Showing posts with label healing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healing. Show all posts
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
for a new beginning
For a New Beginning
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
~ John O'Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
~ John O'Donohue
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Many Parts
Several entries ago I wrote about my physical body situation. The medication is finally working better than it was before and our family doctor is now on the job trying to help me move into a more satisfactory functioning state. This has definitely affected my mental state for the better and all is not lost. It never was, of course, but perception is reality.
Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:12-26, using his trademark comparison method of teaching, explaining how the physical body is similar to the function of the body of Christ… all parts being necessary… one part not being more important than another. The New Living translation puts it this way:
A micro-tear in my plantar fascia caused extreme pain in my left heel. This pain showed up when I first got up to walk or stand. Once I was up it didn’t hurt as much, but the longer I was up the more it hurt when I sat back down. This odd cycle affected my psyche to the point that activity was just not something I looked forward to. Resting the fascia helped but that affected my metabolic rate which in turn touched off other factors in my body. The doctors were called in to help arrest the situation. With the help of time the heel is getting better, and with medication I feel more stabilized in the rest of my body. We’re headed in the right direction, balancing activity with rest.
The seeming “less important part”, my heel, has proven its importance. I see how these verses work with the physical body. How do they work with the body of Christ?
Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:12-26, using his trademark comparison method of teaching, explaining how the physical body is similar to the function of the body of Christ… all parts being necessary… one part not being more important than another. The New Living translation puts it this way:
"12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”
A micro-tear in my plantar fascia caused extreme pain in my left heel. This pain showed up when I first got up to walk or stand. Once I was up it didn’t hurt as much, but the longer I was up the more it hurt when I sat back down. This odd cycle affected my psyche to the point that activity was just not something I looked forward to. Resting the fascia helped but that affected my metabolic rate which in turn touched off other factors in my body. The doctors were called in to help arrest the situation. With the help of time the heel is getting better, and with medication I feel more stabilized in the rest of my body. We’re headed in the right direction, balancing activity with rest.
The seeming “less important part”, my heel, has proven its importance. I see how these verses work with the physical body. How do they work with the body of Christ?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
