Category: Reflections

Four Prayerful Reflections on Play Being a Form of Prayer

Playing is another form of refreshing prayer just as creativity is.  It can be “played out” in many ways.  We can play alone or with others.  It can involve the physical activity of sports or the sedentary activity of playing cards.  It can be dinner and a movie alone or with friends.  One of my favorite forms of play is what Julia Cameron of the ARTISTS WAY, refers to as the Artist Date.  The Artist Date is when we set aside at least 30 minutes a week to experience something different, doing something we have done before but in a different way or maybe it is something we have done before, but we haven’t done it in a while.  

Artist Dates are times when our play is not done with anyone else except our Creator. I call them Jesus Dates.

Because you do it alone with God, it is a special way of being the prayer.  Being conscience of the presence of God helps you to see things in ways that you haven’t seen them before.  It is no longer a flea market item.  Who created it? Who used it?  Was it a gift?  For what occasion? What can I do with it?  You can find yourself praying for the former owners.  Every Artist Date can be reflective.  It can be a journey of imagination and wonder.  

God’s ways are infinite and the possible reflections that come from these dates bring about a union with God that can be both prayerful and refreshing.  

The best way to experience an Artist Date is to go out, but that is not always possible.  It requires some creativity to figure out something to do in the house, but it can be done.  The cup of tea is done thoughtfully as it turns into a tea party.  The basement or attic can become the garage sale with new items to discover.  The effort to leave the house or use your imagination within your home can, at times, seem daunting, but the results are worth it.  

As we grow up and the stresses of the world weigh heavy upon us, we often neglect the use of our imagination.  It seems childish, but it is not.  

God used His imagination to create the world.  Allow Him to continue to use it through you.

As you are filled with God, you will be helping others if you offer the date up as a prayer.  It is you being the prayer.  A means of praying without ceasing.  It is not just an afternoon of bicycling, taking a walk or going to a museum.  You will be refreshed and that will help you to willingly be there for your neighbor in need.  You will come out of your playful time with a greater infilling of God and that is just what the world needs.  While I am focusing on playing alone and calling them Artist Dates, this is also true when we are with friends.  People hold God, the Creator, within them.  When we are with others and mindful of that, we are in union with God as we experience His love and imagination being expressed through them.  With your very life, it is a beautiful prayer to offer up.   Either way, if we are mindful of God’s presence, play can be a time of refreshment, a fruitful  prayer and preparation for giving our neighbors what we have been filled up with…God.

Questions to Prayerfully Reflect On 

Pray and reflect on Peter being a part of the imagination of Jesus in order to be obedient  from Matt 17:24-27.

Pray and reflect on the servants being a part of the imagination of Jesus in order to help the newly married couple while, at the same time, starting His mission.  John 2:1-12.

When was the last time you were open to being imaginative?  Talk to God about it.

What are some ways you might play alone or with friends in order to be refreshed, closer to God and be the prayer?  Talk to God about them

FOUR REFLECTIONS ON CREATIVITY BEING A FORM OF PRAYER

Creativity is a form of prayer that deeply unites us to God because He is the Creator of all things and we are the means by which His creativity is brought to the world.

While all we do is a form of creativity not all forms of it are as refreshing as others.  For instance, the person baking for the joy of it will be more refreshed than the one who bakes for a living and must deal with the stress of deadlines.  Creativity that refreshes us fills us up with God and enables us to then give Him to others, not just through what we are creating, but whenever and wherever we are needed.  This is because we have been refreshed and relieved of some of our stress.  If someone is stressed and not too happy about having to help out, chances are good they have not taken the time to refresh themselves in some manner.  

Creativity is a remedy to relieve stress, a method of prayer and a means to being able to say yes to helping others.

