Joy is my strength

“The Joy of the Lord is my Strength”
These words from Nehemiah 8:10 run through my mind at that moment in time when I am not fully awake, yet neither asleep. Ah, indeed, the joy of the Lord is my strength!
I remember the Lord is our I AM nature, our true divine self, the creative power within us.
In those moments of great frustration, regardless of the cause, the joy of the Lord is my strength. As I sit with the feelings of frustration, rather than denying the feeling, I allow it to be, yet I don’t allow it to consume me. I remember that each feeling and each thought will come and it will go. I recall what Mark Nepo shared in “The Endless Practice”: “ The universe simply cannot sustain a feeling forever.”
Taking comfort in this thought, I step into my practice of being mindfully present to the feeling and allow the feeling to move and evaporate into nothingness, the same nothingness from which it came. I also inquire with my higher self to learn what this feeling has to show me or teach me in this moment.

In those moments of angst about what I may find troubling in my world, I affirm, “the Joy of the Lord is my strength”. As I sit in contemplation of what is mine to do, I turn to the Unity principles and I remember God is absolute good and present in everything. In the quiet moments of the day, I ask where do I find God in this? Where is the presence of the Divine in my world?

In those moments of fear and doubt when things may look hopeless, I remind myself “The joy of the Lord is my strength”. The creative power within me.” The Christ is far greater than any fear I may feel. Scripture says in I John 3:20 “God is Greater than our heart. Whatever doubts come to my heart, God is greater than that! Embracing these words, my hope is renewed.

IThe moments of great joy is the I AM of my being. When I live from the principle that all beings are created with the spark of divinity, all beings are inherently good. I take comfort. When I recall we are teachers of one another, I ask, what is this person or this experience here to teach me? WOW! Is usually the answer. To think that the person who torques me the most, the one who pushes all my buttons, the one who gets on my final nerve is actually here to teach. They are a mirror held for me to see what has risen in my consciousness to forgive, to heal, or to release. There is learning of great value in every experience when I am open and receptive to learn, to see and to be changed.

I think of my sweet first grade teacher Mrs. Dalverny who taught me to read and write. As challenging as that may have been, I am so very grateful to know how to read and write. The primers we read about the adventures of Jack and Jane and Spot remain with me always. To add 3 apples to 2 apples and conversely to subtract them was a solid foundation for future learning. So it goes with the teachers of our adult life. The lessons they have come to teach are as valuable as those we learned in elementary school.

The Joy of the Lord is my strength! The Lord as the creative power within us is unstoppable because we are infinitely creative. There is no end to the number of solutions and perspectives to the myriad of opportunities or challenges we see in our nation and in our world.

Some in our spiritual community have expressed a desire to be active with the issues that are before us as a nation. I honor your desire for activism by offering a sacred space for conversation about what that might look like. We will meet beginning Saturday November 11, 2017 at 11:00am in the Book Store at Unity. We will explore Spiritual Activism 101. Please join us.

Sunday, we laughed at stories that were truly funny and for pure spontaneity. This Sunday we continue with The Humor of The Christ. Please stay for the Commitment and Vow Renewal Ceremony and reception after the Celebration Service. I’m saving a seat for you because it’s never the same without you!

Blessings of great joy,