Resonance Part II
I talked in Part I of finding books that resonated with me. The story of that serendipitous find at a bookstore that was closing its doors for good. In this article, I will share some of what was revealed through the pages.
The book I started with was Thomas Keating’s, ‘The Heart of the World, an Introduction to Contemplative Christianity.’ There was for me in his writing a quality of sound that was deeply full and reverberating. I was finding myself rising to something I had not known before. One of the lines in the book says this, “the experience of transcendence is extremely reassuring. It is like coming home. There is a mysterious peace and security that comes from approaching - and seeming to touch - the spiritual level of our nature.”
I think that was the shift. This connection to the spiritual part of my nature. It was not as if I had not experienced some of the very best of life as a ‘spirit filled’ believer. I had been to amazing meetings and was privileged to know some of the most anointed leaders. Yet somehow, in this writing I was hearing a language closer to my original design and it spoke to me in ways that felt true in the core of my being.
Also, it gave understanding to some of the actions I was taking. Let me share one revelation. I found myself in the previous year, with a desire to start to wear a crucifix. That is the cross with Jesus on it. I was visiting a spiritual Mother at the time and as she and I were chatting, I mentioned it to her. She was raised in the Catholic church but was moving in the more Evangelical circles and we both had a wry smile as we talked about how that might be perceived. She too had that desire and to that end, I purchased one for each of us and I started wearing mine daily. I could sense something as I wore it but could not find words to explain what it was doing inside.
On a flight home from Edmonton to Toronto, I was reading the Heart of the World. There on the top of a page, Keating writes, “the love of Christ manifested itself in his sheer vulnerability. The crucifix is the sign and expression of the total vulnerability of Jesus: the outstretched arms, the open heart, the forgiveness of everything and everyone. This sheer vulnerability made him wide open to both suffering and to joy.”
Suddenly I threw up my arm, likely alarming my seat mate and gave an air punch. Here were the words that gave language to my action. Vulnerability had become a lifestyle choice over the past years. It was costly for myself and perhaps others, yet I wanted a life of transparency. On that flight, reading that line, I was able to give language to, and wear the symbol of, that decision with certainty. Oh, the peace that came to me.
I settled into the wearing of the crucifix from that point on. My original purchase was from Walmart and it was not one I could wear for long; it was rather flimsy. When I turned 60, our son Steve said he wanted to get me a gift of jewelry, “whatever you want” he said. I asked for a better crucifix, one where Jesus would not fall off of the cross. To this day, I wear a white gold chain where hangs the cross with Jesus front and center. An image of the life I aim to live and the symbol of how I do that very thing. A life exchanged by his death and resurrection.
Our hope with Master Key is that we help you to find your way back to your original design. Truly, we believe that one of His desires is to remind you of who you were meant to be before life had its way with you.
The power to redeem your life to the full was found in His shed blood, at the cross and that blood never has, nor ever will lose its power.