I find creativity to be one of my favorite forms of prayer.  I sense a deep union with God through it  because I know it is He that is creating through me.  I am aware that on my own, it is not going to happen.  That doesn’t mean that each time I try to do something creative it is going to end up being a priceless work of art.  Not even close.  Ask my sons about my lilac painting that looks like a bunch of grapes.  It doesn’t matter to me.  I just enjoy the prayerfulness of it.  As in all forms of prayer, there is a process by which the union grows and in this case so does the art.  We may want our drawing, for instance, to look like a thoroughbred horse only to find that it looks more like a donkey.  Did God make a mistake with the donkey?  No.  It is perfect just as it was created to be.  We judge our results.  God does not.  He is simply pleased by our love.  St. Paul said that we are to pray without ceasing (1Thes 5:16-18). Creativity is one way to help towards this.

If we are mindful that we are one with God and that in that union He is creating through us, we are experiencing prayer.  By our very lives we become the prayer.  

Anytime we create, we feel better.  When the project is finished, we feel even better and we feel refreshed because by creating in union with Jesus, we become filled up with Him.  When we consistently keep this form of prayer going, the interruptions in life are met with greater calm and we find that we are better able to give Jesus to others.  We can give Him to others because we have first received Him.  Afterwards, we can go back to the pool of prayer to be filled up with Jesus again and creativity is one of the pools we can dip into. 

Questions to Prayerfully Ponder

What forms of creativity do you enjoy?

Have you ever reflected on God being the Creator who creates through you?  Do you understand that by being mindful of that when you create, you are engaging in a prayer that deeply unites you to Him?

Is life stressful?  Do you need more creativity in your life? 

Are you having trouble knowing what form of creativity to start?  What types of creativity did you enjoy when you were younger?  Might you be able to pick that activity up again?

7 REFLECTIONS TO HELP US BLOOM WHEN GOD’S GARDENING PLAN IS NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED

Bloom where you are planted is something we hear often, but what happens when we don’t bloom as expected?

REFLECTION 

The tree outside my house blooms too early, in my opinion, every year. In April it decides it’s spring and blooms. Unfortunately the days of a warm April spring have long since passed and it blooms only to find its blossoms to be tossed to the ground by the spring winds and rain. More often than not I can only enjoy them for one or two days top. This year it didn’t follow its normal patter.  Much like everything else these days, I guess. It started to bloom on the tips of the branches and then stopped. Day after cold day it showed no progress.  It reminded me of so much of what is going on during this quarantine. Life was progressing and then it stopped. Like the tree we are frozen in time.

I started to wonder if it would bloom. Would I get to actually enjoy it longer this year? Will the blossoms still be on the tree only a day or two? Would more people get to enjoy it now that so many are out walking? Would people miss the chance to see it in full bloom if they skipped walking one day? As I was pondering the growth of the tree I realized that what I was wondering about, the tree wasn’t. In fact, nobody was wondering, but me. The tree didn’t focus on anything other than glorifying God. It would bloom when God said it was time to and God would be glorified by it whether one person saw it or many.  Nobody needed to plan to see the tree.  The gift was there and those who were open to seeing it and those God needed to see it, would see.  The truth is that God is in control and all the tree needs to do is be the tree it is meant to be,

APPLYING IT TO LIFE

  • How many times do we worry about the outcome and forget to enjoy the process? 
  • How often do we decide that success is determined by how many see our efforts? 
  • How often do we take inventory of our needs, determine what we need to do in order to have our needs met and then get upset when things do not go as planned? 

Unplanned circumstances that cause us to freeze in time, while at the same time, fill our heads with questions is not something limited to a health quarantine.  In fact, whenever circumstances are difficult, we often give ourselves a self-imposed quarantine as we feel stuck and don’t know which way to turn.  Currently, because of the quarantine, I am trying to decide if this is the right time for me to retire.  I saw this as happening in a year or two so the  suddenness and uncertainty are real.  Through it I know who has the answers and I am trying to follow God’s lead, while at the same time, trying to enjoy the journey.  

