Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Hard Times (A Meditation)

Hello Ladies,

Recently a few of my good friends have asked me about getting through some of the tough times in life by discerning God's will for them. I think that the assumption is that because I have written way too many theology papers that I have gained some wisdom as well as information. Well, maybe. But in answer the following is a meditation that I find particularly helpful.

Close your eyes and relax your breathing.

Imagine being in a place of safety that is totally unique to you. It can be anywhere you wish.

Now imagine that God is near.

God has been there since before time began.

God is present now.

God will continue long after we (and our problems) are gone. You are gone. Your problems are gone.

There is only God.

At this point I feel slightly dizzy and in awe. I need God to be my anchor or I will disappear. Your experience may be different.

Now remember that God loves you so much that He created you to be just as you are in spite of your mistakes.

Stay in that loving presence for a few more moments.

Carry that love with you.

Because, Ladies, we are in a relationship with God. And He continually calls us to be in a deeper relationship with Him. So maybe God isn't asking us to do something. Maybe He is simply asking us to love Him in return.

Sit Deus Nobis! (May God Be With Us!)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this beautiful meditation. Please forgive my over simplification but it reminded me of the self-hypnosis visualizations I did in preparation for giving birth almost seven weeks ago. I wish I had this mediation earlier, so that I could indeed have incorporated it into my birthing experience. But now I can use it to reach a more prayerful state.

I am a Protestant, but I happily take on Catholic symbols. As it was, I gave birth in a Catholic hospital with Jesus on the cross on the wall in front of me. My St Gerard medal that I had worn when trying to conceive and all during my pregnancy was now around my husband's neck as he stood beside me. Along with the doula, midwife, ob/gyn, and nurses, i realize now that a greater power was in the birthing room helping me to push out that child when it looked like a c-section was imminent.

In the darkened sleep deprived hours when my new born son is cluster feeding and I am so exhausted by my own tiny world, it is so easy to forget God. I have started to try to reconnect by singing hymns and prayers to my baby as I walk him around during burping. I just need to brush up on the lyrics now.

I need to remember too, that in those times God's love is in me and surrounding us even as I cry and shake with tiredness, certain that I can't make it through another hour of being a new mother and that I am the worst mother ever to walk this earth. But another hour passes and another. And I find the strength again to get out of bed for yet another feeding.

BTW, when I was a little girl in the 1970s, I remember a rock version of the Lord's Prayer on the radio recorded by a nun. Looking for things to sing to my baby, I recently found it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7K1yfoppGU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Mariam Mom said...

Thank you not only for your story and your link to the Singing Nun. (I have added the link to my blog for others to enjoy. Thanks!) Hang in there, mom. Every mom feels overwhelmed. You are doing an amazing job. Your son is truly blessed. Hugs and prayers!