8.19.2007

Who is doing the pursuing?

Do you think, that after successful seeking, we find God/Love in our lives and everything becomes perfectly wonderful all of the time, and we walk in perfect confidence, love and happiness?

To me, it is more like this. Once I began to recognize the call, the prodding … the tickles even - inviting and enticing me to respond to God/our Creator/to Love - the relationship didn’t become instantly perfect and complete, and neither did I. Oh no, that was only when the real pursuit began.

There is movement, not necessarily forward … it undulates. Like the ocean, it takes us up and down, back and forth, sometimes peaceful, sometimes in a rage, sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating, sometimes going nowhere.

Or …a flirtation. Where will It go next? Unpredictable, but like the scarf in the photo, responding to the wind and the movements of the girl, He beckons us to follow.


Photo courtesy of Darla Winn

6 comments:

Anne said...

Keren, I can relate to the undulating, the ebb and flow of love. I am humbled...sometimes within minutes, by how close then how far I am from Love inside me. And so as God pursues me, I pursue him, praying the tide stays in a little longer each time. Thank you for your thoughts about your own journey in Love. Thank you Darla for your exquisite illustration.

Darla said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Darla said...

keren... absolutely poignant and beautiful. i wish someone had told me this when i started my relationship with Love... but unfortunately i was sold that "everything will be perfect now," line. yes, it's like a roller coaster, up, down, foward, backward, upside down.... but that's life. i was raised in VERY predictable home... so i like how you describe this pursuit as SO unpredictable. that's going to be a hard thing for me to learn... but i want to start trying. it seems so much more adventurous that way, yes??

i love the way you captured the essence of this picture. i am blown away....

Divorced Dad said...

what would life be like to accept the present moment unconditionally and to relinquish inner resistance to what life holds in the Now? i don't mean resignation to what may be transpiring in the present moment, but to accept what IS in every moment, and then choosing to embrace it or respond to it from our deeper Selves (the Christ Self; the indwelling Spirit; the mind of Christ; etc...). i sometimes expect that the circumstances/situations/scenarios of my life should be "smoother," but maybe the true change is simply living from that kingdom of God place within. anyway, something i've been stewing on. love you all, jim

Keren said...

I agree, Life would be so wonderful - if we could truly live with that kind of acceptance.

God/Love is so beautiful - and only wants us to respond to Him with love - kindness, etc through eachother.

I have seen Him through others, and I have felt Him deep in my own core, so deep that if I told you, you would indeed be convinced I am crazy.

All that said. It is not easy. Anyone who says they can accept things (bad things) JUST as they are, easily accepted because they "know" God.

Or anyone that says he or she can let God's will be done through, with and in them, without a struggle - is probably not being honest with themselves or hasnt hit the wall yet.

It is a journey, and to me it has so far been a rise sometimes a wild ride - an adventure - like Darla's comment. and in my own experience almost a flirtatious but continuous persistent pursuit, with never a hint of an ending.

By the way, I am not talking about someone faced with something like cancer that puts the real and present inevitability of death of earthly existence right in your face. That is a different story.

However, If I were to try to describe the ministy I have been "called, prodded and even tickled" to - it would be the call to say that God/Love is in Me and in You and I can witness to that in my average, ordinary daily life, ... and at least for now, without money, prestige or terminal illness.

Keren said...

ooo I just reread my last comment - certainly not intended, but it sort of sounds cranky ... so if anyone else felt that Im sorry!

What I meant was our possessions, positions, situations we find ourselves in do not define us.

I started wondering the the last couple of years - can I truly find the "peace" "the kingdom" in the current reality of my daily grind? Going to work, paying bills, dealing with health issues, family problems, and wanting to become "more" in all of that.

Once I began to realize that God/Love was already in me. My eyes were opened. I could respond to my "grind" with the Love that was already in me. Courtesy of being a child of God.

To me that has meant freedom and peace and much of the time, I feel It, but just when I think I have it all figured out... God stirs up the seas,

gives me something I dont want to deal with, or wants something from me that I dont want to give up. Im learning that acceptance, being in the now, present to what is really going on is the first step but it is not always easy. I still have to ride the waves or let wind whip me around, until things settle again - which they always do.

Peace and Love
Keren