have no more poems to read. I find these poems full of hope and recommend the book to anyone looking for some gems of inspiration that can fit into a few, irregularly captured moments of time.

7. Angels on Assignment (Perry Stone). This book was brought to me last week by a friend visiting from Alabama. I have read only two chapters so far, so I will withhold judgment on the book. It has an interesting premise, though, pretty much captured by the book's title. The assumption is that the world is not a safe place, and, therefore, we all need protection, which God does send to us through angels and the Mizpah covenant which forces a protective barrier around loved ones. As I wrote, I am reserving judgment on this one so I do not know whether or not to recommend it. After a few more chapters, I can unreserve my judgment and provide a thumbs up or down.

And there you have it -- seven books for seven days. Happy reading!

The Dignity of Woman

The events of today occur only about once every three years in my division. The military organization with which we work (and which provides us oversight) had a formal change of commanders, i.e. the High Muckety Muck was leaving, a new Muckety Muck was arriving, and a ceremony was planned to pass the muck. All the bigwigs in our organization and in town were there. The hand-off came replete with wonderful ceremony on the parade field, marches, music, pomp and circumstance, awards and speeches, and, at some points, before and after, just plain food and fun. Well, it would have been fun, except for my pants.