Trying to enjoy the journey when it’s difficult requires some daily reflection on where we are interiorly.  Some reflections that may be pondered for all of us in times such as these may be:

  • Am I experiencing peace or anxiety?
  • Am I trusting or trying to control?
  • Am I listening in silence?
  • In spite of all the difficulties, am I trying to enjoy this time in my life that will never come again?

Hidden within the moments that are difficult or unplanned are opportunities to grow and trust in God.  In each of us He is writing a Gospel story.  We need not worry about what is ahead.  We need only seek Him in the now.  

How we will proceed will depend on our trust in God.  He invites us to be totally emptied so He can fill us with His divinity.  Part of that means giving Him the wheel in the midst of our circumstances.  While God is always with us, we have the free will to decide if we want His help and to what degree we want it.  Oftentimes we play tug-of war in that we want it and then we act like we are in control and don’t want the help.  The choice is ours.

SEVEN REFLECTIONS FOR PRAYERFUL PONDERING

  • Read and reflect on Matthew 6:24-34
  • Is there something in your life that is not blooming as you had planned or that you had planned on and yet is far more difficult than you had thought?
  • Can you find gifts hidden for you within these circumstances that you had not planned on? 
  • Are you acting as if you are the only one who can solve the problem?  Or are you giving it to God and staying open to how He is directing you through prayer, others and the circumstances? 
  • Are you looking for the love, peace and joy during this time?
  • Are you trusting that step by step God is there?
  • Talk to God about all this. You are on the cross in the suffering that the uncertainty brings.  On this cross, can you see that by your very life you are an unceasing prayer?  Who can you offer the prayer of this part of your life up for?

Three Practices We Can Maintain So That We Can Make a Difference

Each person is a precious gift given to us in our lives and we are a gift to others.  Deep down we understand this and that is why we all want to make a difference.  There are three practices that can help us towards this end.

1.  Respect the value of others

We marvel at so much in this world, but we are  the greatest marvel for each of us holds the Divine within.  

If you really think about that and let it sink in, that is amazing.   We go through our day in such a hurry and with so many things to do that we neglect that truth.

We have all seen statistics beaten and have heard stories of individuals who society would have bet on being lost flourish because they were consistently shown value.  It is a hard thing to do, however.  Life is so busy and the stress is so great at times that we simply don’t have time to respect the value of others.  

2.  Be Mindful that Every Moment of Every Day Holds God

We must find God in the ordinary ways of our life and in the lives of others.  

It is good to grow in this and become more aware that He is there in the good times and bad, the unexpected fun and in the ordinary, the joy and the tears, the work and the play and in our lives and others. 

3.  Build Our Relationship With God and Neighbor

Being aware of the presence of God can be lost in the weight of our days so building on our relationship with Him and practicing self care so we can love Him in our neighbor is vital.  In fact, these practices are foundational to making a sustainable difference.

We need to take time to pray, play, create and give gratitude.  The more we are filled with God through prayer and refreshment, the more we will be able to give to others.  The more we give to others, the more they will see their value.  

The more people see that they are loved and valued, the better this world will be.  

I don’t know how this blog will develop over time.  Like you, I am on a journey and I cannot see that far ahead.  I can only plan for what I see directly ahead of me.  My plans for the moment are to post things related to these three areas.   By living lives filled with praying, playing, creating and gratitude and finding God in the ordinary day and in our neighbor, I hope we can all be encouraged to have the fortitude necessary to make a difference.  It is in discovering that God is always there and always within that we discover that we aren’t simply living our lives.  

Instead we discover that we are the continual prayer in all we do.  

By being the continual prayer, we are always making a difference and giving value to others, even if we don’t see it.  We don’t know what tomorrow brings.  

We only know that each moment holds love and hope because each moment holds God and together with Him, we can make a difference even if we feel we are small and ordinary.  

Prayerfully reflect on where you currently stand in these three areas and then talk to God about it.