949AFC120409
Happy Aloha Friday, Beloved! Today I am thinking about waiting. We are just days away from Christmas 2009, it is the Advent Season, and we are waiting for…
Hmm, what are we waiting for? When I was a kid I was waiting for Christmas morning. Santa would be up most of the night putting stuff under the tree and into stockings. Dad pile a few dining room chairs in the middle of the hall so the six of us kids couldn’t get into the living room without making a lot of racket. I never did find out where Santa hid all the treasure until Christmas Eve.
One of the things we waited for back then was reading the Christmas story. We had this big, thick, red book called EGERMEIER’S BIBLE STORY BOOK. It is in my library now. We would all sit down and listen eagerly while mom read that story. At least that’s how I remember it. I think I may have gotten to read it once or twice. Getting to that part of the year always meant waiting. Whether it was the spiritual waiting for the birth of Jesus, or the temporal waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus, we waited.
I am not particularly good at waiting.
I am an impatient person. I don’t like to be. I don’t want to be. But, I am impatient. When I take and internal inventory sometimes, I admit I am surprised by how many things tick me off, irritate me, and make me impatient. Traffic is one of the worst. I very consciously watch the speed limit, do my defensive driving thing, and try to be courteous. Then something happens and courtesy flies out the window with a few choice invectives to carry it along.
I can be explosive, too. Some of us can make a big boom and it’s over. I’m more like Kilauea Volcano here on the Big Island. I can make a big boom and then “go-off” for a long time. I hate that, but I have to admit it happens and I don’t seem to be able to do much about the continuing after-shocks. I know it’s wrong, but I also know it’s part of me; it’s a part that needs to be tamed. Easy to say. Hard to do. But I learned something last Sunday, and all of this is preamble to sharing it with you.
Psalm 46:10: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
Here’s a tactic I learned from Fr. Roland Bunda as a way to learn how to increase one’s patience, one’s capacity to wait. Pray this verse. Find a place and a time when you can practice this process. I’m going to put it into a little box so that if you want to, you can print it out and put it someplace special.
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT
BE STILL AND KNOW
BE STILL
BE
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
BE
BE STILL
BE STILL AND KNOW
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
Use the first part to help clear you mind and center your thoughts. It’s not difficult to remember the process. What could be difficult is taking the time to do it deliberately. That takes patience. It takes practice. Practice patience. This is Patience Practice, so make time to give it a fair go. You can read though the words in that little box in maybe 12 seconds. Take 12 minutes instead. Too long? Make it six minutes. Still too long? OK then, make it 3.
Then pick a word that you can think about. Just one word, a name of God for example. Jehovah, Abba, Jesus, Father, Spirit, Adonai, Elohim, Eli. My favorite is El Shaddai. Just think about that name and repeat it slowly for up to 10 minutes.
This is how we often ask God for patience: “God! Teach me to be patient! And make it snappy!” Being still and waiting for the Lord is an amazingly effective way to “attract” God’s presence. We are made in His image and therefore have an innate, irresistible affinity for Him. Our selfish impatience resists that affinity. Waiting is an act of humility. Humility is something else I need to learn. In fact, I think I need to learn that more than I need to learn to be patient.
See how easy it is to be impatient? I want to learn patience, but that requires learning humility. “It’s always something.” I guess I could try learning them side-by-side. I am going to be still now, and continue working on that.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please pray
All the Peoples
MG – possible stomach cancer, facing surgery
JP – Lung cancer, continuing chemo
JC – Sphenoid tumor, much suffering
MH – very difficult family situation
JH – also a very difficult family situation
JT – continued health problems
NC – drug rehab
CD – difficult work situation, away from family due to job
Justin – making progress but still has a long way to go
Every impatient person you know
A very special Mahalo to Fr. Roland for permission to share his thought on Psalm 46:10.
Age quod agis.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
chick
949AFC120409
Happy Aloha Friday, Beloved! Today I am thinking about waiting. We are just days away from Christmas 2009, it is the Advent Season, and we are waiting for…
Hmm, what are we waiting for? When I was a kid I was waiting for Christmas morning. Santa would be up most of the night putting stuff under the tree and into stockings. Dad pile a few dining room chairs in the middle of the hall so the six of us kids couldn’t get into the living room without making a lot of racket. I never did find out where Santa hid all the treasure until Christmas Eve.
One of the things we waited for back then was reading the Christmas story. We had this big, thick, red book called EGERMEIER’S BIBLE STORY BOOK. It is in my library now. We would all sit down and listen eagerly while mom read that story. At least that’s how I remember it. I think I may have gotten to read it once or twice. Getting to that part of the year always meant waiting. Whether it was the spiritual waiting for the birth of Jesus, or the temporal waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus, we waited.
I am not particularly good at waiting.
I am an impatient person. I don’t like to be. I don’t want to be. But, I am impatient. When I take and internal inventory sometimes, I admit I am surprised by how many things tick me off, irritate me, and make me impatient. Traffic is one of the worst. I very consciously watch the speed limit, do my defensive driving thing, and try to be courteous. Then something happens and courtesy flies out the window with a few choice invectives to carry it along.
I can be explosive, too. Some of us can make a big boom and it’s over. I’m more like Kilauea Volcano here on the Big Island. I can make a big boom and then “go-off” for a long time. I hate that, but I have to admit it happens and I don’t seem to be able to do much about the continuing after-shocks. I know it’s wrong, but I also know it’s part of me; it’s a part that needs to be tamed. Easy to say. Hard to do. But I learned something last Sunday, and all of this is preamble to sharing it with you.
Psalm 46:10: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
Here’s a tactic I learned from Fr. Roland Bunda as a way to learn how to increase one’s patience, one’s capacity to wait. Pray this verse. Find a place and a time when you can practice this process. I’m going to put it into a little box so that if you want to, you can print it out and put it someplace special.
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT
BE STILL AND KNOW
BE STILL
BE
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
BE
BE STILL
BE STILL AND KNOW
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
Use the first part to help clear you mind and center your thoughts. It’s not difficult to remember the process. What could be difficult is taking the time to do it deliberately. That takes patience. It takes practice. Practice patience. This is Patience Practice, so make time to give it a fair go. You can read though the words in that little box in maybe 12 seconds. Take 12 minutes instead. Too long? Make it six minutes. Still too long? OK then, make it 3.
Then pick a word that you can think about. Just one word, a name of God for example. Jehovah, Abba, Jesus, Father, Spirit, Adonai, Elohim, Eli. My favorite is El Shaddai. Just think about that name and repeat it slowly for up to 10 minutes.
This is how we often ask God for patience: “God! Teach me to be patient! And make it snappy!” Being still and waiting for the Lord is an amazingly effective way to “attract” God’s presence. We are made in His image and therefore have an innate, irresistible affinity for Him. Our selfish impatience resists that affinity. Waiting is an act of humility. Humility is something else I need to learn. In fact, I think I need to learn that more than I need to learn to be patient.
See how easy it is to be impatient? I want to learn patience, but that requires learning humility. “It’s always something.” I guess I could try learning them side-by-side. I am going to be still now, and continue working on that.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please pray
All the Peoples
MG – possible stomach cancer, facing surgery
JP – Lung cancer, continuing chemo
JC – Sphenoid tumor, much suffering
MH – very difficult family situation
JH – also a very difficult family situation
JT – continued health problems
NC – drug rehab
CD – difficult work situation, away from family due to job
Justin – making progress but still has a long way to go
Every impatient person you know
A very special Mahalo to Fr. Roland for permission to share his thought on Psalm 46:10.
Age quod agis.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
chick
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
