"enough..."

 

"all of You 

is more than enough

  for all of me..."

I hope you enjoy this video of Chris Tomlin's beautiful song, "Enough" - I trust you will see how it relates to this story from a number of years ago:

It happened just last night. We were sitting in church. I was conducting the service, and in preparation, I'd pulled together the readings straight from the questions that were pressing on my own heart:  "What do I really need - vs. want?" and "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 by Scripture.  But my initial 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,  as the definition of 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 clear and simple answer I had been listening 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 the question of "need."  When suggestions came from within, "I need to know what is next," or "I need to feel thus and so: peace, comfort, love, in order to be - you name it:  happy, satisfied, joyful.." Whenever 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 actually 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?" Well, 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,  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 perfectly.  In fact, it is the only thing that can, or will, ever satisfy what I most need.

That is my answer to what is "enough." And it will always be enough.  Love filling all space.  Love governing every heart.  Love filling every moment with opportunity for spiritual self-realization.  Love satisfying every need to trust more, and worry less.  Love redeeming every "wrathful and afflictive" experience as the perfect opportunity to entertain angels 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, 

Cate

"the reason..."

"He put that hunger in your heart,
He put that fire in your soul;

His love is the reason...”

Just when I think I will have to write these posts - without new songs as keynotes - Love pours out a fathomless blessing. Today's song is from the group Unspoken. I love their video for  "Reason."  And if I see a big handful of balloons in the sky -- I hope you will be holding them!

I was never a particularly athletic or adventurous girl, teen, woman.  I did not dream of climbing mountains, winning competitions, or swimming the English channel. 

I wanted to be a good girl, read through the fiction section of every school and community library, write a book, learn a musical instrument, marry a nice man, and have children.  

I was a good girl.  In hindsight, I am most grateful to have known myself through the lens of that desire.  

But why didn't I want more. I don't know.  It was just what I desired.  For many years I thought I was somehow stunted in an area of life that my friends and siblings shared -- a desire for adventure, travel, sports.  

I worried that I was a bookworm, a slacker, someone most at home and happy in small, dark, quiet spaces.  I gravitated towards libraries, out-of-the-way coffeehouses, and closets -- yes, literally closets.

I tried.  I tried to want to play outside, join a team, go on an adventure -- but I was always eager for the game, competition, expedition, adventure, vacation to be over. 

For a while I let myself be called an "introvert" -- but somehow that felt off - untrue.  I wasn't a kind of a person.  I was just me.  

That was when I started to listen for spiritual inspiration, and it came in two sentences from the very first page of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy:

"Desire is prayer
and no loss can occur
from trusting God with our desires
that they may be molded and exalted
before they take for in words and in deeds.

Prayer is God's gracious means
for accomplishing whatever has been
successfully done for the Christianization
and health of mankind. "

It suddenly occurred to me that if desire was prayer, and prayer was God's gracious means, that my desires were not mine at all -- they were God's means for moving my heart in the direction of His purpose for me. He way of blessing the world - and He would fulfill it.

As the song says:

"What He started in you,
He's gonna finish..."

He doesn't put that desire there and expect us to make it happen. Or as my friend Mike shared from Francis Thurber Seal's biography, Christian Science in Germany:

"God sent me on a mission,
He's certainly not going to
drown me on the way."

Eddy assures us in the last portion of her "Daily Prayer," from The Manual of the Mother Church:

"Thy kingdom come,
let the reign of divine Truth,
Life, and Love be established in me,
and rule out of me all sin,
and may Thy Word,
enrich the affections of all mankind,
and govern them."

It was God's Word that was enriching my affections - my desires - for quietude, stillness, goodness, beauty, family, harmony. It was not my personal desire. I have no personal desire. When I fully yielded to this truth of truths, I started to love my life. I was not an introvert, I was just me. Uniquely suited to God's placement of my gifts in the completeness of creation. I was not a kind of person. I was all that God was -- He was drawing forth from His Allness what he needed me to desire every moment.

I was not some lesser version of man/woman -- one that didn't want to go hiking or swimming or climb the Himalayas, or pay soccer, or run a marathon, I was completely capable of doing all those things as the full expression of divine Being -- but God was not enriching my affections for those things. He was causing me to desire a life of contemplation, stillness and service to others. Elsewhere in Science and Health, Eddy writes:

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

That is enough!"

