Warmth flooded
through me, drenched my body, held me in the moment.
From the crown of
my head to the soles of my feet, it poured itself into me. It was a powerful,
visceral, physical sensation. It was a cleansing, it was a healing;
it was Love.
Sitting before the
cross, the beautiful cross which was shaped out of brokenness, I knew; I knew that
the shattered fragments of my own wounds were falling away.
I knew what the
woman with bleeding experienced as she touched the hem of His cloak. (Mark
6.25-29). And it was gift; pure, unearned, radical gift.
That was a month ago.
And here I was last
weekend, listening to Edwina Gateley speaking about the transformative power of
love; speaking of the importance of knowing, truly knowing, that we are deeply
loved by God, whoever we are, whatever we've done or not done, whatever wounds
life has inflicted on us. We are loved; loved beyond measure.
And sharing this
love courageously was the way to change the world. These were no empty words,
but the words of a woman whose sacrificial ministry to the homeless and the
prostitutes in Chicago has transformed lives; has literally raised them from
the gutter.
My experience before
the pottery cross came midway through a silent retreat, a whole week with the
absence of words, absence of conversation, absence of technological noise and
stimulus. And Edwina's life changing ministry was
forged and birthed in the silent desert times of her life. Considerably longer
and deeper than my experience, three months alone in the Sahara desert and
later nine months of prayer and silence in the woods of Illinois had led her to
the street people. It had given her the courage to step
beyond her comfort zone and just love, simply love, those who didn't know the
meaning of the word.
'Why?', my friend had
asked. 'Why do you go away to be silent?
Can't you do that
at home?' No.
No, you can't.
Not in the same
way. There's something significant about
intentionally stepping aside from life in order to simply 'be', to simply be
with God; to open yourself to hear His voice.
Few of us can do
this for nine months in a hermitage in the woods, but all of us can carve out
some time for silence, however brief.
Silence.
Love.
Transformation.
The essence of God.
It's rarely an easy
journey, but it can shape you in life-changing ways.
.
