September 21 – “See-Saw, Margery Daw”

Life can be a bit peculiar to us sometimes, but rarely more so than our own hearts.

We looked yesterday at some of the attractions of enclosure . . . stillness, worship, TIME to seek God. It should not surprise us that inactivity, uselessness, and ennui are some of the crushing difficulties, too.

A little stillness, injected at our pleasure into our busy lives, is a balm. When the “worship is good” at church or a retreat, we delight ourselves in it. How many times we lamented the schedules and rigors and distractions of our lives that swallow our time and keep us from God!

Twenty minutes of Quiet Delight can, as we have seen, set the tone for our day. Forty minutes of pure devotion of spirit to God alone can change our lives by changing our perspective and our inclinations! Five or ten minutes of pure enjoyment in the Presence of the Lord are not without affect, and not least of all because we aren’t there for the affect.

Yet, when we do have five or forty minutes to call our own, how often do we spend them in a chair before God, no complaining, lamenting, repenting, praying, reading . . . or telephoning . . . allowed, by our own choice?

Worship can begin in the shower or while we’re folding laundry. Does it? Do we want it, or must we have everything exactly our own way? We worship when the house is clean, the children are gone, our Bible study is up-to-date . . . and we feel like it!

One of the precious Poor Claire nuns Mother Mary Francis illustrates for us in her book A Right to Be Merry would say "it 'tisn't customary!", all this setting aside of worship and seeking after God until a more convenient time. Truly . . . "tisn't!"

We have just a little over 100 more days together. Shall we do something with them, making the most of what is given to us, not for our sake but for HIS, even though we may be the ones with only the one talent? Especially if we are only the ones with the one talent!


Monasterio El Paular"
by permission