One Tiny Light

Imagine that you are in a huge cave 250 feet below the surface of the earth. You're down there with about 40 other souls. The cave is artificially lit, as no daylight ever reaches its interior. Suddenly the lights go out.

The darkness closes in and encases you like a velvet glove. You can't see your hand in front of your face. No one makes a sound. Total darkness. Total silence. Total stillness. You're in the heart of Mother Earth.

Then your guide strikes a tiny match. The thick darkness disappears like magic and your eyes take in a marvelous scene.

The light from that one match illuminates the whole cave quite clearly. You can see everyone there. Amazing!

All it takes to dispel the darkness of that huge, dark cave is just one person's tiny light.

And the old saying “let your light shine” takes on a deeper, “secret” meaning.

You don't have to overwhelm those you meet with your knowledge, wisdom, accomplishments, or connections. Why use a floodlight when an ordinary lantern (or even a candle) will do?

By all means let your light shine, but please: Make it inviting, not blinding!​

Parable of Two Apples

Today in one of our classes I introduced the children to two apples (the children didn't know this, but before the class I had repeatedly dropped one of the apples on the floor, you couldn't tell, both apples looked perfect). We talked about the apples and the children described how both apples looked the same; both were red, were of similar size and looked juicy enough to eat.

I picked up the apple I'd dropped on the floor and started to tell the children how I disliked this apple, that I thought it was disgusting, it was a horrible color and the stem was just too short. I told them that because I didn't like it, I didn't want them to like it either, so they should call it names too.

Some children looked at me like I was insane, but we passed the apple around the circle calling it names, 'you're a smelly apple', 'I don't even know why you exist', 'you've probably got worms inside you' etc. We really pulled this poor apple apart. I actually started to feel sorry for the little guy.

We then passed another apple around and started to say kind words to it, 'You're a lovely apple', 'Your skin is beautiful', 'What a beautiful color you are' etc.

I then held up both apples, and again, we talked about the similarities and differences, there was no change, both apples still looked the same.

I then cut the apples open. The apple we'd been kind to was clear, fresh and juicy inside. The apple we'd said unkind words to was bruised and all mushy inside.

I think there was a light bulb moment for the children immediately. They really got it, what we saw inside that apple, the bruises, the mush and the broken bits is what is happening inside every one of us when someone mistreats us with their words or actions.

When people are bullied, especially children, they feel horrible inside and sometimes don't show or tell others how they are feeling. If we hadn't have cut that apple open, we would never have known how much pain we had caused it.

I shared my own experience of suffering someone's unkind words last week. On the outside I looked OK, I was still smiling. But, on the inside someone had caused me a lot of pain with their words and I was hurting.

Unlike an apple, we have the ability to stop this from happening. We can teach children that it's not ok to say unkind things to each other and discuss how it makes others feel. We can teach our children to stand up for each other and to stop any form of bullying, just as one little girl did today when she refused to say unkind words to the apple.

More and more hurt and damage happens inside if nobody does anything to stop the bullying. Let's create a generation of kind, caring children.

The tongue has no bones but is strong enough to break a heart. So be careful with your words.

Source Unknown

Inner Choice

Often we look at the outside world and find it in a state of seeming chaos or disorder. We feel compelled to transform the situation from one of turmoil into one of peace, yet we are often disappointed in our best attempts to do so. One reason for this is that we cannot bring to the world what we do not have to offer. Peace starts in our own minds and hearts, not outside of ourselves, and until its roots are firmly entrenched in our own selves, we cannot manifest it externally. Once we have found it within, we can share it with our family, our community, and the whole wide world. Some of us may already be doing just that, but for most of us, the first step is looking within and honestly evaluating the state of our own relationship to peacefulness.

Interestingly, people who manifest peace internally are not different from us; they have chattering thoughts and troubled emotions like we all do. The difference is that they do not lend their energy to them, so those thoughts and feelings can simply rise and fall like the waves of the ocean without disturbing the deeper waters of peacefulness within. We all have this ability to choose how we distribute our energy, and practice enables us to grow increasingly more serene as we choose the vibration of peace over the vibration of conflict. We begin to see our thoughts and feelings as tiny objects on the surface of our being that pose no threat to the deep interior stillness that is the source of peacefulness.

When we find that we are able to locate ourselves more and more in the deeper waters and less on the tumultuous surface of our being, we have discovered a lasting relationship with peace that will enable us to inspire peace beyond ourselves. Until then, we help the world most by practicing the art of choosing peace within.

