We returned this weekend from 3 weeks of being at Lake Keowee (in Seneca, SC) with the fam. What a wonderful time away - to be with family, to rest, to read, to swim, to eat our meals on the screened-in porch overlooking the lake, to enjoy seeing my kids and how much joy they had in swimming in the lake and playing the game Sorry. Christine has already said that, when we retire, she wants to live on the water (I asked her if she wanted to buy a houseboat - haha). I've never spent that much uninterrupted time with my family, and I'm grateful to Park Road, much more than words can express.
These are pictures of our kiddos on the porch when I woke up one morning.
These are pictures of our kiddos on the porch when I woke up one morning.
Every morning, they would get up on their own, often fix their own breakfast and play quietly (at least, most of the time), while mommy, daddy, and Marian slept a little longer. So grateful. On the day I took these pictures, they both were reading on the porch. Can't remember what West was reading. I seem to remember he was hiding under the blanket and making some crazy noises, making his sister laugh uncontrollably. Mattie was reading her dedication bible from church. Since she can't read, she makes up her own stories about Jesus. I need to have her tell me some of the stories so I can write them down.
I was able to finish 2 books and begin a third. I'm not much of a night-time reader, so the fact that I got this much reading done was pretty impressive. My first book I finished - Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life. A quote from the book sums up what my time at the lake meant to me - "the 14th century Hafiz (a Sufi) asks, 'what is this precious love and laughter budding in (my) heart? It is the sound of (my) soul waking up'.”
How good to have time away with my family, knowing that I could enjoy our time and not worry about if things were taken care of at church - they are, and I'm beyond grateful to all who are working hard to make sure it is so.
For some reason that I hope to work out during my time away, I am often searching for the drop of red paint in the can of white paint. I get worn down with "all my responsibilities" - at work and at home, and life was becoming just a list of things I was doing. I then begin to feel guilty - "what an awful way to go through life, thinking about your job that you love and your family that you love solely as responsibilities," I would say to myself. I fell into the rut of routine and was struggling to get out of that rut. My outlook on life was toward the darker side of life (I don't mean depression here - just looking at a glass half empty rather than half full). While there are many things in my life that bring me joy, there was little evidence in my outward appearance (as opposed to my inward appearance - haha) that my life brought me any joy.
A few things in my first book I read by James Martin, a Jesuit priest, who is the official chaplain of the Colbert Report, helped me.
1. A joke:
A man comes into his company’s lunchroom one day and sits down next to his friend. He opens his lunch bag, pulls out a sandwich, opens the wrapping, and peers down. “Oh ugh,” he says to his friend.
“What’s the matter?” asks his friend.
“A cheese sandwich – I hate cheese sandwiches,” he says and glumly starts choking it down. “They’re awful – so dry.”
The next day he sits down next to the same friend and opens his lunch bag. “Oh, I can’t believe it,“ he says, “another cheese sandwich!” His friend shakes his head sympathetically and watches his friend grimace as he eats the sandwich.
On the third day, the man once again sits down next to his friend and opens his lunch bag. “Oh, brother,” he says, “another cheese sandwich!”
His friend says, “Boy, you really hate cheese sandwiches, don’t you?”]
“Yes! I can’t stand them!”
Finally his friend says, “If you don’t mind me asking something, why don’t you just tell your wife to stop making you cheese sandwiches?”
“Oh,” says the man, “I’m not married.”
“Well, then, who makes your cheese sandwiches every day?”
“I do,” he said.
The joke, one that makes me chuckle (not gaffaw - just chuckle), says that I'm often responsible for my own predicament. I do believe in the importance of community and that we journey together as one, so I don't believe that I'm solely responsible for my own predicament (in some way, God certainly factors into this as well), but there are things I can do. I don't have to make cheese sandwiches that I don't like. If I'm continuing to look for that one drop of red paint, what needs to change? More time with my family? Functioning and thinking differently at work? Identifying what brings me joy and figuring out how to incorporate that into my life? I think "yes" is the appropriate answer to all.
The Dalai Lama said that joy and happiness flow from our actions. I hope to find ways to live my life which lead to true joy and happiness.
2. The examination of conscience via St. Ignatius Loyola - a 5 step prayer.
1. Calling to mind the things for which you are grateful.
2. Review the day and see where God was present and where you might have overlooked God
3. Ask for the grace to see where you might have turned away from God and sinned.
4. Ask for forgiveness for any sins you’ve committed
5. Ask for the grace to see God more clearly the next day.
It was wonderful to be in the moment of the past 3 weeks - couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I'm glad that I paused to reflect and give thanks. I'm too often searching for that red paint and to pause to think about and pray about the things for which I'm grateful. For me to take time to reflect on the ways I may have overlooked God's presence was very helpful for me.
The title of the post is a quote from Anthony de Mello. I really like it. A paraphrase of Isaiah 62.4 - "God takes great delight in me". It is good to be reminded that God doesn't just love me but God takes delight in me and enjoys my presence. Sometimes, as a kid, I knew that my parents loved me but wasn't quite sure that my parents delighted in me. I hope that those in my life will be able to know that I take delight in them.
Joy is a sign of God’s presence. AMEN!
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| West, my parents, and I at the Braves game (they lost 5-0) |
Love it, Michael -- thanks for sharing your learnings with us!
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