This week has been tough, my grandmother passed away on Sunday night. I've wanted to stop, take time and try to adjust, but life has carried on at its usual pace. I've found this difficult. This week has seemed unreal. Through all of this, I've found the words of Thomas Merton to be a source of comfort. While words desert me, and conversation with God feels pointless, he looks to something that transcends my understanding of prayer.
'The ever-changing reality in the midst of which we live should awaken us to the possibility of an uninterrupted dialogue with God. By this I do not mean continuous "talk", or a frivolously conversational form of affective prayer which is sometimes cultivated in convents, but a dialogue of love and of choice. A dialogue of deep wills.'
The View from Swansea
About Me
- Jon
- Made in Wales, 1981. Married to the gorgeous Rebecca. Due to become a Dad in March 2007. Christian. Training to be a Probation Officer and loving it.
5 comments:
Mate, I'll be thinking of you and the family. Hope that you're doing ok.
I was thinking about prayer, and I think that its at these times that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
Jon, I am so sorry to hear about your Grandmother. You, and your family, are very much in my prayers. I'm particularly praying that in the midst of this busy time of year you will be able to make sense of your loss and to adjust at the pace you need to.
LOTS of love, L xx
You are making sense Josie. Will be good to see you on Friday. Thanks to the rest of you for your concerns.
There's an old saying, 'shit happens'. And it happens to all of us sometime.
It's very tempting to think that God isn't listening or that he's left us on our own to cope. But, Josie, you managed to get through five lessons on the Monday in spite of how you felt; that to me is God carrying you. Like that old footsteps poem thingy, about two lots of footprints in the sand, where the writer asks God where he was in the hard times, why it becomes one pair of footprints. And God says, 'that was when I was carrying you.'
As one who's been there I can say, 'it's corny but true.'
Hang on in there, both.
Jon, I'm sorry to hear your bad news. I hope that you've had the chance to communicate with the Lord about it all by now.
I don't know how appropriate this is to you but I think of Job's first reaction to his tragic news:
"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped."
To love God and give Him His proper place is maybe the first step in that dialogue of deep wills; like approaching His throne to begin the exchange, while recognising who it is that we approach.
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