I am enough. You are enough. We each include the depth, breadth, height, might, majesty and glory of infinite Love -- and from this enough-ness, God calls us into His desire for us -- in order to fulfill His purpose in the larger scheme of things.

I may not be interested in sky diving, but I love reaching the heights of Mind to soar o'er time and space. I may not want to raft a river running at 4,000 cubic feet per second, but I wake up each morning excited to explore every channel of thought I find. I may not have any desire to see the seven wonders of the world or eat in a cafe in Portugal, but the seven synonyms of God still stun me with their beauty and I am deeply satisfied with the bread of Life.

I am not an introvert, I am not a less social, less adventurous, less competitive version of man.  I am not less of anything. I am the full expression of all He has enriched my affections for. I am His. He is at the root of all my desires. And it is enough.

offered with Love,

Cate

"look on us…"

"it's easy,
all you need is love,
all you need is love,
all you need is love, love,
love is all you need..."

Thomas Gray's cover of the Lennon and McCartney classic, "All You Need is Love is the perfect keynote for this post. Simple, pure, unvarnished.

So it is my hope, that this post will be just as simple.

My Bible study this morning started with this Scripture from Romans:

"Love is the fulfilling of the law..." 

It took my breath away. I don't know why I hadn't seen it before -- it was certainly a familiar passage. But this morning it was as if all the pieces fell into place. Love isn't a means to an end. Love is the end. It is everything. Love isn't something we "use" to accomplish perfection -- or anything else for that matter. Love is everything.

I've been sensing this for some years. But this morning I think I "got it." The healings and demonstrations that Jesus witnessed, were not the main event. They were just the encouragement toward the great awakening -- the realization that -- it's all about Love.

One of my favorite relationships in Scripture is that of Jesus' disciples, John and Peter. Talk about two guys who struggled with "who shall be greatest." John, as much as I love him, was a bit passive-aggressive. Take his referencing of himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," -- oh my. And sweet, over-earnest Peter. One minute he is the Rock on whom Jesus will build his church, and the next, Jesus is rebuking him with a resounding, "get thee behind me Satan." Comparisons, competition, contradiction -- all for the love of the Master.

One of Jesus' last recorded acts was his rebuke to Peter, when Peter asks him, "what shall this man do?" referring to John.  Jesus' reply -- and I can't imagine that it wasn't without just a touch of exasperation -- was, "what is that to thee? follow thou me."  Which, of course, was recorded for posterity by John.  Oh, these guys. 

When I think of all the healings they had witnessed -- the raising of the dead, the loaves and fishes, the water into wine. And yet, Jesus' final moments with them are not a recap of "how to" perform the "miraculous."  They are, in fact, filled with an urgent plea that they learn to love one another -- the washing of one another's feet, and finally, this admonition to stop competing.

So back to my favorite moment? It comes in the book of Acts, third chapter. Peter and John are together. Jesus is no longer the personally present sun around which their lives orbit. And yet, here they are. Together. Going to temple to worship -- together. A lame man stops them and asks for help -- for healing.  And this is it -- the moment that makes me weep:

"And Peter, fastening his eyes
upon him with John, said,
'Look on us." 

It gets me every time. It's almost as if he is saying. "Listen man, if we can be together, anything is possible." The greatest healing was not the lame man walking, the restoration of Malchus' ear, or even the return of vitality to the body -- the greatest healing is love.

Re-reading the gospels, I have realized that this is the "aha," I have been sensing for decades. It's not about using love to get better, feel more peaceful, find abundance, or demonstrate happiness. Love is, in fact, using us to be Itself -- to fulfill Itself. Love is the fulfilling of the law. It is everything, and as Mary Baker Eddy says in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, her textbook on this law of Love:

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

Love is the fulfilling of the law -- the law of Love. We don't love in order to have a more perfect life -- body, bank account, home. Love uses our lives as a platform for Its fulfillment -- love. We don't "use" love to improve our bodies. We have bodies so that we can express love -- willing hands for helping, strong arms for holding, beautiful lips for smiling, clear eyes for beholding.

It's not "all you need is love," in order to heal the world, fix a problem, or clean up your heart/mind so that you can finally see perfection. It's "all you need is love" -- period! This love, is perfection.

