Words of Wisdom from THE DAILY OFFICE - part 5

Blogger's note:  Still catching up on posting.  This entry is from my rehearsal handout from Wednesday, August 31.

I find it interesting (though not at all welcome) that today finds us with two choir members out of town to look after parents with age-related health issues. We will be careful to lift them up in our prayers not only now, but in the days to come. Your prayers for me and my family in a similar situation were life-blood to us.

Even though it has taken me more than 8 weeks to go through Peter Scazzero’s 8-week spiritual journey, The Daily Office, it may be about time to let this be the final Musings in the series … next week’s Musings will tell you whether I decided to end it here or not. Here are some of the things I found noteworthy enough to copy into my journal:

We want to follow Jesus into the abundant life of resurrection. But we are less than enthusiastic about following him into the Garden of Gethsemane. ~ Peter Scazzero.

Catastrophic loss by definition precludes recovery. It will transform us or destroy us, but it will never leave us the same. There is no going back to the past. … It is not therefore true that we become less through loss – unless we allow the loss to make us less, grinding our soul down until there is nothing left. … Loss can also make us more. I did not get over the loss of my loved ones; rather, I absorbed the loss into my life … until it became part of who I am. Sorrow took up permanent residence in my soul and enlarged it. … One learns the pain of others by suffering one’s own pain, by turning inside oneself, by finding one’s own soul. … However painful, sorrow is good for the soul … the soul is elastic, like a balloon. It can grow larger through suffering. ~ Gerald Sittser

Getting off our thrones and joining the rest of humanity is a must for spiritual maturity. We are not the center of the universe. The universe does not revolve around us.

Yet a part of us hates limits. We won’t accept them. This is one of the primary reasons grieving our loss biblically is such an indispensable part of spiritual maturity.
Embracing our limits humbles us like little else. ~ Peter Scazzero

We should bring to God what is in us, not what ought to be in us. The “oughts” will keep us from telling the truth. They will also keep us from feeling the truth. Especially the truth about our pain. ~ C. S. Lewis

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.