Stop! Don’t Worry! Trust God!
Mary Jacks of Redmond, OR, USA
When your willingness to live in sacred community as Christ’s new creation exceeds your natural fear of spiritual and relational transformation, you will become who you are called to be. The rise of Zion the beautiful, the peaceful reign of Christ, awaits your wholehearted response to the call to make and steadfastly hold to God’s covenant of peace in Jesus Christ. -Doctrine and Covenants 164:9b
STOP! DON’T WORRY!
I had been sequestered in my home since March and much of the cultural and physical world around me was in turmoil. On June 10 I woke up with red lights flashing “Stop!” Then, in green neon lights, “Don’t Worry!” Being a facilitator in dream groups and getting my certificate in dreams, I was puzzled that I really had no idea what I had been dreaming about before. How could I forget “Stop! Don’t Worry!“? I had never experienced anything like this before in a dream. I decided to live with it to see where it would lead since most dreams are for healing and wholeness and we usually dream five to seven times a night.
A month later I woke up with a profound sense of gratitude. Again, I couldn’t recall what I had been dreaming about. Two days later I again woke up with such an overwhelming sense of gratitude. With my spiritual director, I decided to trust what was evolving in my life. What was going on in this darkness of night while I was sleeping? I was reminded of a quote from Joan Chittister: “Darkness deserves gratitude. It is the alleluia point at which we learn to understand that all growth does not take place in the sunlight.”
I decided to let go a little more and let God move within me in this darkness. Trusting God has always been difficult for me for I have experienced much in life. Still, I had made inroads on this path of trust. What was birthing in me that was happening in this darkness at night? Was it going deeper in trust?
Long-ago woundedness and shame came up to be healed. I surmised that I couldn’t really be healed without forgiveness. As Henri Nouwen states: “Hiding our pain we also hide our ability to heal…” (“No Hiding.” August 29, 2020). When I read that the True Self cannot be hurt, I went inside and knew I was connected to the Whole, as Rohr states, that is inexhaustible and unhurtable. My “True Me” is indestructible. All my hurts and feelings of being offended come from my separate self (Nouwen, “Trusting in the ‘True You,'” September 2, 2020). My journey of reconciliation has begun. What else is there to be grateful for as I continue this cyclical journey of trust in this time of turmoil as I go into the darkness?
Trust Me, Mary! Is this what is birthing in me at this time of Advent? I will put on my “Trust God!” t-shirt!
Stop! Don’t Worry! Trust God!
Prayer Phrase
“Trust what is being born.”
Spiritual Practice
Jesus, the Peaceful One
We have spent this year with a guiding question: Are we moving closer to Jesus, the Peaceful One? As we near the end of this calendar year, we review how this question has been shaping and forming us. In our thoughts, words, and actions, have we been embodying Jesus, the Peaceful One? What might it look like to move closer to Jesus, the Peaceful One as we make space in our lives for Christ incarnate this Advent season?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
