Isn’t this just the yummiest of moments in so-called time, to be a minister for God; to join ranks with the mighty companions of miracle workers on the journey without distance to the place we never left (God), navigating Love’s waters through fear’s cloudy sky? We just absolutely have to trust Jesus’ instruments to pilot the way, without which we would be lost.
I love it!
And isn’t if fun to see who shows up to take their place among the ministers…
"ALL are called but few choose to listen. Therefore, they do not choose RIGHT." The "chosen ones" are merely those who choose right SOONER.
As I listened to President Obama's inaugural address, yesterday, I was warmed by the sincerity and what I agree to be the accuracy of what faces us as a human race, reaching for the highest in us all as One World ~ One Mind.
A theme of my own this year has been "It is time to put away childish things..." I had to smile when Obama quoted it in his a speech. PERFECT.
He actually said, “We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
I couldn’t help but think about what the Course says to remember as a prayer declaration of independence, in chapter 4:
“The Kingdom is perfectly united and perfectly protected, and the ego will not prevail against it. Amen”…
President Obama began his speech, in my opinion, placing first things first:
“I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful…”
When I think about today’s lesson: “What I see is a form of vengeance” and associate it with/in context of this conversation given by my brother Obama in his gorgeous commitment delivered world wide yesterday, I see the call to accounting I have assigned myself. Attack thoughts are the reason we see a world of vengeance and they won’t disappear with a new administration. I must consciously claim them; quit looking away. Look straight on at everything; including ideas like guilt, anger, worry, conflict, envy, which I see around me, regardless of how they seem to belong to someone else. They’re mine. Period. I apply the exercise given in the workbook:
“I see only the perishable.
I see nothing that will last.
What I see is a not real.
What I see is a form of vengeance.”
It is time to put away the childish ideas like blaming, complaining, one-uping, bitching and explaining myself. That story is over. No more trying to prove myself or justify my worth, accept it as it was established by God. Anger is never justified in any form! That is what the practice of the workbook is for; uncover, excavate, give over to the Holy Spirit and watch forgiveness dissolve them in the light of love… That’s my experience. It’s a miracle! Period.
There is no other way.
Jesus/Holy Spirit takes it from there. By lesson 31, we are handed our declaration of release: “I am not a victim of the world I see.” Are we ready?
Here are a few other things Obama said in his address yesterday that I was warmed to unite in:
“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord… On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas…”
Now doesn’t that feel familiar? It’s just what I’ve been saying, yes? It is all about forgiving all the discord, conflict, petty grievances and false promises, recriminations and worn out dogmas. Isn’t it. We face ourselves, squarely, each one of us, and stand in a singular purpose for God and then extend our hand…
Here’s what Obama said:
“…Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity…What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task… So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are.”
Don’t you love that! I do.
He wraps up with a statement of continuity for ‘we the people’, referencing a historical quote: "Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
He then brings it present NOW by finishing with this:
“With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”
In the spirit of continuity, I’ll wrap with this from chapter 21 of A Course in Miracles...
“Listen, and try to think if you remember what we will speak of now. Listen, - perhaps you catch a hint of an ancient state not quite forgotten; dim, perhaps, and yet not altogether unfamiliar. Like a song whose name is long forgotten, and the circumstances in which you heard completely unremembered. Not the whole song has stayed with you, but just a little wisp of melody, attached not to a person or a place, or anything particular. But you remember, from just this little part, how lovely was the song, how wonderful the setting where you heard it, and how you loved those who were there, and listened with you.
The notes are nothing; yet you have kept them with you, not for themselves, but as a soft reminder of what would make you weep, if you remembered how dear it was to you. You could remember, yet you are afraid, believing you would lose the world you learned since then. And yet you know that nothing in the world you learned is half so dear as this. Listen, and see if you remember an ancient song you knew so long ago, and held more dear than any melody you taught yourself to cherish since. Beyond the body, beyond the sun and stars, past everything you see and yet somehow familiar, is an arc of golden light that stretches, as you look, into a great and shining circle. And all the circle fills with light before your eyes.
The edges of the circle disappear, and what is in it no longer is contained at all. The light expands and covers everything, extending to infinity, forever shining, and with no break or limit anywhere. Within it, everything is joined in perfect continuity. Nor is it possible to imagine that anything could be outside. For there is nowhere that this light is not. This is the vision of the Son of God, whom you know well. Here is the sight of him who knows his Father. Here is the memory of what you are; a part of this, with all of it within you, and joined to all of it as surely as all is joined to you.”
I LOVE YOU!
