The Dwelling Place - Martina Keast

 For the purpose of the book, The Dwelling Place: Reflections on my Journey toward Spiritual Wholeness, a dwelling place is any place where one sets aside time to meet with God. It is helpful to have a Bible on hand, a journal and a pen, a songbook, worship music, and some creative supplies if you are crafty. A dwelling place can be found at a retreat centre with others around, anywhere in solitude, or it can be at home while going for a walk or even a bike ride. I share some of these experiences in the book, but here for this blog post, let's look at a particular defining dwelling place that opens us to God.

I found myself in a dwelling place not of my own choosing when I asked God with an intense desire to deeper my relationship with Him. I discovered when God gets involved in response to this kind of request, He sets up people, places, and things to help bring about defining moments evoking life changes. William M. Kinnaird says it this way, 

. . . a time of deep travail when all seems hopeless and useless when the spirit is broken and to go on seems pointless, too excruciating. We want to give up and die, even by our hands. God's so-called presence and promises are of no help. We’re too numbed and devastated to be encouraged by them. (Kinnaird, 1994)

I have been to this place. It seems there is no point in calling out to God. The pain is excruciating. He seems to have disappeared; nothing but an empty tunnel remains. God sets the schedule and the timeline to remove any barriers or veils which shut down all communication. Gerald May offers up this definition, 

The dark night process eases the restraints our attachments place on us, enabling us to live more fully and lovingly. It deepens our trust in God’s presence and the essential goodness of life and ourselves. It leaves us emptier knowing less and having less than when we first started – and this emptiness makes us freer than we would ever have dared to expect. (May 2004, pp. 103-103)

I’ve been to this place; I am in this place again as I type. I can honestly say this painful process brings about defining moments of change. Idols are released, and one experiences a deeper appreciation and connection with Jesus. This connection is not dependent on the sermon the preacher preached, the prophecy the prophet proclaimed, or other well-meaning people offered to set me straight. There have been a few. I can hear their voices and see their pointing fingers.

This experience is like an internal revolution that takes time to adjust to. It's like being born again and again, but at a deeper heart/spirit level. 

This time around, I am not screaming at God, asking Him, "Where are You? Why are You hiding from me? What have I done to offend You? God, please come back." 

This time, I feel the pain and accept that He is moulding and shaping me, removing even more idols from my heart and mind. I accept His way of teaching me is best. When this lesson is over, I will be ever more transformed. 

The Dark Night of the Soul and the Dark Night of the Spirit are two places where God sets us up for profound inner freedom from attachments of people, places, and things. For this blog entry, I include Reflections and Art on Suffering.

Immense suffering, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Spiritually, it feels as if God left. He is no longer interested in me.

Even He has given up hope. 

He must be there somewhere, but I cannot see Him. 

I can’t see beyond the pitch-black darkness. 

Alone, abandoned, even by God.

When God opens my eyes again, removing the barriers and the veil, 

Looking toward heaven, even for a moment, brings me freedom from the darkness, 

I can see the birds flying, clouds moving, and there is light and hope. 

Outside and beyond the dark tunnel, there is life. 

Now, even the tunnel itself is not so dark as the light gets in it, 

When I lift up my head and experience a different outlook on life.

The journey toward spiritual wholeness is painful.

Looking through the tunnel, after intense suffering, defining moments of hope and freedom await.

Occasionally there are moments of defining beauty, 

Experiences with serenity, 

A “knowing” that if I can only trust and continue this journey. 

All will be well in the end. 

As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after thee,’ 

This song rises up from within. 

A very defining moment experiencing the closeness of the Holy Spirit’s presence is occurring.

This journey with art, while facing defining and freeing moments, continues to be a blessing. 

I find hope in the truth of the expressions because 

the presence of the Holy Spirit becomes evident to me. 

The above-shown art pieces reflect a painful yet surprising process. The person is engulfed by pain and suffering; it feels like they are burning up, inside and out, while in anguish and piercing travail. The focus is on the pain and sense of woe. 

Once the tunnel is entered, the person experiences the intensity of the battle. 

She can’t see anything else for the longest time, but then, it happens. New light, life and liberty show up, maybe in the form of sunshine, water, and a deer. A song of worship may come up from the innermost depth. Oh, what a relief it is. It was and will be for me a defining moment.

The Hug that Unlocked My Heart by Steph Beth Nickel

 

A few months ago, still in the thick of COVID restrictions, we helped dear friends move. They have regularly helped us. So, we volunteered without hesitation.

Sandra has had the best parts of 100 surgeries on her leg and several hospital stays. Because of the extreme pain she regularly experiences, we don't get together as often as either of us would like. Even so, I consider her one of my dearest friends.

Let me take you back to our first encounter on the phone. Her family had just begun attending our church. Because she was at a physical low point, she had not yet joined them. I, therefore, didn't know if her hubby was a single dad or if she was a believer. I called to see if her family would be attending the potluck at the church and to ask what they'd be bringing. I didn't feel I was being abrupt, but it came across that way.

