God is Love and Peace in Waiting
1John 4:8

My year of "sitting" is coming to a close, and I want to thank you for joining me on this journey. I feel grateful and honored that you chose to read my words. My hope next year is to create a new website and blog! My vision is to focus on healing and transformation. However, before I can begin the process, I will be moving to two new homes - yes, two! My husband and I are fulfilling a dream to have a small space in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a larger gathering spot in Auburn, Alabama. I am excited and overwhelmed!
With that being said, I turn to this month's theme, sitting with love. I asked myself the question, how do I sit with love? And I invite you to ponder the same.
What came to me is, God is Love (1John 4:8), and how am I sitting with God?
Do I sit with him in silence and quiet? Do I invite him into my daily life? Am I listening to the words he has to offer me? Do I make time?
God, the Divine, who is love, is always with us, always available, and surprises us when we are open to his presence. This Advent, he has done that for me through an online retreat I have been participating in hosted by Spirituality and Practice. They use the practices of Lectio, Musica, and Visio Divina to draw retreatants closer to God. It is a beautiful way to incorporate scripture, music, and art into one's prayer experience. If you are not familiar with these practices, click the following links to read more: Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, and Musica Divina,
I want to share with you my experience of Musica Divina. On day nine of the retreat, I was invited to listen to a piece of music by Yo-Yo Ma called The Protecting Veil: III. The Incarnation and see where God might be speaking to me. However, first, let me say that I wanted to bypass the whole Advent season and get on with our moves. Because ugh, the waiting. But isn't that what Advent is all about? The waiting. So, I listened to this piece of music, and I was blown away.
At first, the violin at the piece's beginning was scratchy and hard to listen to, not pleasant on the ears. Then, a second wave in the music was fast, and it felt energized and exciting. Finally, the last part turned quiet and peaceful with long strumming sounds. It occurred to me that this is how it is with waiting. It is a pattern, a cycle: The waiting, which can be uncomfortable, dark, and overwhelming, and then the event, exciting, fast-paced and finally after the waiting and the event is over, there is a settling in and calm rhythm or routine.
I drew out these three phases inside a circle because waiting feels continuous and not linear. When I looked at the drawing, I thought of the peace symbol, but I realized that I needed to draw a line down the center to create that. Then I could see that if I put God in the center of the waiting cycle, he is present in each phase, and I can find peace in the waiting.
The music.
The image.
The peace.
God spoke to me, and this is love.
God is love.
The God of surprises.
May the God of love surprise you this Christmas season. May you find peace in waiting. May you be assured that calm is part of the plan.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Walking the Journey with You,
Megan
Sent from my iPad
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