Sunday Afternoon Tea

“That it may please thee to inspire us in all our several callings,
to do the work which thou givest us to do, with singleness of heart
as thy servants, for the common good.
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord."

-The Book of Common Prayer

My ponderings this week continue to be along the lines of last week... that being the idea of walking in light from the darkness.  I've been through it often enough in my spiritual walk that I know it will pass as it did recently.

Oh, there have been a few seasons where the heaviness of soul was brought about by hurricane force winds of adversity, in which the heaviness seemed to last an eternity.  Other seasons of darkness fluttered in and out, leaving just as I became aware a heavy fog in my soul was even present.

I was thinking how a number of Bible teachers, pastors, etc. have written about those seasons of life they have gone through in which their prayers seem to stop at the ceiling, the Bible did not offer peace, and they no longer "felt" the presence of God.

I'm glad I read as a young Christian that Billy Graham went through such seasons of silence, it made me feel better.  I hadn't accidentally lost my salvation or anything (my theology was not very deep as a young Christian).  Reverend Graham said such times were to help us grow our spiritual muscles as we through faith kept pursuing Him.  He does not stay silent for long.  :)

My recent (albeit temporary) descent into such thoughts and feelings caused me to seek wisdom as to a possible cause and thus... solution.  There are the usual suspects such as frustrations over financial concerns and just "not feeling well".   They were all placed at the foot of the cross and prayed over and placed in His hands... where I know all concerns are answered.

However, I do believe I received Wisdom regarding a few seeds of frustration, those which were in my immediate grasp... those in which I could do something.   I realized I had to take more control of how much the Internet invades my personal space and takes up time.

For instance, I was quite surprised at how some acquaintances could rattle my peace (I strongly doubt any of them read this blog).  So I changed my Facebook options to keep them as friends but not have them show up on my newsfeed a dozen times a day.   I didn't want to give up Facebook entirely as it is the way I keep up with family and many truly wonderful friends.  So far this has been an excellent solution.

Another solution was to continue having at least one day a week that is relatively free of the Internet.  It takes quite a bit of self control to only moderate comments, check e-mails, and quickly scan Facebook.  So I have had a couple of days already where I didn't turn on my computer at all and the world survived.  Go figure...

I've also continued to ponder the subject of creativity and our need to make something from almost nothing... as only the true Creator can actually make something from nothing.  I came across a Kindle booklet whose subject matter made me curious... a little 99 cent e-book called Creating Space: The Case for Everyday Creativity by Ed Cyzewski.  It showed up in one of those "Customers Also Bought" Amazon features on a book I was already reading.

Well, it was exactly what I needed and one of the best ninety-nine cents I ever spent.  There is nothing earth shattering or new in the small e-book but the author shares his frustrations as a writer who was not finding the time to write.  He sought God's wisdom, not just about writing but about using our creativity for Him and the results are written in this little book.  Sometimes great things really do come in small packages.  :)

He reminds us that our creative gifts... part of our calling... are God given and that it is truly important to make time for them in our days, whether it is writing, painting, cooking, baking, needlework, gardening, etc.  Using our gifts God has given us becomes a gift we give others so we must never underestimate their importance.

His story of how a few relatively minor changes in his life brought about just the transformation he needed left me inspired to do the same.  That, my friends, is a process still playing out...

As for now, the clouds have lifted and my mind is clear of the frustrations, thanks to His Wisdom brought about by prayer and reading what He brought across my path.  As I have written before, Peace is a Person.  I have been reminded of that Truth again in these past few weeks.  :)

Picture:  Time for Reading; allposters.com