I walked our labyrinth today for the first time in weeks, and I immediately noticed the disarray of the rocks. When we constructed it 3 years ago (!), we took rocks from our property and the local creek to make the entrance/exit, parts of the paths and the lunations around the entirety of the path. We scraped down the dirt with the edge of a stone and wiggled it back and forth into the dirt until it stayed upright in the path, though the lunation rocks lay mainly flat.
Occasionally, I find a rock on its side and as I walk, I resurrect it, but today, chaos reigned in the labyrinth. The garden stakes, acting as guides to the nautical rope and helping the rope maintain its course, raised themselves high as if considering a strike. The lunations on a quarter of the circumference lay strewn to one side or the other, sometimes obstructing the path or opening it to the vagaries of the back yard. The rocks normally standing at attention in the labyrinth's opening (and closing) prostrated themselves to the ground, many with mud, worms or ants already making homes in the newly found shelter.
A gift of labyrinth walking presents itself in metaphor (yes, I meant to wordplay). For those who teach others how to walk the path, they encourage the walker to pay attention to what occurs during the walk, e.g., Scripture that comes to mind, what art/stain glass/music happens to be within eye/ear shot, does some event take place, etc. Once a butterfly stepping stone became of Word from God for me. Upon seeing the butterfly with wings made of chunks of broken tile and colored glass, God said (in a I-just-know-it-was-God-and-not-me-way), "Your brokenness will be your path to flight." At that very moment, the phrase became one of my life's mantras.
So today, with the plethora of discombobulation on the path, I pondered how it might be interpreted. At the time, I considered the day: Not a banner one - not enough sleep, sensing a deep desire to modify much of my life plan (read: crawl-out-of-my-skin-in-discomfort "deep desire") and a growing sense of dread for a project whose deadline looms (read: likely reason for my deep desire to modify my life plan). I kicked myself for any number of reasons, which eventually led to my assuming the metaphor of the "disarrayed path" somehow reminded me of the necessity to care for my spiritual life and my work life by taking one step at a time, repositioning/reordering the practices of my life and bit-by-bit getting everything back on course. A fair interpretation and not completely incorrect. . .
Then I engaged in a lectio divina practice tonight on Psalm 121 (posted below for your own practice, if you'd like to join in) and the phrase which stood out for me was "The LORD is [my] Keeper," keeping me from all evil, keeping my life, keeping my going out and my coming in forever more. Yes, I have the ability to exert some influence on the path I walk, but the LORD is my Keeper and the Keeper of my path - even when I knock all the rocks around and rip up the rope myself. This is Love doing what Love does - holding us all the days of our lives.
PRACTICE
Lectio Divina: Read the following passage through after a few deep breaths and pay attention to any word or phrase which sticks out for you. Read through again and pay attention to anything further you notice about the word/phrase and how it applies to you. Read through again and spend time in prayer with the word/phrase asking God what you need to understand/know/do with the word/phrase (i.e., How might God be guiding you? What needs your further action? Where may your understanding need to be changed or expanded? How may this impact your relationship with someone else?). End with a time of thanksgiving.
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.
No comments:
Post a Comment