A reader sent this to me today. I think you’ll enjoy it…
Hi Evan,
I was inspired to share this with you today....
I was watching the news this morning and feeling disturbed about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and wondering how my prayers could possibly be a help against so great an evil. I turned off the TV and settled into the Christian Science Bible lesson. When I came to the last section I realized I should share this story.
My brother was in Vietnam early in the war and had served his tour of duty and was to leave the country that very day. My mother had prayed diligently for his protection the entire 13 months of deployment.
That night in the middle of the night she woke up and shot straight out of bed in complete fear for him. In reaching out to God the only thing that came to her thought was "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." She said she never remembered even reading it before and had to go look it up to find it in Isaiah. She clung single-mindedly to that thought for hours.
Later that morning, Army officials arrived at our door with a telegram from the War Department informing her that my brother had been very slightly injured in an attack on the airport.
Later she found out the rest of the story....
My brother had been at Tan Son Nhut airport in Saigon awaiting his flight out of the country. Someone had come in, laid a briefcase with a 30 lb. bomb in it on the counter, which exploded knocking people around and spraying broken glass. In the immediate security check that followed they found a 200 lb bomb set to go 30 seconds later--but the timing device had failed. The second bomb would have leveled the airport and killed everyone in it.
I was only about 9 at the time but that was the day I think I decided it was worth it to be a Christian Scientist. If prayer could save my brother's life half a world away with such exquisite precision there was something there that was worth making the struggle worthwhile to learn how to demonstrate its truth.
As soon as I saw that verse at the beginning of section 6 in the lesson, and remembered that day, I was so thankful to be reminded that terrorism is not an exception to God's rule and that my prayers, as well as others' prayers, are more than adequate to disarm this evil in our world.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Life is a journey not a destination
I spent this afternoon cooking with my wife in preparation for guests tomorrow for a family get-together on Thanksgiving Day. It was a very enjoyable time, a peaceful time of calm and relaxation while we cut and chopped and mixed and stirred.
Somewhere between the herb dinner rolls rising in the oven and the new Butter Pecan ice cream pumpkin pie recipe I was deciphering, I realized Thanksgiving Day had already begun. Preparing the feast was half the fun of having the feast.
Now I realize some people don’t have time to spend Wednesday afternoon cooking, and they are very grateful for someone else able to do the job. That’s quite understandable. But the larger lesson I dwelt on was seeing the event of Thanksgiving meal as much more than one hour spent at a table eating and talking with friends. It’s all the before, during and after that constitute the event. And each moment of the preparation, staging, happening, and clean up should be just as enjoyable as any other. There need be no strain or stress. It’s all about love, sharing love, participating in love and rejoicing in love. The preparation, the experience and the afterglow can all have equal goodness associated with them.
Life is not a destination, but a journey, I agreed. Jesus Christ was clear on living in the goodness of God now. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he preached. How close is your hand? It’s attached. It can’t be any closer.
The goodness of Life is not something we work toward, like a goal we have to reach. It’s a present fact of our being.
I hope you enjoy your journey as you celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Whether celebrating at-one with God at a table with your thoughts, or with many people around too, may your every moment be filled with love and peace.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Somewhere between the herb dinner rolls rising in the oven and the new Butter Pecan ice cream pumpkin pie recipe I was deciphering, I realized Thanksgiving Day had already begun. Preparing the feast was half the fun of having the feast.
Now I realize some people don’t have time to spend Wednesday afternoon cooking, and they are very grateful for someone else able to do the job. That’s quite understandable. But the larger lesson I dwelt on was seeing the event of Thanksgiving meal as much more than one hour spent at a table eating and talking with friends. It’s all the before, during and after that constitute the event. And each moment of the preparation, staging, happening, and clean up should be just as enjoyable as any other. There need be no strain or stress. It’s all about love, sharing love, participating in love and rejoicing in love. The preparation, the experience and the afterglow can all have equal goodness associated with them.
Life is not a destination, but a journey, I agreed. Jesus Christ was clear on living in the goodness of God now. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he preached. How close is your hand? It’s attached. It can’t be any closer.
The goodness of Life is not something we work toward, like a goal we have to reach. It’s a present fact of our being.
I hope you enjoy your journey as you celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Whether celebrating at-one with God at a table with your thoughts, or with many people around too, may your every moment be filled with love and peace.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
No time for spite
While skimming an interview of Reese Witherspoon written up in Parade magazine last Sunday, a quote of Reese’s caught my eye.
She said, “I don’t have time for hate or negativity in my life. There’s no room for it.”
I have always thought of Witherspoon as an upbeat positive woman with a smile on her face and delight in her attitude. If she refuses to engage with hate, as she claims, that may be part of the reason why.
It’s a powerful reminder to all of us. None of us should have room for hate or negativity in our lives. It’s not normal. Joy, gratitude and delight are the acceptable standard.
Many people grow up believing it’s normal to harbor ill-will, resentment and complaint on a regular basis. They go through their days feeling an underlying pull of negativity that puts a scowl on their face, an edge in their voice, and casts an aura about them of “I’m hard to deal with.” This ought not to be.
It's not normal to feel spite and heaviness. It's normal to feel good, upbeat and positive. Many people have demonstrated this, and enjoy life because of it.
God created us with a demeanor toward love, goodwill and generosity. It’s natural for us, as children of God, to be entertaining thoughts of charity, positive outlook, and expectancy of good. We should not accept anything less.
The Mind of God, the one Mind, the only true Mind, is a Mind of pure goodness, love and kindness.
It takes work and practice to demonstrate a Mind of joy and uplift for mortal mind seems to work overtime to push anger and irritation into our mental homes. But like keeping our physical house free of unwanted solicitors knocking at our front door, we can shut our mental home to negative impressions too by thinking on the joys of love. It’s a choice we make.
None of us have room for negativity or hate in our lives. They are not a part of life. They are enemies to peace, foreigners, not to be allowed entry.
Thanks Reese for reminding us...
She said, “I don’t have time for hate or negativity in my life. There’s no room for it.”
I have always thought of Witherspoon as an upbeat positive woman with a smile on her face and delight in her attitude. If she refuses to engage with hate, as she claims, that may be part of the reason why.
It’s a powerful reminder to all of us. None of us should have room for hate or negativity in our lives. It’s not normal. Joy, gratitude and delight are the acceptable standard.
Many people grow up believing it’s normal to harbor ill-will, resentment and complaint on a regular basis. They go through their days feeling an underlying pull of negativity that puts a scowl on their face, an edge in their voice, and casts an aura about them of “I’m hard to deal with.” This ought not to be.
It's not normal to feel spite and heaviness. It's normal to feel good, upbeat and positive. Many people have demonstrated this, and enjoy life because of it.
God created us with a demeanor toward love, goodwill and generosity. It’s natural for us, as children of God, to be entertaining thoughts of charity, positive outlook, and expectancy of good. We should not accept anything less.
The Mind of God, the one Mind, the only true Mind, is a Mind of pure goodness, love and kindness.
It takes work and practice to demonstrate a Mind of joy and uplift for mortal mind seems to work overtime to push anger and irritation into our mental homes. But like keeping our physical house free of unwanted solicitors knocking at our front door, we can shut our mental home to negative impressions too by thinking on the joys of love. It’s a choice we make.
None of us have room for negativity or hate in our lives. They are not a part of life. They are enemies to peace, foreigners, not to be allowed entry.
Thanks Reese for reminding us...