Years later, long after we'd become great friends, she admitted that, as a result of our first telephone conversation, she thought I didn't like her. Never underestimate the impact of your interactions with others, especially those first conversations.

I laugh and cringe when I think back on this revelation. I'm so incredibly thankful for God's mercy and grace and the precious friendship that has developed over the last almost 30 years.

Until the pandemic hit, four couples would regularly get together at a restaurant during the Christmas season to enjoy one another's company. I deemed our group the Crazy Eights. Trust me. The staff and other patrons were glad when we had a table off in a quiet corner because it wouldn't be quiet for long. Let's just say, we enjoyed one another's company—a. lot.

I consider these get-togethers among my happiest memories. Even though the restrictions have eased some, for various reasons, I'm not sure we'll all get together anytime soon. 

Another memory stands out in my mind. I spent an hour or so visiting with Sandra when she was in the hospital many years ago. As I was leaving, she matter-of-factly stated, "I love you." I was blown away. Although I'd heard those words countless times over the years, never before had a friend said them so unironically, so naturally, so surprisingly.

This is the kind of friend Sandra has been over the years, despite the fact that she originally thought that I didn't like her. So, you can see why it was a no-brainer to help this precious family relocate—thankfully, not too far away.

Well, as I was standing in her new kitchen, Sandra gave me a hug. Not a shoulder squeeze. A full-fledged hug. 

And that's when it happened ...

The door to a room in my heart that I didn't even know was shut, locked, and barred closed swung WIDE OPEN.

All because of a hug.

Some of you have lost loved ones to COVID, and my heart hurts for you.

Some of you have contracted the virus and are still suffering its long-term effects. May God strengthen you and restore you to full health.

While we may not have been impacted so directly, I believe we've all suffered loss because of COVID-19. 

I wasn't aware how desperately I needed a hug from a friend. It's such a simple act, but one with unimaginable power.

If you're not comfortable hugging or shaking hands at this point, don't underestimate the power of a phone call; an in-person physically distanced visit; or a card popped into the mail.

You may be the one with a hurting heart or you may be instrumental in healing someone else's hurt. Most likely, a simple act of love will unlock both your hearts and fill a void neither of you may have been aware of.

No wonder the Bible says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother [or sister] is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17 ESV).

How Ordinary Moments Have Extraordinary Outcomes by Bob Jones

 

I’m thinking about editors.

 

You know, the gatekeepers of the printed page. What comes to mind when you think about magazine editors? Rejection? That means you likely wrote and submitted a few unsolicited pieces that didn’t make the grade. Editors bring to mind my defining moment as a writer.

In 1983 Rev. Bob Skinner was appointed editor of The Testimony magazine, the voice of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Bob had an illustrious career in Africa overseeing a publishing company. He was determined to produce a magazine that was professionally designed and meticulously edited. I was a rookie PAOC pastor and fledgling writer.

 

Back in the good ol’ days of the early 80’s, writers like me printed and snail mailed their submissions to editors and publishers. Then we waited for the next edition to see if our piece made the grade. All my previous submissions to the Testimony went unpublished. You can imagine how pleasantly shocked I was when the March 1984 edition contained my article on battling addiction. Bob gave me a shot. He wrote encouraging me to submit more pieces. I was good enough to write for a national magazine with 80,000 subscribers.

 

We don’t remember days. We remember moments.

 

Biblical writers offer a definition of moments beyond the mere sequencing of events; the ancients speak of "kairos." In his book, Life-Defining Moments, James Emery White defines a kairos moment as "time filled with opportunity.”

 

Lisa McMann is the creator of The Unwanteds and The Unwanteds Quests series for young readers and the WAKE trilogy for young adults. She had one of those defining moments in the fourth grade when her teacher said the story she wrote was the best in the class, and therefore she would be going to the Young Authors Conference where she'd get to hang out with authors all day. She was a writer!

 

J. K. Rowling sold over half a billion books. Her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was rejected by over a dozen publishers. Finally, a small British publisher, Bloomsbury, said yes. Bloomsbury saw the potential of the book because the chairman of the publishing house gave the first chapter to his then 8-year-old daughter, Alice, to read. Upon finishing, she immediately demanded the rest of the book. And Harry Potter became a part of the culture.

 

Rejected by 27 publishers, Dr Seuss was on his way home to burn his manuscript when he ran into an old school acquaintance. When asked what he was carrying Seuss replied “a book no one will publish. I’m lugging it home to burn”. The acquaintance, an editor of children’s books, insisted on seeing it. The book, On Mulberry Street, was published to rave reviews. Dr Seuss went on to write over 60 children’s books. Seuss would say later of the fortuitous meeting, “If I'd been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I'd be in the dry-cleaning business today.”

John Grisham took three years to complete his first book, A Time to Kill. The book was rejected by 28 publishers before Wynwood Press, an unknown publisher, agreed to give it a modest 5,000-copy printing. Grisham has since sold 300 million copies over the last 30 years.