I can't help but think of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  We think of their songs as the fulfilling of their relationship.  But, perhaps, the songs were just the platform on which these two brilliant artists forged a relationship of mutual respect and warm affection.  This is the question I am living in today.

And today -- at least for me -- this is enough.

offered with Love,

Kate

"How deep is your love..."

“How deep is your love,
how deep is your love?
I really need to know...”

I've always loved the BeeGees...still do. So I wasn't surprised when I woke up with their song "How Deep is your Love" dancing through my heart, inviting me to consider asking myself the question:

"How deep is your love?"

I've often asked myself, how deep is my faith, or my trust...but the depth of my love isn't something I've pondered lately. I think of Love as omnipresent, infinite, supreme...but deep? I had to ask, "What is the value of understanding the depth of Love, when Love is omnipresent...everywhere?"

And since my commitment to exacting the actual practice, of absolute spiritual facts, is critical to my sense of purpose, and since I also trust that God sends me clues as to what I need to be thinking about when I need to be thinking about them them...even through old BeeGees songs...I figured probing this question was the call of the day.

I liked thinking about depth. When I was a girl, we lived near a quarry that I'd been told was fathomless. We were warned that no one had ever been able to swim to the bottom, and return. The quarry was an abandoned, open mine that had filled with water from a natural well deep below the surface. It was surrounded by granite walls and the water was so deep, such a dark bottle green, that it almost looked black. We'd jump from the ledge of the tall rock face, fearlessly trusting that we'd never hit bottom. I loved to float in that still, dark water, and let all the air out of my lungs. Then I'd begin to drift downward. I felt one with. It was always surprising to see how much deeper I could sink into the darkness. It was so peaceful and quiet there. Perhaps a deeper sense of Love, would lead to more peace in my heart, a quieting of my days...

So, I decided to give it a listen. By that, I mean that I decided to take this question with me everywhere I went, into every situation, and probe it through the lens of each thought and experience I encountered.

The first thing that occurred was, I went upstairs to wake the girls for school. Now, this has never been my favorite part of any day. Repeated forays into their sleepy cocoons to cajole, shake, urge...and finally threaten "get up, or else..." leave me tired before the day even gets off the ground. There have been many days when I just want to beg their school to let them have a late start everyday.

[And yet, when it comes to getting up before daybreak at camp, to be in the corral, they're rockstars!! Hmmm...perhaps I should have been whinnying instead.]

But I digress. By the time we get into the car, I feel like I've climbed Everest or mastered some ancient yogi's walk across hot coals.

But that morning, as I climbed the stairs, I asked myself, "How deep is your love?" And I realized that...based on my history of mornings that devolve into the role of "the wake-up witch"...not so deep. Could I deepen my love? Sure. So, as I faced yet another round of moaning and groaning, that comes from deep beneath piles of quilts and pillows, I let patience...certainly a quality of love...sink deeper into my bones.

And you know, it worked. My love was much deeper than I'd thought possible. I kept a lighter heart, I mentioned that I would be ready to leave for school when they were ready...but that if they wanted to be on time it should probably be in the next 30 minutes...then I went downstairs to make breakfast.

I wasn't upset, stressed, or worried. If they were late, they would face the consequences. My love was deeper than I'd thought only an hour before.

The same thing happened at the first stoplight. The tension I felt in my shoulders after being cut off by a car full of teenagers in an Escalade trying to make a last minute illegal turn across my lane to get into the Starbucks parking lot before school , literally dissipated when I asked myself, "Kate, how deep is your love?"

"Deeper than this..." I replied to said self. Then I prayed, affirming God's irrepressible love for those teens, His undeniable control in their lives, the irresistible pull of Divine choreography...in traffic, in my movements, and in my heart.

This has become a question I've really enjoyed plumbing the depths of lately. It's brought me up short many times, and given me an awareness of how deeper I can go before I find the fathomless reach of God's Love, reflected in my thoughts and actions.

And I am realizing that no matter how deep I go, I can never become self-satisfied that it has been "deep enough." Mary Baker Eddy tells us, in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that:

“The depth, breadth,
height, might, majesty,
and glory of infinite Love
fill all space.
That is enough!”

Hmmm...so, I guess that until I've reached the depths of infinite Love, the question is still relevant. How deep is my love? Never as deep as it could be.... but I'm always willing to go deeper...and dive in...

and always with Love,

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]