Faith & Life Inspirational Message

The title of this inspirational piece may seem odd.   When in doubt, we should wait.   That does not seem like the American way.   I think Americans tend to be more pushy.   When in doubt, push ahead.   Force things!   Make things happen!   You can do it!   There are many ways we express the fact that we should seldom wait---for anything.   We pride ourselves that we lived in a fast-paced fashion.   “Get yours while the getting is good,” is a phrase I heard all my life.   The implication was you had to be quick, perhaps a bit grabby, and certainly never dally.   Slow people are losing people.             There may be times the above-mentioned perspective serves us well as people and as a nation.   But spiritually speaking, that is usually not a good way to go.   However, I believe that we often carry our lives-as-normal into our spiritual lives.   That sho...

Sometimes my ideas for an inspirational reflection come in odd ways.   The idea for this piece originated in the classroom.   We were discussing a section from Kathleen Norris’ book, The Cloister Walk , which is one of my favorite books.   One of her paragraphs made reference to the French phrase, point vierge .   Because I have read her book a number of times, I am familiar with the term.   And I also know that Thomas Merton, my favorite monk used the phrase in a very significant way.             The French phrase is translated in various ways.   Literally it means the “virginal point.”   It suggests that time at dawn---the breaking of the new day---when the light is just beginning to appear.   It is the point where night meets day.   It was used by Merton to talk about “the still point.”   All this I knew, but I was still curious about the phrase.   So I chased my curiosity...

The evening prayer in my lectionary last night had a selection from a very short Psalm near the end of the Psalter.   Because I don’t live with the Psalms with the same depth as my monk friends, I still feel like I have often encountered a particular Psalm for the very first time.   I know I have read Psalm 131 before, but it felt like I had engaged it for the very first time.             As I often do, I compared two different translations of the Psalm.   The Jerusalem Bible begins by the Psalmist saying, “ Lord, I do not puff myself up or stare about…”   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) puts it similarly; “O  Lord , my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high…”   In this case I prefer the first option.   It seems to warn against feeling pride when it comes to spiritual things.               It makes me think o...

I learned a long time ago (as most adults do), that life inevitably hurts us from time to time.   Even though we know this will happen, it always is a tough and lousy situation when it happens.   Even though we know we will make it through, the “making it through” is not a fun experience.   I know the old saying assures us that “time heals,” but it often takes a lot of time!             Recently, there have been a number of people I know and hold dear that have been hurt.   Unfortunately the hurting was not of their own making.   This can make the hurt even more biting.   It is one thing to hurt ourselves; it is another to have the hurt inflicted upon us.   Finally, it perhaps does not matter how the hurt happens, but in the beginning it is tougher when the hurt is inflicted upon us.             Hurts come in various forms.   Prob...

No doubt we have all heard the phrase, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”   Probably, many of us have used it…or, at least, thought it.   Seldom does the phrase come to mind in good times.   It comes when we feel like we are losing.   Or we watch someone else prosper in ways we think we could or should.   Uttering that phrase often comes in a fit of anger or a wistful lament.   As a form of speech, I believe it is a proverb.   That form of speech is a popular adage or bit of wisdom.   Proverbs express what most folks would consider true or to be good advice.   But in this case, our proverb, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” carries the implication that life is the opposite of what we are saying.   The proverb implies, in fact, the grass is not greener on the other side.   We just think it is. So if the grass is not really greener on the other side, what are our options?...

Sometimes I am surprised with what resonates with folks who read these inspirational messages.   Each evening I sit down with my laptop and on good days an idea comes to me.   Other days are more difficult and I have to go after an idea.   Sometimes I think some ideas are inspired.   Other times, I am sure than I concocted an idea and only can hope somehow God can bless it and use it.   But getting an idea is not sufficient.             I have to shape the idea and give it form in writing.   Often that is fairly easy.   Other times it is like a trip to the dentist…a great deal of pulling!   My ideas that are shaped and written become little gifts thrown out there to the world.   But they are unconditional gifts.   I have no control or demands on the gifts.   If they are meaningful or help someone, I am humbled and grateful.   Occasionally, I learn that some particular ...