Heel to toe. The first step. Heel to toe. Another cautious step and we have broken the plane of the threshold. Progress. Soon the steps will not need counting or focus. In the threshold, we focus our attention elsewhere. Looking around in the space between, we begin to wonder – where are we?
Thresholds are strange places indeed. We might echo Dorothy’s famous line from the Wizard of Oz, "Toto; we are no longer in Kansas!" The familiar evaporates. We become disoriented. We rapidly lose our bearings in this unknown territory.
Think about the experience of starting a new job. It is day one. There is an excitement in the air as you enter the building. Imagine that you are looking forward to this new opportunity for employment. You know a few things and have paid your dues. This job will allow you to put to good use both your accumulated knowledge and skills. In fact, you were chosen precisely because of your previous work and reputation. Although you have what it takes, as soon as you enter the door of your new ‘home away from home’, your confidence slips a little. Things are now different. Different co-workers. Different culture. Different procedures. Even the coffee pot is in a different place. There is so much to learn. Even if you are one of those people, who like to ‘jump right in,’ there is a hesitancy. You ask yourself a silent question; “where do I begin?” You are disoriented as you enter the threshold.
What to do?
When you find yourself disoriented, it can be an uncomfortable experience. Familiarity is gone. Your well-developed responses are also gone. It is just as well because the ways we have responded in the past won’t work in the same way that they once did. Remember, this is an uncharted territory. You will need to figure out new ways of doing, relating, and being.
At this point, fear might invade the journey towards transformation. If I can’t use my old responses, then do I want to be here at all? Maybe I should just turn around and head back to where I knew what to say and do? The fleshpots of Eygpt, all of a sudden, seem like a feast of unsurpassed splendor (see Exodus 16:3). Disorientation can be scary, and at times it causes us to turn around and leave the very path that leads to growth and renewal.
What would happen, though, if we embraced the disorientation on our threshold crossing journey? What if we also summoned the courage to embrace the fear as well? Instead of shutting down and locking out these uncomfortable feelings, what if we opened the door as to welcome an expected guest?
Hello, fear. Hello, disorientation. Welcome. We’ve been expecting you…
We will take up this strange and counter-intuitive idea tomorrow.
Silent Prayer:
Find a comfortable place to sit. Set your phone or watch for nine minutes. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. As thoughts come to your mind – push them aside. Now is not the time. Trust in God to hold your life without needing to control it with our thoughts or actions. At the end of your time – say a simple “thank you” or “Amen.” Tomorrow, we will build on this spiritual practice by adding more time. Consider the time spent in silent prayer as an Advent gift – an opportunity to enter into God’s shalom/peace.
Today’s Silent Prayer Goal – NINE minutes
If the challenge of nine minutes of silence seems to be just too much, an alternative might be to continue with seven or eight minutes of daily, prayerful silence for the remainder of this Advent season. The length of time spent in silent prayer is not as important as the practice itself so give yourself the permission to do it for as long as works for you.
Scripture:
Romans 8: 18-25
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Thank you for reading the ninth blog of this Advent series. If it was meaningful to you, please feel free to like it below or share it with your friends. You may also leave a comment. Blessings on the journey as we head through this season of Advent together. In Christ, Walt.