I Have Everything I Need
On Wednesdays, after teaching my morning yoga class, I head off to St. David's, an Episcopal Church nearby, where I meet a small group of lovely women for centering prayer, a form of Christian meditation. It is a real blessing to meditate regularly in community.
The wonderful woman who pastors this church, and I, entered into a lively discussion of the readings for this past Sunday's liturgy. She shared what she preached on, and I shared insights gleaned from my own pastor's homily, at the Jesuit parish that I belong to in Georgetown.
Sunday, was Good Shepherd Sunday, and the psalm for the day was Psalm 23rd.
This has never been one of my favorites, but it's grown on me over the years. I always gravitated towards others, and in my late teens/early twenties, as a liturgical musician, I gave myself the task of setting the psalms to music. Well, that didn't exactly go very far! Recently, I found excerpts of my renditions - lyrics and chords, on torn pieces of papers hidden in drawers and boxes in the basement.
The pastor of St. David's shared that she read many translations of this psalm in preparation for her sermon, and shared several of them. She chose to preach on the following translation of the first verse:
This is a curious departure from the usual interpretations, but it affirms that in every moment, we have everything that we need, whether we realize it or not. This is not exactly easy to swallow or accept at times. But often, as time puts some distance between us and difficult situations and periods in our lives, we do realize that in most instances we did receive exactly what we needed at the time - in terms of insight, support, and most especially - what we needed for our interior growth.
It is so much easier to focus on what we don't have - or what we want - and what we think will make us happy. How often are we mistaken? More than we care to admit...
Recently I wrote about the Gospel verse and teaching "Feed my sheep," and what it has meant to me. This verse in the Gospel this week, "I know my sheep, and they know me" just jumped out at me. I was struck by the connection of two verses speaking to me on subsequent Sundays. In fact, during the course of the week they have continued to speak to me, and have pulled me way out of my comfort zone. I realize, the Other Side had been waiting for my response...
I don't mean to sound so cryptic, but some things are best left unshared on such a public arena. But once I made the decision, it felt right and everything else feel into place.
Today, as I visited Suzanne, my gifted craniosacral therapist, I shared how my journey has unfolded in the last six weeks or so, since I'd seen her last. She was able to confirm that all that had transpired was all in the Divine Order of things, as a dear friend is so fond of saying - and we did the work necessary to sustain the currents of energy coursing through my body.
Afterward, I visited a friend around the corner, a former yoga instructor, whom I've known since we both did our first teacher training in the mid-nineties...
Life is full of interesting surprises, if we are willing to see them and accept them.
Truly, today and everyday - I realize and once more affirm - I have everything I need...
The wonderful woman who pastors this church, and I, entered into a lively discussion of the readings for this past Sunday's liturgy. She shared what she preached on, and I shared insights gleaned from my own pastor's homily, at the Jesuit parish that I belong to in Georgetown.
Sunday, was Good Shepherd Sunday, and the psalm for the day was Psalm 23rd.
This has never been one of my favorites, but it's grown on me over the years. I always gravitated towards others, and in my late teens/early twenties, as a liturgical musician, I gave myself the task of setting the psalms to music. Well, that didn't exactly go very far! Recently, I found excerpts of my renditions - lyrics and chords, on torn pieces of papers hidden in drawers and boxes in the basement.
The pastor of St. David's shared that she read many translations of this psalm in preparation for her sermon, and shared several of them. She chose to preach on the following translation of the first verse:
"The Lord is my shepherd;
I have everything I need."
This is a curious departure from the usual interpretations, but it affirms that in every moment, we have everything that we need, whether we realize it or not. This is not exactly easy to swallow or accept at times. But often, as time puts some distance between us and difficult situations and periods in our lives, we do realize that in most instances we did receive exactly what we needed at the time - in terms of insight, support, and most especially - what we needed for our interior growth.
It is so much easier to focus on what we don't have - or what we want - and what we think will make us happy. How often are we mistaken? More than we care to admit...
Recently I wrote about the Gospel verse and teaching "Feed my sheep," and what it has meant to me. This verse in the Gospel this week, "I know my sheep, and they know me" just jumped out at me. I was struck by the connection of two verses speaking to me on subsequent Sundays. In fact, during the course of the week they have continued to speak to me, and have pulled me way out of my comfort zone. I realize, the Other Side had been waiting for my response...
I don't mean to sound so cryptic, but some things are best left unshared on such a public arena. But once I made the decision, it felt right and everything else feel into place.
Today, as I visited Suzanne, my gifted craniosacral therapist, I shared how my journey has unfolded in the last six weeks or so, since I'd seen her last. She was able to confirm that all that had transpired was all in the Divine Order of things, as a dear friend is so fond of saying - and we did the work necessary to sustain the currents of energy coursing through my body.
Afterward, I visited a friend around the corner, a former yoga instructor, whom I've known since we both did our first teacher training in the mid-nineties...
Life is full of interesting surprises, if we are willing to see them and accept them.
Truly, today and everyday - I realize and once more affirm - I have everything I need...
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