"everyone knows God..."

"Yes, I'm thankful for
the Lord above,
the gift of His unending love,
the promise kept
that there is so much more.

These are the things
I'm thankful for..."

Dillon Cate's cover of Garth Brooks' and Trisha Yearwood's Thanksgiving anthem,"What I'm Thankful For,"* was my husband's solo offering at our church service yesterday -- and it took my breath away with its simple beauty.

Because I knew the love, devotion and humility Jeff brought to sharing that gift with the congregation -- for me, it was less a performance, and more - a prayer.

Our service is a simple one that concludes with time for sharing testimonies of healing by those who are gathered in worship. We'd brought a friend who was unfamiliar with this Thanksgiving tradition, and I have to admit I was listening to everything that was shared at the service, through the lens of his heart. What was he hearing? Would it make sense, resonate, inspire?

Most of the remarks were thoughtfully shared and filled with reverence and thanks. But there was one testimony that brought me to tears. It leveled the playing field. We were no longer a congregation of church members and visitors, we were all one - in the thing most essential.

My friend, Linda Clarke, rose and began her testimony by saying that, although others in the congregation had shared how many generations of family members had practiced our faith, she was a first generation Christian Scientist. In one sentence she had swept away all sense of religious heredity, hierarchy of faith, or any distancing one might feel from the direct and immediate relationship to divine Love -- that is inherent in each of us, and unites us all.

Then she went on to share an experience she'd had at a recent Bible Workshop she'd hosted as the Adult Program Director at the Adventure Unlimited Ranches. She said that in the opening session, Bible scholar, Kristy Christian, had said:

"everyone knows God.
I want you to think about this..."  

It was so simple, and so profound.  Yes! Because everyone knows love -- and God is Love -- everyone knows God.  Because everyone experiences Life -- and God is the Source of all being -- everyone experiences God. It was an accessible truth.  One that unites us all. 

Later, when interviewing Linda for this post, she said, "I always try to look at people as the image and likeness of God -- in perfection. But this was different, to see a homeless person, or someone I might not agree with, or even someone who has done something I can't support, as really "knowing God," -- able to hear His angel messages -- this has given me a lot to think about. It has made such a difference for me."

The deep love for others, that resonated through her remarks, was like the "cup of cold water," that Mary Baker Eddy speaks of "millions of unprejudiced minds," waiting and watching for. I couldn't imagine anyone - in that overflowing Thanksgiving Day gathering of friends, family, and guests - who wouldn't feel loved, honored, and included through this view of themselves and others - as knowing God.

In her remarks, Linda went on to share how trusting in this fundamental fact -- that everyone knows God -- frees us to love unconditionally.

Linda's testimony was the perfect message for each of us --from the "third, forth, or fifth generation" Christian Scientist, to our unprejudiced young guest. It lifted any sense of exclusivity -- a secret handshake or password-protected entry into the kingdom of God. It affirmed that this kingdom is within each of us.  That it is accessible, and has one Sovereign -- omnipotent and omnipresent Love -- who as Mary Baker Eddy assures us in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is:

"impartial and universal
in its adaptation and bestowals."  

What a gift to us all. This, for me, was the message of messages.  It is the basis for true individual, familial, local, national, and global peace. Everyone knows God. When we trust this Truth -- we can live fully, share generously, and love freely.    


This message of God's inclusive love is something I am deeply grateful for -- thank you Linda.

offered with Love,

Kate


*If you would like to hear Garth Brooks', Trisha Yearwood, James Taylor and Kim Taylor's performance of,"What I'm Thankful For," here is that link.

"Just be held…"

"You're not alone,
stop holding on,
and just be held..."

The past two weeks have been humbling. Loved ones are facing wilderness experiences that leave me standing in awe of their courage and grace. More than once, I've turned to Casting Crown's beautiful song, "Just Be Held" for fellowship in the middle of the night.

In the last twenty four hours I've found myself praying till dawn as one dear friend crosses the frozen Bering Sea with a team of sled dogs, and another precious friend -- his loved wife -- waits to welcome him through the burled arches of the finish line for the 43rd Iditarod in Nome, Alaska.

One promise, from Mary Baker Eddy, has echoed through my heart -- over and over again -- as Lach and the dogs traversed an arctic trail of almost one thousand miles, with gale force winds, drifting snow, and temperatures dipping to fifty degrees below zero at times:

"You are not alone.
Love is with you
watching tenderly over you
by day and night.

And this Love will not leave you,
but will sustain you,
and remember all thy tears,
and will answer your prayers."
-Isaiah 26:3. 

Time and again, I let Love resurrect in me what I know of Lach and Linda's love, courage, and trust in God's presence and power. I turned to what I have already seen of their tireless devotion to God's care, their willingness to lean on Him for strength and encouragement in times of trial.

You see, I've had a front row seat to their day-by-day consistent practice of blue-collar spirituality.  Lach and Linda are our daughters' mentors, Polocrosse coaches, and contemporary heroes -- ours too for that matter. And there are not enough tears in my body, or words in my heart, to say what their example has meant to our children's sense of who they are, what they are capable of, and where their strength, selflessness, and courage come from.

I believe that we are taught by example -- not by rote or rhetoric. Team Clarke will not "win" the Iditarod this year with the fastest time across the finish line, but they will have won their place - forever - in our hearts. When faced with almost insurmountable challenges, they have soldiered on with quiet grace and humility.

They have taught us that winning happens each time you put the good of the team, over self-interest and ambition. They have taught us that kindness trumps triumph, that humility scales the heights of holiness, and that to "run the race that is set before you," is not about miles, but self-mastery and a profound trust in something greater than yourself.

Yesterday someone asked me why I'd become such an avid Iditarod fan. I smiled and said, "Well, I don't know that I would actually call myself an Iditarod fan, but a fan of mushers, dogs, and the sled dog community."

What I've witnessed -- by following the Iditarod this year -- are countless stories of unselfish affection, fellowship, devotion, camaraderie, humility, courage, endurance, persistence, and patience. But mostly, I've witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of love.

It reminds me of something a friend once said to me when I was looking for a mentor -- someone who would inspire me, expand my sense of the world, and challenge me to be a better person every day:

"Whenever you witness
an act of simple kindness -- patience, compassion
courage, meekness, charity, grace --
stop whatever you are doing, be still,
hold your breath, watch, and drink it in.
Then, thank God for having shown Himself to you." 

Following the Team Clarke's Iditarod journey -- having a front row seat to months of profound human kindness and unselfish devotion -- has been extraordinary for me. I will never be the same.

When Lach and the dogs cross the finish line -- and Linda, Rachael and Chris greet them just beyond the burled arch -- I will be here in my office, weeping with gratitude for all that they have taught me. I will have allowed something wonderfully strange and achingly beautiful transform my sense of the world. I will have been deeply blessed.

offered with Love,

Kate