Resting

Ministerial intern Tim House shared a story about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday. He told about a time when King was under great duress, receiving death threats daily. He feared not only for his own safety, but for the lives of his wife and children.

One night, sitting at his kitchen table, he received a phone call. It was another death threat. In that moment of fear, King prayed. It was what he knew to do when fear, doubt and pain invaded his consciousness. In his prayer, he felt deep assurance that he was not alone. His companion on his journey for justice was Jesus. And that sense of companionship was a source of courage and steadfastness for him the rest of his life.

I am thinking this morning about a woman I knew who was facing the last weeks of her life after a long struggle with cancer. She was sad to be leaving her life and family. And she was troubled. For a long time, she said, she had tried to believe in God. But no matter how she came at her struggle, she could not feel a sense of assurance or companionship. As her ability to concentrate enough to read or write diminished, she spent long nights thinking about her future, trying to will herself to a belief in something "more."

Ginna was poet and a swimmer. We talked about the sheer joy and release she found in swimming, in moving through the water, feeling upheld as she turned onto her back, floating, and looking at the summer sky. One of her favorite places to swim was a spring-fed pond near her house. Swimming across the familiar pond, she knew the spots where the water turned suddenly cool--the spots where the springs were entering the larger body.

One late summer afternoon, when she was no longer able to leave her bed, I offered her a guided meditation that had her imagine herself back in her pond, swimming, floating, looking up at the summer sky. Appealing to the poet in her, I invited her to consider the water in which she floated, found rest and joy. Imagine, I suggested, that the water is the love that surrounds you, the love you feel from your beloved husband, children and friends. The joy and awe you feel in nature. Feel it support you and comfort you as you rest in that body of Love. Now, consider what feeds that Love, what is the Source of the Love that holds you so gently...Like the springs that feed the pond, imagine there is an invisibile but perceivable Source of Love that eternally feeds the love in your life...Trust that there is a Source of Love...Feel it support you, hold you, comfort you. Rest in it...

When the meditation was over, she opened her eyes and they were brilliant. Perhaps I imagined it, but a look of peace and happiness suffused her face. Her words confirmed her countenance. She had found an access point, a metaphor, a way in to something that comforted her and gave her peace. She discovered a source of courage and comfort that was with her for the remaining days of her life.

At critical times in our lives, we ache for something or someone to lean on. Some unchanging truth that will be our companion, our guide, our comfort or restoration to joy and peace. But we need not--and should not--wait until a crisis arises to learn how to pray or name what holds us. Taking up a spiritual practice, learning to pray or meditate now, will help us be skillful in meeting the difficult days of our lives.

I invite you to join us for Monday evening practice periods through February at 7:10-7:30 or 7:40-8:00 pm in the chapel at First Church in Boston to noursih your spiritual practice. If you want to talk about your spiritual practice, I will have four 15-minute interview sessions on Mondays from 8:00-9:00. Just add you name to the sign-up sheet on Mondays, or email me for an appointment: rosemary@firstchurchboston.org

Thanks for reading this morning's post. I wish you well as you endeavor to integrate a spiritual practice in your life.