Read Part 1, "Learning" here.
Read Part 2, "Losing" here.
Read Part 3, "Seeking" here.
Read Part 4, "Finding" here.
Read Part 5, "Trusting" here.
To download a PDF copy of the series (so you don't have to read post by post), click HERE.
Peace will not be rushed.
In part 4 I mentioned the crucial turning point in my faith
process was understanding connection as a process rather than a destination. In
time, I came to understand that my connection with my heavenly parents has a
name - peace. It is the bookends of the cycle of faith.
I understand now that peace is not something that has to be lost.
Once found, it can be kept. New cycles can begin on a foundation
built from previously claimed peace.
This idea reminds me of a scripture I once read. Doctrine & Covenants
50:24: That which is of God is light; and he
that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth
more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect
day.
When peace is seen as part of a larger process rather than an
arrival,
when it carries forward to the next cycle of faith rather than
fading away,
hope is not lost.
In this light, the saying "trust the plan" is less a plea for mindless
obedience
and more a call for trust in a process
and more a call for trust in a process
of death and rebirth,
and seeking and finding.
This is the wisdom of faith:
it is not a narrow linear path through life.
Enduring to the end is not ignorant perseverance through
roadblocks and distractions,
it is the relaxation into the centripetal force of the cycle of
faith.
Questions will come. So will answers.
The only ingredient needed is time.
There is a grove of citrus trees growing near the university my
husband used to attend. When he was a student, we'd often pick lemons in the
Arizona spring, which is right around February-April. One year we picked some
gorgeous lemons and oranges in early January. We brought them home with big
plans for fresh OJ, only to cut into them and taste their bitterness. It was too
early for oranges and lemons.
If you find yourself wishing for seasons of soft and sweet but can only taste the bitterness of losing: patience, love. Your
peace harvest is coming. Be so gentle with yourself.
If you are sitting on the porch sipping summer's lemonade, soaking
in the light of finding and trusting: rest in gratitude. Count blessings.
Be so gentle with others.
Take time to eat the fruit from the trees
and taste the bitter from the sweet.
Let's bake pies and lemon bars
and deliver on the promises we make;
to learn, love, and grow.
4 comments
Just exquisite, Channing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, friend!
DeleteBeautiful ❤
ReplyDeleteThank you! <3
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