Susan's Secret

 A woman named Vicki once knew a young person at church named Susan.  Susan always seemed effervescent and happy, although Vicki knew she had faced struggles in her life. Her long-awaited marriage had quickly ended in divorce. She had struggled to get a grip on her single life. 

She hadn't chosen it, but she decided she would live it with utmost enjoyment and satisfaction. Susan was active in Sunday school, in the choir, as a leader of the junior high girls' group, and in the church renewal movement. Vicki enjoyed knowing Susan. Susan's whole face seemed to smile.

One day Vicki asked Susan, "How is it that you are always so happy, you have so much energy, and you never seem to get down?"  With her eyes smiling, Susan said, "I know the Secret!"

"What secret is that, what are you talking about?" Vicki asked.

Susan replied, "I'll tell you all about it, but you have to promise to share the Secret with others.

"Vicki agreed, "Okay, now what is it?"

The Secret is this: "I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to HIS riches. I have learned most of the time I don't need half of what I think I do. HE has never let me down." Since I learned that Secret I am happy.

Vicki's first thought was, That's too simple! But upon reflecting over her own life she recalled how she thought a bigger house would make her happy... but it didn't! She thought a better-paying job would make her happy... but it hadn't. When did she realize her greatest happiness?

Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, playing games, eating pizza or reading a story, a simple gift from God. Susan knew the secret, Vicki learned the secret, and now you know it too!

We can't depend on people to make us happy. Only GOD in His wisdom can do that. Trust HIM! And now I pass the Secret on to you!

Not Going that Way

As you travel through life there are always those times

When decisions just have to be made,
When the choices are hard, and solutions seem scarce,
And the rain seems to soak your parade.

There are some situations where all you can do
Is simply let go and move on,
Gather your courage and choose a direction
That carries you toward a new dawn.

So pack up your troubles and take a step forward -
The process of change can be tough,
But think about all the excitement ahead
If you can be stalwart enough!

There might be adventures you never imagined
Just waiting around the next bend,
And wishes and dreams just about to come true
In ways you can't yet comprehend!

Perhaps you'll find friendships that spring from new things
As you challenge your status quo,
And learn there are so many options in life,
And so many ways you can grow!

Perhaps you'll go places you never expected
And see things that you've never seen,
Or travel to fabulous, faraway worlds
And wonderful spots in between!

Perhaps you'll find warmth and affection and caring
And somebody special who's there
To help you stay centered and listen with interest
To stories and feelings you share.

Perhaps you'll find comfort in knowing your friends
Are supportive of all that you do,
And believe that whatever decisions you make,
They'll be the right choices for you.

So keep putting one foot in front of the other,
And taking your life day by day...
There's a brighter tomorrow that's just down the road -
Don't look back!
You're not going that way!

~~ Author Unknown

6th Sunday of Easter

Today is the 6th Sunday of Easter. This holy season is ending soon. Next Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord into Heaven and the following Sunday we celebrate the great Feast of Pentecost. Now is a good time to assess where we are in our journey of growth with the Risen Christ as we prepare our hearts and minds to be open to the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

For the past two Sundays, we have focused on Jesus as a role model. He is the ideal shepherd who guides and protects his sheep even laying down his life for them. Jesus is the true vine that sutains us so we can bear abundant fruit. Today Jesus presents us with another ideal, the ideal friend. What makes an ideal friend? The ideal friend is the one who is willing to die for us. Jesus tells us, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Jesus chooses us to be his friends. And we keep his friendship by obeying his commandment, “love one another as I love you” (John 15:12).

Jesus proved his friendship and love for us by submitting to crucifixion and death. He asks us to prove our love for him by loving our sisters and brothers all over the world the same way he loves us. With every loving act we accomplish, we are sharing God’s overwhelming, unconditional, accepting and sacrificial love. In today’s second reading, 1 John 4:7-10, St. John reminds us that we should “love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.” This is the greatest gift of love possible.

And so, on this Sixth Sunday of Easter we give thanks to God who loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus into our world to teach us how to love.

Ever-living God,

Help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of the Lord

And to express in our lives the love we celebrate.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Spirituality is not a formula

“Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality in not about being fixed; it is about God's being present in the mess of our unfixedness.”

~ Michael Yaconelli in "Messy Spirituality