Don't Doubt It

“Our doubts are traitors, 

and make us lose the good we oft might win,

by fearing to attempt.” 

(William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure)

My thoughts are both my own worst enemy and my best friend.  When they echo the deepest truth and wisdom of my heart, my thoughts lead me to reach beyond, far beyond, the feeble limits imposed by my doubts. When guided by my heart (or maybe it's my soul) I am impassioned to acts of courage and compassion that cause me to smile in joy for wonder of the person who God has created me to be.

There are days, however, when my mind is not so centered and the Spirit of God whispering encouragement in my ear is but a faint voice lost to the wind. Then doubts do assail me, and the voice I hear is full of condemnation and judgment. I am a small and selfish creature under the harsh words of this voice and the horizon seems one of great limitations and little hope.

“I seek strength, not to be greater than another, 

but to fight my greatest enemy, 

the doubts within myself” 

(P.C. Cast)

I'm not really sure from where the dark voice speaks, but I have come to recognize its sound and to seek to pay it little heed. If I am to be the gift to this world that I trust my Creator made me to be, it will require that I discipline myself to listen to the gentle voice of Love and not the piercing words of self-doubt. 

I continue to be amazed by the potential within humanity, planted within each of us, to be bring life and healing to our earth, to renew community, to create wonders of art, science, music... to express the image of God in ever new and beautiful ways. And yet, still we struggle, fighting each other, fighting ourselves, fighting Love. Too often we listen to that dark voice of judgment and doubt and in so doing we relinquish our true power - the power to remake our world through kindness, grace and compassion. 

I encourage you this day to trust the Spirit's gentle nudging of your heart. When you hear words of condemnation, of doubt, of judgment - acknowledge them and then put them aside. They are not true for you. This is true: YOU are beautiful, and amazingly gifted and YOU are in this world  because God made you as a gift to humanity. Let nothing hold you back from being all that Love would have you be.

I leave the last word to Isaiah:

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

 “This is the way, walk in it,” 

when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left"

(Isaiah 30.21)

Whispering encouragement,

Pastor Bill

Listen

a

gentle breeze

stirs

your heart

its

voice

calls

love

and

be

loved

Breathe

Recognizing Abundance

"To live a pure unselfish life,

 one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance."

(Buddha)

I stopped for a moment today to think about, and to give thanks for, the abundance that surrounds me. At first it was awareness of physical threads in the tapestry - good food, warm clothing, a home, a car, a phone... basic North American material goods. However, as I stepped back from the weaving I began to see the deeper, richer tones that color the abundance of my life. Underneath the obvious shadings of my physical needs are the vibrant, and sometimes subtle hues of the heart's abundance. There is an abundance of love in my life - love given and love received. The threads of this love are woven into the warp of my relationships with family and friends, neighbors and strangers. And what an abundance it is - no matter how much love pours from the soul I never run out. In fact, the abundance of love just continues to grow.

And then there is the abundance of forgiveness and grace. I fall a thousand times, and a thousand times forgiveness wraps its blanket of compassion and renewal around me, raising me up to learn and grow and begin again. No matter how foolish I am forgiveness seeks me out like a lover pining for her mate.

And then there is wonder at the magnificence of life. The morning sun refracting off of the unbroken snow of our front yard - a thousand diamonds of sparkling brilliance. Unbelievable! Or the dog lying in that warm sunlight, eyes closed, soaking in the goodness of life, breathing deep; a raven drifting by lazily overhead; a ladybug crawling up the window, oblivious to winter outside. Life is amazing and endless and when I stop for just a moment to actually take it in... the abundance of life's magnificence overwhelms me. 

" I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

(John 10.10)

The weaving grows larger, and the threads grow ever richer in color and hue the longer I contemplate God's abundant presence in our world. So long as I view life from the lenses of gratitude and service I see abundance everywhere I turn. When I am feeling sorry for myself, however, feeling a bit like a victim, then have I left my sacred home, then have I wandered from the heart, and all thought of abundance is abandoned for the lie of scarcity, the source of humanity's great sorrow.

Yet, abundant is the cry of God's love to return to His heart, to be nourished in Love, to again perceive the world as an amazing opportunity to use our gifts to make even one person's day just a bit brighter, a little kinder,  to let the tears of compassion and the kindred joy of laughter flow.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of lights

with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

(James 1.17)

Abundance is a refreshing pool that endlessly, eternally replenishes itself. And the source of this wondrous abundance? Well, it all comes from Love of course, from God, from the Creator of all that is. That being so, the outpouring of love, forgiveness, goodness, kindness, and all expressions of God's heart will flow ceaselessly throughout creation.  Our role is simply to open our hands to receive. When it seems that lack is all that we know, it is not God's outpouring that has stopped, it is only our willingness to hold that which is be-gifted to us. 

Take a moment today to be aware of the abundance that pours over your life. Give thanks for that abundance and enter your day allowing it to pour through you to touch all whom you encounter.

I leave the last word to Paul:

"Now to God who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to God be glory..."

(Ephesians 3.20)

Pax,

Pastor Bill

Breathe

deeply

out

and in

giving

thanks

love

surrounds

you

forever

[First published November 15, 2012]