Dearest Loved Ones, October 2007
How wonderful it was to see so many of you during our recent travels. I am always so grateful for the opportunity to re-connect with family and friends. Our time was great and we'll be looking back on this trip with joy and laughter for years to come.
As you may know the main purpose for our trip was to attend the Word Made Flesh staff retreat in Nebraska City, NE. This gathering, held every three years, has a way of uniting all of us who serve in different parts of the world. We listened to each other's stories, shared meals together and worshiped in the name of Jesus.
Our devotional reflections tied into the theme of the retreat, taken from Thomas Keating's lectures The Human Condition- Contemplation and Transformation. Keating describes the human condition as this, "…to be without the true source of happiness, which is the experience of the presence of God, and to have lost the key to happiness, which is the contemplative dimension of life." In other words, as humans we are all looking for happiness but many of us can't find the key.
Keating then provides an illustration by retelling an ancient tale. A master has lost the key to his house. His disciples offer to help and begin searching alongside him in the grass. As the sun grows hotter, one of them asks the master if he knows where he might have lost the key. The master then admits that he lost the key inside the house, but is looking for it outside because that is where the lighting is better.
Absurd? Illogical?
Still how often do I find myself looking for the key to happiness in the wrong places? They might be very good, well-lit places. I may even have the best intentions. But what I come to realize is that they are only substitutes for the real thing.
So, I love the illustration. And recognize that the key to happiness- the contemplative dimension of life- is a call to create space for God. In Nebraska City we had many opportunities to practice contemplation. There were times of silence, meditations on the Scriptures and a workshop on centering prayer. There was even an entire room set aside for prayer available to us around the clock. These were beautiful times for me.
The challenge is now to continue to make space for God amidst the demands of everyday. That is my prayer, as I right these words, for myself and for you. May we all find the key.
In pursuit of happiness,
Adriana