“My belief is that when you're telling the truth,
you're close to God. If you say to God, "I am exhausted and depressed
beyond words, and I don't like You at all right now, and I recoil from most
people who believe in You," that might be the most honest thing you've
ever said. If you told me you had said to God, "It is all hopeless, and I
don't have a clue if You exist, but I could use a hand," it would almost
bring tears to my eyes, tears of pride in you, for the courage it takes to get
real-really real. It would make me want to sit next to you at the dinner table.
So prayer is our sometimes real selves trying to
communicate with the Real, with Truth, with the Light. It is us reaching out to
be heard, hoping to be found by a light and warmth in the world, instead of
darkness and cold.
Anne
Lamott, Help, Thanks, Wow!
_________________________________________________
the book has sat on my shelves
a little dusty
and very untouched for so many years
I never liked the book
not that I didn’t find it challenging
it was more than a bit rebellious
for its time
out of its pages came, clearly stated for perhaps
the first time
at least in English
situational ethics
and the concept that perhaps we need a new God
or at least a new image of God
the little tome had its merits
but it was not a book that was going to make it
through
4 or 5 moves and the obligatory book purging that accompanies
such moves
except for one thing
its title
Honest to God
I like looking up there, as I walk by my book case
and being reminded each day
that my connection to the sacred is not going to
mean a thing
if I am not honest to God
if it is not my real self
connecting with and communicating with the Real
is not a connection that is ultimately open, and
real
and thus not a connection that is powerful
and life changing
the less honest I am with God
the more barriers I have put up,
and the less the sacred can become
a part of the fabric
that is the day to day
me
so thank you John A T Robinson
and thank your Anne Lamott
for reminding me
that when it comes to my
connection with
“the ground of all being”
“the Sacred”
“God”
