Fwd: You won't leave here like you came

[Guest guest]

SYMPHONY OF LOVE DIVINE SCIENCE E-MINISTRY

WEB & RESOURCES: http://home.earthlink.net/~nmstashu/

Rev. Stan Ousley Jr., Ph.D. nmstashu

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MINUTE BY MINUTE, DAY BY DAY, WEEK BY WEEK, " YOU WON'T LEAVE HERE LIKE YOU

CAME "

 

I was listening to some dippy but well-meaning church music recently. The

lyrics of one song stated " You won't leave here like you came ... " Holy Wow!

That's Life, isn't it? Day by day, week by week, the welcomed events and the

unwelcomed events -- what we in New Thought may refer to as " conditions " -- lead

us to react, respond, regress or renew, move forward or backward or stay

stuck.

 

This past week, I was reliving my memories of the week before, when I was at

Brooks Divinity School in Denver. Their summer session is always one of the

highlights of my year. I'd think " Last Sunday at this time, I was flying up to

Denver. " Or " Last Wednesday at this time, there was a beautiful Ordination

service for a minister friend. " Or " A week ago, I was doing my best to write a

letter to a spiritual friend who had just experienced a loss. " Or, " Last

week on this day, I ran into a person I'd previously known at the Denver church

and had an opportunity to pray for a positive outcome regarding a challenge in

this person's life. " I always leave Brooks changed for the better!

 

But it is tempting to get stuck in memories, and whether such are seen as

positive or negative, Life pushes us onward. All good and bad experiences pass

away in time. Change is inevitable because " we are new every minute, " as

Process Theology informs us. Life has been symbolized by some as a

multi-faceted

tapestry. If so, perhaps the Golden Thread running through its length is our

soul. But in the details of our weaving the tapestry, the Golden Thread at the

center can become obscured. It is the Golden Thread -- our soul -- that

carries us through all the changes. To use other words, we surf on top of the

waves of change on our sea of life, but are careful not to let the waves

(conditions) overcome us. But it is the waves that carry us through -- one

cannot

surf on a flat sea.

 

So what does it mean to say You won't leave here like you came? Perhaps it

means knowing, as Jesus taught, that we need not worry for the morrow, and when

seemingly adverse conditions do happen to us, we " make friends with thine

adversary. " That means in New Thought that we cease the outer struggles and

claim the hope of the Kingdom within us. " This, too, shall pass " -- both the

" good " and the " not so good. " In orthodox vocabulary, we know Christ in us is

our

hope of glory, and that we " can do all things through Christ which

strengthens [us]. "

 

Jesus said " The kingdom is nigh thee. " In other words, we can see in every

minute and every outer condition a Love evidenced in seemingly small acts of

assistance, kindness, reaching out, another's smile, gentle and not so gentle

prods, compassion, empathy. Mother Theresa said " You may not be able to do

great things for God, but you can do small things with great love. " We are

blessed by other people's small acts of caring, and we can be thankful and

hopeful

in the midst of the outer challenges. Deep calls unto Deep. Individual souls

ever and always are reaching out to other souls.

 

A few months ago, I collapsed (fainted) on the floor at work in the hospital,

right in the middle of the hallway on our unit. I found out within seconds

how many people, co-workers and doctors and even visitors and my patients,

truly cared. People all over the place showered me with deep caring and help.

The Kingdom was so very nigh to me! (It was just a syncopal episode from a

bradycardic hemodynamic response to parasympathetic stimulation induced by a

vagal

reflex initiated by an emesis caused by a bacteria condition in my digestive

system. That is to say, a mild case of food poisoning led to an upset stomach

with ramifications!) But I sure didn't leave the ER like I came in! I don't

mean physically, but rather spiritually. I had no idea people cared that

much! God was truly all around me as well as within me. In Divine Science, we

call it The Omnipresence.

 

The Golden Thread in our life tapestry, our soul, moves through all the

passing details -- the pretty threads and the discordant ones. The human soul

is

beyond all the conditions, and each leaving is always different from and better

than the comings. Knowing that becomes our Faith, our Hope, our Salvation.

Years ago, my Inner Teacher told me that my life purpose was to learn that

" those who come with a closed mind, nevertheless, through the coming, may yet

leave with an open heart. " " Not leaving like we came " -- minute by minute, hour

by hour, week by week. It's a good life because we all have good hearts, at

the core of our being. We can trust that amidst the joys and pains, laughter

and tears, and the full range of emotions that make us fully functioning

humans, we won't leave here like we came, and it is Divine Right Order.