Letter: June 2010

At the end of each day we lay our worries aside, depositing them for a while in a safe, easily accessible place, and rest our heads upon a pillow of quietude. From this launching pad our soul takes flight into the near reaches of eternity, and once again we find ourselves enfolded in the arms of healing grace. In this way we are resuscitated each night so we may spend well our blessings upon awakening each day. That we are renewed is unavoidable but how well we use our blessing is a matter of personal choice.

As we lie in the embrace of our bed it may be well to ask before rising, “What have I been renewed to experience this day? What battles may be fought, what victories may be won that are worthy of the majesty with which I have been filled?” Then we may withdraw from our storage place those worries we set aside so we can experience them anew, not as fears but as challenges. We may do this fully cognizant that in the heat of battle will come that which we need to be victorious. All too often we are so focused upon the outcome of events that we lose the joy of the battle itself. We may not realize how exhilarating a real battle can be when our perception is clouded by our intense focus on the outcome. It may at the outset escape our notice, in our entire lifetime, those threats we fear the most have never done us in. We may too often lose sight of the fact that we are essentially warriors, and it is for the glory of the battle we have awoke in flesh this day. If our fear of the outcome dominates our hearts we will surely lose not only the battle but the joy of meeting life on our own terms as well.

Our choices call to the forefront our experiences, and this becomes the field upon which we have chosen to do combat. Let us consider that we may not be in the world to overcome our challenges, but simply to meet them, and make victory a process rather than a conclusion. This is the joy of the battle, and this is where we may truly become heroes in our own sphere of influence. All that is necessary is the courage to engage life and to stop our soul numbing preoccupation with the outcome of things.

Let us each resolve to be willing participants in our own lives, that we may meet those challenges we face in such a way that our encounter becomes its own victory. We have all that is necessary to be triumphant if we focus upon the challenges at hand. It is the spirit of fear that paralyzes and saps us of our energy when we are preoccupied solely with the conclusion of events. However, it is the spirit of faith that sustains us, and allows us to keep our focus upon the grace and glory of the battle itself.