TODAYS THOUGHT Remembrance Today is All Saints Day or Hallowmas. This day celebrates the Church Triumphant (those who have died in the faith) and is also the 30th anniversary of my ordination to the service of Christ and his Church. This is usually a very quiet day of personal retreat and reflection for me, but, this year I wanted to share a few elements of my journey and reflection with you, my friends. All those years ago, over 200 of my closest friends gathered to help me affirm the Call that Id heard on my life. These words opened the actual Rite of Ordination, Here I am, Lord. Make of me what You will, take me where You will, rank me with whom You will. Make of my life a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You. The following quote explains my understanding of this commitment better than any words I could muster. It is a commitment that I have struggled to make reality for the past 30 years. Succeeding, by the grace of God, some days and failing on so others. To love the Lord my God with all my soul will involve a spiritual cost. Ill have to give Him my heart, and let Him love through it whom and how He wills, even if this seems at times to break my heart. To love the Lord my God with all my soul will involve a volitional and emotional cost. Ill have to give Him my will, my rights to decide and choose, and all my relationships, for Him to guide and control, even when I cannot understand His reasoning. To love the Lord my God with all my mind will involve an intellectual cost. I must give Him my mind, my intelligence, my reasoning powers, and trust Him to work through them, even when He may appear to act in contradiction to common sense. To love the Lord my God with all my strength will involve a physical cost. I must give Him my body to indwell, and through which to speak, whether He chooses health or sickness, by strength or weakness, and trust Him utterly with the outcome. ― Helen Roseveare - A Living Sacrifice I have found all manner of expression for ministry over these 30 years. Pastoral ministry, healing, teaching, Spiritual Direction and now sharing with many of you the spiritual journey via the internet. I want to thank each of you simply for your presence, your friendship, support and encouragement. I dont know what the next step of this journey will be, but I do know that you will be a part of it. I hope you will enjoy the music and that the images will speak to you of Gods call in your own life to simply be a presence of the possible in the reality in which we live and journey together each day. https://youtube/watch?v=qFFhZM4rn-c
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:58:30 +0000