Monday, Week 3 - Learning the Dance of God

"Take delight in the Lord, and God will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4).

    Our minds might be filled with all the stuff that makes up our day: the unfinished work, the old fights, or the over-full calendar. Our quiet time floods us with the realization of how busy we are. We may feel depressed or discouraged as we remain in the solitude and stillness of our reflection time. Or, we may fear what could surface from within us if we remain in stillness for too long. All of this is natural and normal. It takes time to slow down, to become still, to let go. We must be patient with ourselves and with the process of quiet reflection. We must take time to learn the steps of the dance.
    We must also let go of thinking that we have to have something to show for our efforts, for our time spent dancing with God. Just choosing to be with God is valuable. We cannot control what will happen. We must simply trust God with our lives, trust that God will never harm us or lead us anywhere but into greater harmony and integrity. Prayer is not about "feeling good." Rather, it is about learning the dance of God, which is the dance of truth and wholeness.

    Yet another reflection about patience, particularly patience with prayer. I feel that it helps to be aware of this quality of prayer. In fact, it may be the case that the less one seeks for "results", the more likely he/she will reap the subtle but powerful benefits of prayer. Anxiously seeking for concrete answers to prayer can be a distraction from the true purpose of prayer.
    I still recognize that I miss nights in my Lenten promise to pray every night with Sr. Joyce's reflections. However, I have noticed that I am spending more time throughout the day really considering God's presence in my life on a more consistent basis. I'm convinced that pushing myself into the habit of reflection on a (nearly) nightly basis, has spurred me to pray throughout the day on my own.
    Tonight, I feel great appreciation for where I'm at in my life. I am restless, to be sure, about the uncertainties. But this, I believe, is to be embraced.