"Safe in the arms of Love..."

"I want a heart to be forever mine,
I want eyes to see me satisfied,
Gonna hang my heartaches out to dry...
Someday I'm gonna be safe in the arms of love,
Safe in the arms Of Love"

I heard the first verse of Martina McBride's "Safe in the Arms of Love," the other day, and there wasn't a moment's hesitation to my response...

"Hey, I've got that...I've already got all of that."

And it was a feeling that ran very deep...like an underground river.  I didn't have to reason it out, or ponder it for a long time...it was as immediate, and present, as any feeling I've ever had.  And I think maybe, it just might be, that Jesus' message of "the kingdom of heaven is within you" is finally getting through! 

It infinitely clear that, the only heart that will ever be "forever mine," is...well, mine.  That the one, and only, love that I can always be sure of, is the love that I am feeling...for God, and for others.  It's within me...and nothing can take it away.  Nothing, and no one, can deprive me of its constancy, its reliability, its ever-presence.  It's source is God, Love...so, by reflection, it is mine...and it's forever mine.  Because I am His, forever His. 

That doesn't mean that the affection, warmth, and tenderness that I feel,  from others...my loved ones -- family and friends...brings any less sweetness, happiness, and joy.  Quite the contrary.  I experience each moment of their love with an even greater wonder and delight because it is no longer a measure of how much love I have in my life.  The love in my life is full and overflowing...but it comes from within...not without.   It's only defined by the love I have to give, not the love I hope to get.

And as for those "eyes that see me satisfied..."  Well, they look back at me from the mirror every morning.  I know that, as Mary Baker Eddy says, in her poem, "Satisfied":

"It matters not, what be thy lot
so Love doth guide."

It no longer matters whether I am experiencing a lot of love, or that my lot in life...at any given moment....is lean with aloneness, or gaping with opportunities to grow in grace, to be a blessing in the world I walk in.  As long as I am letting Love guide my heart, my motives, my speech and actions, I have the right to be...and am... satisfied.  And I can see this contentment in myself, and know that it is unshakeable.

So tonight, as I sit here thinking about all the campers, counselors, staff, and bunkhouse parents...who have gathered at various summer camps across the country to grow spiritually, and make new friends ...I am feeling such deep peace knowing that the kingdom of heaven is within each of us, that our hearts are guided solely by Love, that we are  safe in, and as, His outreached arms of extended blessings...and, that we are...right now...satisfied. 

rest well....

Kate

"All of You is more than enough..."

"All of You is more than enough for all of me... For every thirst and every need You satisfy me with Your love. And all I have in You is more than enough..." - Chris Tomlin & Louis Giglio

I hope you enjoy this video of Chris Tomlin's beautiful song, "Enough."  I think you will see how it relates to this story: It happened just last night.  We were sitting in church.  In preparation for conducting the service, I'd pulled together the readings, straight from questions that were pressing on my heart:  "What do I really need?"  "When will I know that I have enough?"  Using those questions as my starting point, I'd felt divinely led - as if on a journey through the Bible, and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. I was searching for the message God intended for our worship service - and for me.  I'd felt inspired but Scripture and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, but the questions still loomed large.  Once I'd finished readings the selections, and we'd joined in silent prayer, I led the congregation in praying aloud the Lord's Prayer.  And it was this line, "Give us this day, our daily bread" that I found myself focusing on with genuine hunger.   After singing the second hymn, and reading the announcements, I opened the meeting for the sharing of gratitude, inspiration and testimonies of healing. And that was when my friend, Andrew - sitting on the sofa in the half-light of a late summer evening - shared a stunning idea. It was one that answered my question, so perfectly, that it was as if I'd posed my query directly to him,  he'd taken it to God, and come back with the perfect response. Andrew started his remarks, by sharing gratitude for what he was learning from the inmates he visited during his volunteer work at a local jail.  And then, he referred back to one of the statements that I'd read - twice actually - from Science and Health. He referred to it as the definition to the word, "enough."

"Unfathomable Mind is expressed. The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!"

It actually took my breath away.  It was as if little prickles of energy - and a million fireflies - were lighting up my insides.  I actually think I may have gasped.  This was the answer - the simple and direct answer - I had been looking for.  As I'd prepared for the service, there were two words that had kept poking at me:  "need" and "enough."  I knew what I most needed. Again from Mary Baker Eddy:

"What we most need is the fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds."

And this had long become my answer. When suggestions came from within, "I need to know what is next." or "I need to feel thus, and so - peace, comfort, love - you name it."   When those false "needs" would project themselves as conditional to my peace, with Eddy's direction, it had become my practice to claim, "No, what I really need is the burning desire for growth in grace - expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds. But the answer to the questions, "What is enough?"  "When will I have enough?"  "What would enough look like?"  For those questions, I didn't seem to have an answer that satisfied my hunger for something simple, clear, comprehensive, practical - and most importantly - spiritual. But Andrew's answer met all of those criteria - perfectly. And I claimed it, immediately, for myself as one of my five smooth stones for taking down the Goliath suggestion of: "never enough."  I have since discovered that it is truly one of the most wonderful spiritual tools to have at the ready.  When the inner critic tries to say I don't have enough, I never will have enough, or that I wouldn't know enough if it bit me on the backside, I can confidently go back to:

"The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space."

Do I need more money, more information, more praise, more entertainment, more comfort -- more, more, more? No, what I need - what I really, and truly, and practically need more of is growth in grace -- patience, meekness, love and good deeds.  And the depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love filling all space is exactly what will meet that need.  In fact, it is the only thing that can, or will, eversatisfy that which I "most need." That is my "enough."  It will always be enough.  Love filling all space.  Love filling every heart.  Love filling every moment with opportunity for self-realization.  Love satisfying every need to trust more, and worry less.  Love filling every "wrathful and afflictive" experience as the opportunity to entertain angels heretorfore unawares. Love filling the earth with the gladness of growth, the affluence of freshness, the height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite beauty and grace.  Yes, it is enough. It is always enough.    with Love, Kate [photo credit:  Nathaniel Wilder 2010]