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With you, St. Alban’s clergy will be reading the latest short daily passages from Show Me The Way by Henri J.M. Nouwen, and we will be offering our comments here. You are invited to post your thoughts as well. Please sign your name to any postings you make.

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Monday, December 3, 2012

Day 2 of Advent


“Don’t plan too precisely, however; leave room for God’s input.”

This sentence from today’s “Advent Action” jumped out and bopped me on the nose.  I’ve always been someone who likes to have plans; I like to know how an activity, or a day, or a week are going to progress.  I want to know what’s coming next.  For a long time I thought it was just a personality quirk, but the truth is that it’s a real spiritual challenge.  And when we think about having to plan not only our own calendars, but also coordinate the calendars of our children, our spouses, our significant others, our pets (when is doggy daycare?)...it actually feels like we don’t have any choice but to be precise planners.  And perhaps that’s the first step in leaving room for God’s input -  remembering that we do, in fact, have choices about how we spend our time.  Sometimes God’s input isn’t about the outcome, it’s about the existence of the choice itself.  Peace to you, -Kelly
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 3, 2012 at 11:41 AM

    When reading today's selections, I had to laugh! Yes, I, too, used to try to plan ahead to make sure I was in control. Of course, every day in different ways, I re-learn the lesson that I am not in control and God is in control and when I can let go enough to let God guide me everything turns out much better that I could have "desired and prayed for".

    We are blessed to have this forum to have a conversation in community. I would love to hear what others have to say. Deborah Schock

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  2. KellyDecember 3, 2012 at 1:52 PM

    Oh Deborah, you're a hoot! And you know, as I was reading through the NY Times online this morning, I found another piece that I think speaks to the themes of today's reading. It's called "The Art of Being Still" (link below). It's an author giving advice to others on how he crafts characters by learning to be still. Lack of patience, lack of time, a desire to be (or at least appear) productive might actually be the result of a fear of stillness. I think his advice might not only help an author create characters, I think it might also be part of the means by which we develop character in ourselves.

    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/the-art-of-being-still/?ref=opinion

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  3. KellyDecember 3, 2012 at 3:12 PM

    hgheijgh

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    Replies
    1. Marjorie Manning VaughanDecember 4, 2012 at 5:42 AM

      Stillness is something tht I believe more people should promote for themselves in their lives. It is so wonderful and spitirually uplifting to go on retreat and to have to give up your voice. If we allow God in, through our silence and by becoming still we see, hear and look at the joy of silence differently--as something more like a gift given rather than our voice being taken away. Not taking the time to be silent and still is a mistake in working with God on our spirtuality in relationship.It is only through relationship that we can welcome God into our lives and be open to God's presence in all that we do. For this I pray, Marjorie Manning Vaughan

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