The Next Chapter

Our family's adventures in seminary, and other things I like to talk about...

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lessons from the Labyrinth

A theme I have been wrapping my head around for a while is simplicity. In particular, I have been attempting to apply this theme to my mind. I want to stop my constant multi-tasking, forward planning, backward thinking, and just learn to be in the moment. I knew I was making progress when I sat on the couch to have a conversation with my husband without grabbing my knitting.

The importance of being in the moment was brought to my attention at Spiritual Direction, a wonderful ancient Christian discipline offered both individually and in group settings here for our benefit. At the beautiful retreat center where the Spouses of the Seminary group session meets, there is a prayer labyrinth. We talked about the labyrinth and how traditionally it is to be walked barefooted. The idea is to get all the senses involved in the journey to the center. I decided that at our annual quiet day retreat, I would walk the labyrinth.

Lo and behold, the theme for Quiet Day was to live in the moment. My favorite quote from our excellent speaker was, “Life is in the now; don’t miss it.” After our first group session, I set out for the labyrinth. I paused to read the entrance plaque. As I was reading, someone headed in. This bugged me a little. I didn’t want to share this experience with anyone; now I would have to wait a while. When my fellow pilgrim was done, I quickly tossed off my shoes and headed in. Ouch! I was hoping for gravel, not mulch. I don’t have very tough feet. The journey was rough. About a third of the way in, someone else entered. At this point I realized that this is not a journey we should wish to do alone. I smiled at my new fellow pilgrim. I almost lost my balance. At last I had reached the center, grabbing my shoes on the final stretch. I praised my God, who was waiting there, taking the pain from my feet and the burden from my heart. “Where two or more are gathered, Christ is there.” He was with me the whole time, but the journey back into the world was much easier with shoes on my feet and gladness in my heart.

This is what I learned from the plaque: Labyrinths can be found in ancient Crete, Egypt, Etruscia, and inscribed on Neolithic tombs. They have been called divine imprints, “the epitome of sacred geometry, a call to the center, a worship structure where the eternal beloved waits to be encountered.” A pilgrimage. “The ability to be united with God begins with the awakening of the soul to the desire for the sacred, and of creating time and space for conversation with God.” “When you leave the center, your journey back is one of preparation for carrying Christ with you into the world.”

Monday, September 05, 2011

Don't Blink



After completing our first year of seminary and all the unforeseen challenges that came with it, we were so excited to embark on a week-long vacation. We visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the first time. It was every bit as wonderful as everyone said it would be. Our beach house was just over the dunes from some cool and active surf. I did a lot of beach combing and collected some beautiful shells. This vacation had a special significance in the life our family because it was our penultimate summer vacation before our oldest daughter enters adulthood and heads off to college. Ironically, our beach house was named, "Just Blink." That is about all we have done, and now our first born is nearly an adult. I have always said that having a baby boy as my girls were entering into the teenage years was the best thing I could have done to help me cope with it all. Someone still lets me know how much I am needed and adored. I am savoring every minute of the short time I have with him as a baby and toddler. I just blinked and now he is a preschooler. I wish I didn't blink so much when the girls were younger. Children are such a blessing and a gift. Don't blink!

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