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Plans For Good, Not For Evil
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest. Yes, says the Lord, I will be found by you, and I will end your slavery and restore your fortunes, and gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you back home again to your own land.
-Jeremiah 29: 11-14
I have read that scripture many, many times. Recently when I read it again I was absolutely brought to tears. There was so much in there that meant so much more than it ever had.
Plans for good, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. I will listen and you will find me if you look for me in earnest. I will end your slavery, restore your fortunes and bring you back to your own land! Sounds just like the political news channels or maybe where you work, doesn't it? Hardly.
Yet we go through our days tuned in to all the worldly things around us. Some of it is important, yes. But most of it isn't. Why do we look to humans for our answers? There's only one human we should look to and he was both human AND divine. His father was the author of the statement I opened this blog with!
On Tuesday, I started my third and final year in my Spiritual Direction certification. I've once again been submerged in Ignatius - the Spiritual Exercises, Lectio Divina, Examen, Discernment of Spirits, Contemplative Prayer, Centering Prayer. And, once again, I've had my perspective challenged.
As I was sitting in our all day class at the prayer house, it was a beautiful day and we were all filled up spiritually. We watched a video series to round out the day and I was challenged by my longing to live the contemplative life versus the worldly life of responsibility, the quiet life versus the life of achievement.
But then I realized that Ignatius teaches us to bring God into everything in our life. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly. He understood that we have certain responsibilities here on earth and that it's possible to have a retreat in the real world on a daily basis, moment by moment. We do that by bringing the sacred to the mundane and keeping him in the forefront of our minds as we go about our daily life.
So as I was meditating on the scripture verses above, I began to cry. It suddenly became clear to me that God is already here. We just have to be aware of him. That could be done by carrying something special in your pocket to remind you, wearing a cross or medal around your neck, wearing a prayer bracelet or using your smartphone background image to remind you.
No matter what we do, he will always be there planning good for us, listening to us, coming to us if we earnestly look for him, ending our slavery, restoring our fortunes and bringing us back home to our own land. That doesn't mean that bad things won't happen. It just means that he will be there and carry us through when they do. I don't know of one person who can do all that. Do you?
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Comment
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Comment by AEDforever (Ali) on September 23, 2012 at 2:01pm -
Very lovely interpretation. I can't STAND it when Christian preachers claim that you can avoid "bad things from happening" by praying harder, louder, stronger, or having "more faith". Jesus prayed so hard in the Garden that he sweated blood, asking "if it is possible" to have his future execution taken away. But no, that didn't happen.
We live in a fallen world, and that means yes, bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. It can make a person crazy trying to figure out the "why"..trust me..i know..i've tried.
most answers i have to give these days are ..."i don't know", "i don't know", and "i don't know".
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Comment by Singledadof9 on September 22, 2012 at 10:45pm -
BAW, sooner than later is better! ;)
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Comment by bad ass widow on September 22, 2012 at 8:50pm -
Maybe some day....
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Comment by Singledadof9 on September 22, 2012 at 8:44am
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Lori those are the things to hold onto. While it hurts on one side because if you two had such a great marriage why did this happen? But on the other side this is comforting because you begin to find out how you've blessed others in ways you never knew! These are great insights to hold onto in the months and years to come. You may even find some value in keeping a journal. The journey is worth that! Have a great weekend!
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Comment by Lori on September 22, 2012 at 1:29am -
thank you I need to put the scripture in my pocket. I was reminded to night by a friend of what Mark and I acceptance and faith together meant to them. God blessed my husbands suffering and others came to know Christ because of that. I get so short sighted sometimes.
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Comment by Singledadof9 on September 22, 2012 at 12:48am
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Thank you Gina. It's amazing how we can get to the point that we realize this. Others don't understand but this is one of the "blessings" that come out of a terrible situation. Thank you for commenting and God Bless. :)
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Comment by ginadf on September 22, 2012 at 12:40am
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Beautiful blog SD. Good luck on your spriritual journey. When i finally accepted God into my life and glorified in all his goodness and all he has done for me, then and only then was I able to accept the death of my husband. Of course, when all this happend to my husband, my first reaction was to be angry at God. But then He reminded me of all the good things he had done for me since the day i was born. First, i was born to the most amazing a caring parents anyone could ask for, then i survived a terrible accident, got me through some rebellious years, led me to my husband where we were blessed with two beautiful daughters and three wonderful grandchildren. He knew eventually Sal would be sick, and I was the one that would be there for him and care for him. This was His plan, and I believe in his plan. And I await with anticipation for my next calling. I wish only to serve Him, by continuing to live my life in a way he would be proud. and by living a good rightous life, i know that one day he will reunite us together again!!!! God Bless
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