Love this Shannon! Brought me to tears this am. Thanks for this reflection. Here’s to hoping all (or most!) of our planted seeds sprout, flourish, and multiply!
I loved the show-not-tell description of how prayer can sometimes feel holy and sacred and sometimes simply be raw and human. The ritual is not more sacred than the unfiltered honesty, but I needed to be given permission to be fully and completely honest with God in prayer, so I appreciate the both/and description! The image of praying before your altar with candles and holy water juxtaposed with the anger, grief, and overall WTF that real life brings invites me to live in the contradictions of life and to be present in where I am and what I need. Do I need to yell at God? That is prayer. Do I need routine? That is prayer. Do I need both? That is prayer, too. All of us, all of our humanity, no matter what state we are in, can be brought before God, and you reminded me of that today. Thank you!
Also, “God is the child.” I will be pondering that reframing!
Yes! This is absolutely true. I mean, I know it in my head, right? We all do. We look at the Psalms and understand that prayer can look a lot of different ways, we might feel a lot of different things. But when the juxtaposition exists within you - not on a page - it can be disorienting and confusing. Our primal brain doesn't like integration very much. Its important for us to talk about, acknowledge and share that. So thanks for this very thoughtful comment.
Exactly! I think the matter is also complicated when I was raised in a faith tradition that was very either/or and black/white in how they framed things. Now learning to live in the gray and accept the both/and of things is an adjustment, but it’s so much more freeing! And having these discussions/bringing it to the light gives permission for others to step out of the binaries and step into their full selves.
I loved hearing you read this beautiful essay Shannon, I'll save and come back to this. Or maybe ponder it when I'm gardening with my own kids. I love your image of God as the child gardener, planting with patient trust ❤️
Thanks, Debbie. Yeah, the sudden realization of that metaphor was such a delightful surprise for me! Sometimes the old ways of knowing grow stale and turning them upside down suddenly makes more sense than keeping them upright!
Much beauty, wisdom, and honesty here. Appreciate that. But the f-bomb ruins it for me. I know usage of profanity is common nowadays. But I’m unashamedly of the generation that views it a crude cheap shot. Sorry. I’m outta here.
Thanks for your input, Anita. I do try to steward my words carefully in this space, but when it comes to cancer there are few words that communicate the anger, despair, fear, and grief quite so well.
Damn, this is good. Shannon can write, Shannon is a writer. Thank you, Shannon.
Ha, thanks Mike!
Love this Shannon! Brought me to tears this am. Thanks for this reflection. Here’s to hoping all (or most!) of our planted seeds sprout, flourish, and multiply!
Amen to that Mary Kay!
I loved the show-not-tell description of how prayer can sometimes feel holy and sacred and sometimes simply be raw and human. The ritual is not more sacred than the unfiltered honesty, but I needed to be given permission to be fully and completely honest with God in prayer, so I appreciate the both/and description! The image of praying before your altar with candles and holy water juxtaposed with the anger, grief, and overall WTF that real life brings invites me to live in the contradictions of life and to be present in where I am and what I need. Do I need to yell at God? That is prayer. Do I need routine? That is prayer. Do I need both? That is prayer, too. All of us, all of our humanity, no matter what state we are in, can be brought before God, and you reminded me of that today. Thank you!
Also, “God is the child.” I will be pondering that reframing!
Yes! This is absolutely true. I mean, I know it in my head, right? We all do. We look at the Psalms and understand that prayer can look a lot of different ways, we might feel a lot of different things. But when the juxtaposition exists within you - not on a page - it can be disorienting and confusing. Our primal brain doesn't like integration very much. Its important for us to talk about, acknowledge and share that. So thanks for this very thoughtful comment.
Exactly! I think the matter is also complicated when I was raised in a faith tradition that was very either/or and black/white in how they framed things. Now learning to live in the gray and accept the both/and of things is an adjustment, but it’s so much more freeing! And having these discussions/bringing it to the light gives permission for others to step out of the binaries and step into their full selves.
I would wager a guess that this would be relatable to most of us here!
I loved hearing you read this beautiful essay Shannon, I'll save and come back to this. Or maybe ponder it when I'm gardening with my own kids. I love your image of God as the child gardener, planting with patient trust ❤️
Thanks, Debbie. Yeah, the sudden realization of that metaphor was such a delightful surprise for me! Sometimes the old ways of knowing grow stale and turning them upside down suddenly makes more sense than keeping them upright!
**Conversation with my 2.5 yr old**
Her: What are you doing daddy?
Me: I’m reading about gardening with children.
Her: Gar’ning? Chil’ren?
Me: Are you a children?
Her: I’m a Superman.
Me: You’re a Superman?
Her: Yeah, I’m a Superman.
Me: ok then
I love a Superman girl 🥰
Speechless. Just had church.
Well you always told me women should preach. :)
And boy, do you EVER! 👍👍👌❤️
Much beauty, wisdom, and honesty here. Appreciate that. But the f-bomb ruins it for me. I know usage of profanity is common nowadays. But I’m unashamedly of the generation that views it a crude cheap shot. Sorry. I’m outta here.
Thanks for your input, Anita. I do try to steward my words carefully in this space, but when it comes to cancer there are few words that communicate the anger, despair, fear, and grief quite so well.
Your words of this experience with Oscar definitely draw a real-life picture of Philippians 4:8…. ♥️🙏🏻
Oh that's precious. That's my little man alright!
Thank you for this - absolutely beautiful! It reminds me of Bill Staines’ song, “The Quiet Faith of God.” 🙏
Oh, I'm not familiar with it. I'll need to look that one up today!
Thanks for letting me know that, Chanel. It means a lot.