While in the midst of my clinical pastoral education (CPE) journey I came to know the concept of the "parallel journey". This is the co-journey that we are all on as we interact and experience our lives in relationship to other's lives lived. Reflecting on someone else's life can be a significant resource for reflections on our own. We can listen to someone talk about what has happened to them and when they are finished sharing, we are given the opportunity to look at their experience through the lens of our own mind's eye. Many times this can lead us to greater understanding of what we, ourselves, are experiencing or have experienced in the past; ultimately leading us to possible reconciliation and peace.
Through my study of spiritual discernment and my actual directing of it over the past four years I can witness to the continuing parallel journey that I have experienced while discernment students seek out their deeper relationship with God. I have come to "look for" what it is that the Holy Spirit is wanting to enlighten me about. A number of months ago I found myself drawn towards writings about "Sabbath". I was curious about this new desire that was welling up in me because the Sabbath was fairly simple in my life. It has always meant attending Mass on either Saturday afternoon or Sunday and trying not to leave too many chores to be accomplished. This was easier said than done when both my husband and I were working full time jobs and we had little children at home. In fact, there were times that I felt a great shame and guilt when Sunday night would come and I was hurriedly ironing the girls' school uniforms for the next day and I realized that I had hardly spent any time "with" them. We didn't go for walks in the sunshine, play basketball in the driveway, sit in the coolness of the above ground pool together listening to the birds sing, or work side by side preparing Sunday's meals. Instead, I was out buying the groceries, sweeping the driveway, weeding the garden, and, sometimes, angry and bitter over making "one more meal" that someone was not going to like.
So, having God turn my heart towards a deeper awareness of Sabbath was both frightening, in that I didn't think I was going to be able to accomplish what others thought I was supposed to do, and uplifting, in that I was hoping and praying for a respite for my "to do list" life that was far from enriching and affirming.
This morning God has blessed me with an even greater understanding of where He is taking me. In beginning to read Norman Wirzba's, Living the Sabbath, Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight, I have found a writing about the Sabbath that speaks to the every day life of western culture. Early in his book, Wirzba, a doctor of philosophy, takes his readers directly to the heart of what he is writing about Sabbath being a time to reflect on God "in the world". For this reflection to take place we need to slow down and Look for Him in all things. This, then, is how we come to realize that God is in everything that He has so generously created for us to be co-stewards of. This means we need to stop, see, listen, and know. For me this is a bringing together of spiritual discernment and the Sabbath for it is within the virtue of spiritual discernment, the habitualizing of our taking time every day to be with God in reflection of our daily life, that we enter into the holiness of Sabbath. This habit of reflective prayer leads us to greater and greater desire to see the world in relationship with God; like taking a walk with your very best friend who is pointing out to you all of the beautiful leaves, and trees, and birds, and flowers along the way; so much so, that when you return from your walk you are filled with the warmth of God's goodness that wells up inside of you so that all you can do is sit back and smile. I am reminded here of a walk I took with my children and grandchildren this past fall on my daughter's wooded land. We walked, talked, and took notice of natural things as we meandered around the bends in the river. We were gifted at the end of our walk with the sighting of an owl perched on a limb who had probably been watching us much longer than we became aware of his/her grandeur. It was a lovely time and we returned to her home refreshed from the cool fall air and filled with an unfolding natural experience.
Now, take that experience and literally bring God and His Spirit into the picture through prayers of thanksgiving and praise. We did not do this, but I can imagine how it would deepen the experience to give honor, verbally and communally, to our Creator for giving us such a delightful opportunity to see His handiwork and exclaim to all who will listen about it. Jesus tells us in Holy Scripture "Let those who "see" see and those who "hear" hear". What are we to see and what are we to hear? What if our lives are so busy and so loud that we are depriving ourselves of all the beauty that has been given to us to feed us in ways that would have us spilling over with praise and thanksgiving and we could do nothing but "care" for those people and other creations that come into contact with us? Doesn't our acknowledgement of that alter the question from "What am I to see and hear?" to "Lord, how do I change my life so that I may see and hear?"
The horizon of my understanding becomes even clearer when Wirzba begins to connect the Sabbath to gardening and our western culture's production and processing of food. I have been trying to open myself spiritually to the Holy Spirit's wisdom on dirt, water, gardening, and food that I harvest, preserve, and serve. (In fact, I would take this opportunity to tell all of you to take the time to watch "Dirt, The Movie". It is simple but eye opening and it has within it a wisdom that speaks of our global enlightenment.) It is here that I began to feel the spirit within me beginning to "sing" at the connections of spiritual discernment, Sabbath, nature, gardening, and food production and felt a desire to share this with you.
This week my husband and I begin our spring planting in the form of starting vegetable and flower seeds in our home. Last year we grew approx. 2,000 plants in our dining room, living room, and front porch. I think this will be our 4th year and we, along with our girls, look forward to the smell of earth and young plants to offset the ongoing cold and snow of winter. This year I will be reading Wirzba's book parallel to my planting. My prayer will be that the Holy Spirit take me closer to the horizon of God's revelation of Himself within my life and all whom I come into contact with and all of His other creations that surround me. I also pray that you, too, will open yourself up to be curious of your parallel journey to all that you are connected to and then share it with all who desire to see and hear, for I know that you will be happy and excited and filled with the joy of receiving the most wonderful of gifts from your most Beloved Creator.
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