This week the words were “Show Up”, “Respond”, “Encourage”,
“Wake Up”, “Breathe”, “Act”, and “Risk”. The first thing that came to my mind
in relation to this series is something I heard on a Cursillo weekend many
years ago.
One of the priests shared a mantra he used: “Show Up, Tell
the Truth, Pay Attention, and Don’t get Attached to the Results”. This saying
actually encompasses all of life, but especially the words this week.
We first need to Show up to God and Show up to life. When we
are really present we can Respond to one another actively and
be available to encourage each other. That’s a way of ‘telling the truth’. When
we Wake
up and Breathe we find that we can really ‘Pay Attention’ to what’s
happening in and around us. We can look for God’s action and presence in the
world and in our lives, and in the lives of all those we meet.
Finally, the mantra suggests that we “Don’t get attached to
the results”. In other words, we must let go of control and let God take over.
Certainly that’s one of the harder aspects of living into this saying. The
words Act and Risk which close out the week are
reminders that if and when we let God be in charge, we can act without fear and
even take risks that we wouldn’t have considered otherwise. We might take on a
ministry, or start a new job, or plan a trip that might seem impossible.
You’ll see that the images I chose this week cover a wide
range of things, from goldfish in a pond, to a bouquet of hair ribbons, and
standing on the edge of a canyon. For me, these are images that reinforce the
idea that God is not just in church, but in every moment of every day. We all
need the little reminders of the Holy One. Anything can be what the Celts call
a ‘thin place’ where God breaks in. Even a pink Christmas pig in the neighbor’s
front yard can signify God’s active presence just as much as the dawn breaking
over the horizon. When we can see God in each thing and each moment, it might
just be easier to “show up, tell the truth, pay attention, and don’t get
attached to the results” because God really IS in charge!
Next week’s words are: Expand,
Focus, Experience, Become, Beautify, Heal, and Thank.
As we draw closer to the arrival of the “Long Expected Jesus” we will want to
look at, experience, and live into those words and discover images to fit them.
