At a recent appointment my Physical Therapist asked if I always do everything (including my exercises) so darn fast. “Oh Yes”, I said, “Always have”. There have been consequences for moving so fast (likely including my current need for Physical Therapy) and one has been rushing right by the message God had meant for me. Part of exercising muscles in Physical Therapy, I’m learning, is to do the work slow – and that can be a challenge. It can be said that the slow work of God is the same, and that the intentions we set for ourselves during Lent offer us a chance to learn the art of slow work. I’d like to share the following with you:
On Sunday I was up late preparing for women’s bible study and the concluding words of the chapter came from Sacred Scripture: “He your teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it’ whenever you turn to the right or the left”. (Isaiah 30:20-21) Being one who writes all over the margins of my books, I wrote a message that said: “Oh how I love this verse!”, and then I went to bed.
One of my Lenten intentions this year has been to follow a reflection provided by an Ignatian Spirituality Group in Australia. This morning, I signed into my email to read today’s reflection which happens to be titled “The Seeds of Drivenness” and found the first words of the reflection were from Scripture: “Your teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:20-21)
My jaw dropped! The same verse in two days? What are you trying to teach me, God? Even this “rush-arounder” couldn’t miss this!
From my office window, I see our PE Teacher Mr. Braunstein teaching his students to play kickball on the baseball field. His students must be new at Kickball because they are a whirl of twirling bodies trying to determine where – and in which direction – they should run when the ball is kicked. Mr. Braunstein is making use of his legs, arms and whistle to help them figure out where they should go. They are relying completely on him, their teacher.
“He your teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it’ whenever you turn to the right or the left”.
I suppose God sometimes sees us as “whirly-twirly” bodies that rush around too fast looking to be told where – and in which direction – to run when the balls of life are kicked. Thank you, God, that we have You, our teacher, reminding us through Sacred Scripture that You are not hidden, our eyes can see, our ears can hear, the way to walk – to the right or the left.
With Love,
Mary