I am on retreat this weekend, listening to Margaret Silf from England discuss the topic, The Other Side of Chaos: Breaking Through When Life is Breaking Down. Tonight's session was entitled "When the Plough Goes Through" which got quite a chuckle due to the snow storm threatening to blow through tonight and tomorrow.
Margaret is delightful--witty, British, thought-provoking, and inspiring. The Brits have a lovely way about them. I think I will find rest here. The image she created tonight was based on a story of a man who ploughed a field and had the creatures who walked through it, respond in upheaval. The once grassy path was now deeply furrowed and not so easily maneuvered. However, flocks of birds embraced the change, discovering food in the newly upturned soil. Silf made the link that when life ploughs up our fields, God can prepare the ground for new seeding and a new harvest, a new way of being human.
Think about the times in your own life when the plough of circumstance has messed up your life. Not everything bad happens for a reason but when the plough does come through, something new may arise, perhaps something that has been buried. This unexpected grace can be a treasure . She gave the example of the para-Olympians who when asked why they were here as athletes answered, "I'm here by accident." Literally. The play on words caught my attention. How often do we end up somewhere we never meant to?
From my own experience, I know that the death of my sister tore a huge and ugly gash in my life geography, changing me forever. I would never wish my experience on anyone, but I do know that twenty years later, I am grateful for the crop that came out of the turning up of the soil of my life. I see how it has and still continues to shape me, to hold lightly to all things but to embrace with gratitude for whatever experience I have, whether short or long. I think in some ways, my sister's death nudged me towards Ignatian spirituality and that very lesson.
Silf suggested that any real spiritual growth does not happen on mountain tops but in the valley where you realize you cannot do it yourself but that you need God. The gusts of wind that threaten to overwhelm you, push you into what supports you. When life knocks you sideways, you are now able to look in a new direction. She spoke of St. Ignatius and his grumbling attitude as he convalesced after being wounded. Suddenly, life took on a whole different direction for him, for which I personally 450 years later, am incredibly grateful. Sometimes, when life lets you down, you end up at Christ's feet. She used the story of the paralytic whose friends tore off the roof to lower him down to Jesus to illustrate this.
I like the spirit of this retreat and coming here always feels like coming home. The sisters who run the place are so welcoming to me. I have taken refuge here many times in my life and come away so much wiser and peaceful. The women who come to these events...and God bless those men who should be here listening too but who rarely take time out to do so...are familiar faces and open spirits. There is always good conversation.
May the plough turn up some interesting new food for me this weekend.
Peace,
Suzanne
No comments:
Post a Comment