Wednesday, October 31, 2007

In the Hands of the Lord: A Message from the first days of NY Yearly Meeting

On Sunday NY Yearly Meeting convened to begin our weeklong session. While sitting in Meeting on Sunday at the opening Meeting for worship this message came to me. I was drawn to give special thanks to those who work for NY Yearly Meeting full time and for every other Quaker organization in the country. I am reminded that for me it is a particularly scary concept to dedicate ones entire life and time to God’s calling. I, who am plagued by doubts and questions about what it is God calls me to do within the Religious Society of Friends, have a hard time imagining a calling so strong that one would give up other options of jobs and life styles to dedicate themselves to the workings of our religious society and community. I personally always wonder and worry if I chose a life focused entirely on my religious community my other gifts and my other callings to work in other communities would be lost. On the other hand I sometimes wonder if I hide behind other things I do, as a way of escaping what God is calling me to do, because it scares me.
I thank God that there are people with the strength, wisdom and courage to make that choice to become “full-time Quakers” as it where. Yet I remind myself that God’s callings are often frightening and not easy. Religion especially Quakerism is not easy and often frightening. Too often I think we let ourselves think of Quakerism as an easy safe thing. We sometimes forget that in its demand that we all open ourselves to God and dedicate every facet of our lives to Her grace and glory, Quakerism is the very antithesis of safe and easy.
My prayer for myself and NY Yearly Meeting would be that we do not loose sight of the fact that ours is a strong, rich, powerful, living, demanding, frightening, enlightening and beautiful faith. We must not be afraid of doing what is hard or spiritually frightening. God often calls us to move out of the space we feel comfortable and walk a hard and sometimes dangerous road. I hope that we all listen for, discern and except our leadings as God gives them to us, no matter what they might be. Even if they scare us. Let us all be open to the Spirit, to move among us. Make us a vessel of Your light and Your will. We must trust that God loves us, watches over us and will not lead us astray. No matter how huge a jump God seems to be requiring of us, She is always there protecting us and making sure we come down where we need to be. We must trust God knows the path, even if we don’t, and that is the most frightening thing of all, and also the most joyful and beautiful.
I am reminded of a passage from Paul. Paul new what it meant to be called by God to do what he thought he could not do. When God called Paul, God called him to go against everything he had previously believed, everything he had been taught, everything he valued, everything he defined himself as, everything his community and his family defined themselves as. God called Paul to do what he had previously believed would be impossible for him to do. Paul knew the power of the Spirit of God, and knew how it can shape, reshape and set afire your life when you surrender to it. Paul writes in Second Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom” and I believe that. I believe that.

5 comments:

Liz Opp said...

Thanks for this post, Anna. I agree that Quakerism demands us to do the thing we think we cannot do, to paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt.

And thanks, too, for coming by The Good Raised Up and leaving a comment. It sounds like we'll meet one another in PIttsburgh, God willling!

Blessings,
Liz Opp, The Good Raised Up

Friendly Mama said...

Anna,
Your post made this vague notion I've had in my head for a while coalesce into an idea. For me, being drawn to Religious Society of Friends was about taking responsibility for my own spirituality, in the same way that choosing to have a homebirth was about taking responsibility for my own emotional and physical well being in the act of creating life. Over time, I came to accept God as the center of my life and Jesus as my teacher and I understand that taking responsibility was only the first step. Learning to trust God to guide me so that I can let go of control was my next lesson.
Taking responsibility and then letting go of control. Hard things to do in this ego-centered world.
Mary Linda

Anonymous said...

What curious topic

oakleyses said...

coach purses, louis vuitton, louis vuitton outlet, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors outlet, coach outlet, michael kors outlet, oakley sunglasses cheap, kate spade outlet, prada handbags, oakley sunglasses, ray ban sunglasses, tiffany and co, chanel handbags, oakley sunglasses, louboutin, burberry outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet, michael kors outlet, michael kors outlet, tiffany and co, burberry outlet, nike free, coach outlet store online, gucci outlet, louis vuitton handbags, longchamp outlet, louis vuitton outlet stores, michael kors outlet, air max, polo ralph lauren outlet, louboutin outlet, true religion jeans, true religion jeans, kate spade handbags, longchamp handbags, tory burch outlet, jordan shoes, louis vuitton outlet, christian louboutin shoes, nike shoes, michael kors outlet, air max, coach factory outlet, prada outlet, longchamp handbags, louboutin

oakleyses said...

jimmy choo outlet, ugg boots, new balance shoes, birkin bag, vans shoes, soccer jerseys, canada goose, north face jackets, chi flat iron, mcm handbags, canada goose uk, insanity workout, ugg pas cher, asics running shoes, instyler, nike huarache, p90x, giuseppe zanotti, bottega veneta, valentino shoes, nike roshe run, ferragamo shoes, canada goose, moncler, abercrombie and fitch, herve leger, hollister, nfl jerseys, soccer shoes, longchamp, mont blanc, mac cosmetics, ugg australia, lululemon outlet, ugg, babyliss pro, rolex watches, canada goose outlet, marc jacobs, north face outlet, celine handbags, ugg boots, ghd, reebok outlet, wedding dresses, beats by dre, canada goose, uggs outlet, canada goose jackets