 

 According to Chip and Dan Heath, authors of, The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact:

 

“Defining moments shape our lives, but we don’t have to wait for them to happen. We can be the authors of them.” And you can author them for others.

 

Who's story will your name appear in as the author of their defining moment?

 

  I write to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose.

Please follow my writing at REVwords.com

I would love to hear from you.

 

Faced with a Moment by Susan Barclay

There are defining moments and experiences in all of our lives. Such events determine or set us on our course. Some are completely of our control, things that happen even when we are in the womb; others stem from the way we process things or from choices we make in response to circumstances or desires. They can lead us down good paths or very detrimental ones. Either way, we can describe them as pivotal.

One day when I was a child my mom was angry with me for being careless. I had tripped over the cord of my grandmother's hand mixer and brought the mixer crashing to the floor. My mom yelled and her words pierced my soul. Sobbing in the bathroom, I decided in my 9-year-old heart never to let anyone wound me so deeply again. I sealed myself up and steeled myself against hurt. It was years before I allowed myself another good cry. To this day I struggle to be in touch with my feelings.

The things that happen in childhood are powerful. I once read somewhere that children are excellent observers but terrible interpreters. It's true, I think. If the incident I described had happened when I was more mature, I might have told myself, "She's probably having a bad day. Being a single parent isn't easy; she doesn't mean it--she just needs help" or "She's doing the best she can with what she's been given and what she knows." I might have done what I could to assist her in what she was doing or simply gotten out of her way until her mood passed.

I remember breaking up with my first long-term boyfriend as a young adult. In my late 20s, I was eager to be married and start a family. I said to myself, "I'm getting married next year." No matter what was the subtext. I was a believer and had also decided that I was going to be myself with the next guy and not twist myself into a pretzel to be what I thought he might want. That second part was fine, of course, but being a Christ-follower, I should have had the mind of Christ and His approach: doing nothing of my own accord but seeking God's will (ref John 5:30). Instead, it was a defining moment as I set out with a goal of finding a husband. Thanks to Him, and not to me, things worked out so that I married a good man who seeks after righteousness, and we're still happy together after more than twenty-five years, but my life could have gone very sideways.

The mind is a powerful force. What we focus on matters. Where we let our thoughts travel is significant. The power of life and death are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) but what comes out of our mouths or shows in our behaviour first enters our minds. That's why Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable." Scripture also advises us to think of others rather than ourselves and not to be selfish (Philippians 2:3). Knowing God's plans for us are for good and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11) can help us to wait on His timing and trust He will provide what is best for us rather than take things into our own hands.

Moving on to defining writing moments, I remember being encouraged by my mother and teachers for my writing ability. I remember the publication of my first "book," a laminated and spiral bound collection of stories from my grandmother's childhood. Written in grade 6, it was added to the school library and borrowed by several children before I progressed out of the school and into junior high. It felt good to have a reading audience and to be asked questions about my work, and was no doubt influential on my desire to continue sharing stories with others. Teachers in junior and senior high school were also supportive and affirming--except for that one who told our entire creative writing class that we should consider a trade. Plumbing was respectable, said he! (Well, it is, but that's not what we wanted to hear).

9/11 was a defining moment in my "writing career" as well. Thinking about all those who lost their lives and recognizing the brevity of life made me ask if I was living the life I desired. I was working full-time as a librarian in a public library setting, which meant shiftwork and time away from my young children in the evenings and on weekends. I hadn't done anything really with what I felt was a gift from God: my writing fluency. If my life were to end right then, would He be happy with me? I discussed it with my husband and we decided to move an hour away from where we lived, where housing was more affordable, I could quit work, be home for my family, and write. 

It's true what they say about not quitting your day job. While I've had a few stories published and made a few dollars, if we'd been depending on me for an income, we'd be on the streets. After three years of being home full-time, I took a part-time job as a librarian in my new community. It works well for us and our children are now grown. But I do sometimes wonder if we made the right call. Though we've met some wonderful people here, we've also gone through some hard times. Would we have been better off staying where we were? Only God knows.

And that's the thing, isn't it? God knows what is best for us but sometimes we go off half-cocked, acting impulsively or according to our feelings, rather than consulting Him, reading the Word, seeking counsel from godly people in our lives. I'm not saying my husband and I did this with respect to our move, you understand; I'm talking more generally. I tend to be someone who does my homework, who is cautious in decision-making, rather risk-averse, stability-seeking. But I can still make mistakes. I can decide to wall up my heart so no one can hurt me, pursue my own desires without seeking God's will, and put the cart before the horse, thinking I'm doing a good thing.

If I could give anyone a piece of advice, it would be this from Lamentations 3:25-26: 

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. (The Message)

When you recognize a pivotal moment, stop, fix your eyes on the One who knows you, loves you, and has good plans for you. Ask what He says and wait patiently on His answer. He will never steer you wrong.

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For more about Susan Barclay and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com