A Reminder About Control

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Martha
Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011. Saint Catherine of Siena is buried beneath the altar, and to the left is a statue carved by Michelangelo -Christ Bearing The Cross.

“Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.” 2 Peter 1:12-14

     As changes have ocurred in my life, I have often had to make adjustments in my daily routine.  I have also often had to work hard at carving out the time I need to connect in spirit to Jesus each day, and at times have found it difficult to maintain the focus needed to do so.  He never disappoints me in His response to my efforts and always rewards me.  I have come to know that I am His unfinished work of art, which He chisels and carves on ever so tenderly.  As long as I remember to relinquish control to Him, I am ever secure in the knowledge that Jesus has my back!

     Today, as a reminder to myself and to all, I am sharing an entry from 2010 in Journey Through The Stillness, my personal spiritual journal. It reminds me that there will always be times when I need to refocus, but it also reminds me of exactly what must be done to gain that focus –relinquish control –and just exactly what my relationship with Jesus can be when I do so.

Journey Through The Stillness, October 25, 2010 – “Ah, well done, my child. Of late your actual entrance into The Stillness has become just that, a routine, a means to an end. It is wise that you recognize this and do not let it be so. I am your Lord. When you say, ‘for You are God’, remember exactly what this means. Relinquish control anew each and every time you enter The Stillness. It is not something to be rushed through. It must be honest; real; intimate. It is between servant and Master, created and Creator. And then, remember it is between beloved and Lover, breath and Life. Never take this for granted, but know it is ever there for the asking. Ask and ye shall receive.”

Prayer: My Lord, and My God, I lay my life before you. I consecrate to You my heart, body, and soul. I am thine and thine I wish to be. Therefore, I will fear nothing; for evil cannot conquer, cannot overcome, those that live in and through You, My Lord, and My God. Amen

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Come, Lord, Come.

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Martha

422px-Ecce_Homo_(Joan_de_Joanes)_-_0507Come Lord, Jesus Christ.  Come spiritually into my heart.

Through your grace purify it.  Sanctify it.  Through that same grace, O Lord, grant me humility and meekness of heart.  Grant me strengthened faith and an unlimited capacity for love.

And then, most gracious Lord, grant me both the desire and the courage to live out my faith according to your will.

Come Lord, Jesus Christ.  Come spiritually into my heart.

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Walk The Talk

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Martha

800px-Holy_Spirit_007     One of the things that has always bothered me about sharing what Our Lord has asked me to share, and writing as I am asked to write, is that I feel unworthy to do so.  I am a wretched sinner in need of His mercy and forgiveness.  I pray that I not only talk the talk, but that I also walk the talk.  Please lift me up in prayer, as I will you.  God Bless us all as we strive to be the person He wants us to be.

Psalm 119:169-176

Hear my cry to you, Lord. 
    Let your word help me understand.
Listen to my prayer;
       save me as you promised.
Let me speak your praise, 
   because you have taught me your demands.
Let me sing about your promises, 
   because all your commands are fair.
Give me your helping hand, 
   because I have chosen your commands.
I want you to save me, Lord. 
   I love your teachings.
Let me live so I can praise you, 
   and let your laws help me.

I have wandered like a lost sheep. 
Look for your servant, because I have not forgotten your commands. 

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In-Between

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Martha

 

Crucifix in Sistine Chapel, taken by Martha McDuff Wiggins, 2012

Crucifix in Sistine Chapel, taken by Martha McDuff Wiggins, 2012

“For I know the plans I have for you,”, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

     There is a real difference between a frown and a smile.  This difference can be both seen and felt.  There is also a real difference between begrudgingly doing something and joyfully doing something.  And then, there is the in-between.

     Let’s say you have something you need done.  It is very important, and yet, you are not able to do it yourself.  You ask someone to do it for you.  How do you feel when they mumble and groan the whole time?  You feel entirely different when they smile, when their demeanor shows they actually want to help out.  And then, there is the in-between.  You ask; they do.  You and theyboth know it isn not something they particularly want to do, but because they love and trust you, they are very willing to do it.

     The same correlation can be seen in how we accept and have faith in God’s will, God’s plan for our lives.  Sometimes we want something so bad we are willing to sacrifice other things, important things, to get it.  We jump through all of the earthly hoops, and then seal the deal with prayer.  We know how we will react when the answer is yes, but how do we react when the answer is no?

     Do we really have a choice here?  After all, when the answer is no, we have no other choice but to accept His will.  Actually, the choice is in how we respond to and accept his will.  Remember the difference between begrudgingly and joyfully doing something?  If we begrudgingly lay our disappointment at His feet, we are saying, “I don’t like this.  I don’t want this, but because You are Lord and you say so, then it is.”  If we joyfully lay it at His feet, we are saying,  “Thank you, Lord.  It really is fine!  I guess I really shouldn’t have wanted this after all.”

     I think this is where the in-between comes in to play.  Instead, we bring our disappointment and lay it at His feet saying, “Lord, this really hurts right now, but in your infinite wisdom you know best.  Help me to accept and trust your will, your plan for me.”

     If you were God, which approach would you prefer?  Would you want the begrudged acceptance, the joyful resignation, or the trusting disappointment?  Which response would you feel was the most honest?  Personally, I would rather know someone is disappointed in me, but trusts me, than have them constantly complaining about me, or just giving me lip service.

       You do have a choice.  Take your disappointments to Him.  Let Him know your pain, but let Him know you trust Him also.  He knows the plans He has made for you.  Besides, He can handle it!

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Let Your Soul Rest

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Martha
St Peter's Basilica Statuary, taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

St Peter’s Basilica Statuary, taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

 “He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, yet the world did not know who He was.  To his own He came, yet his own did not accept Him.  Any who did accept Him he empowered to become children of God.”  John 1:10-12

     Sometimes we become soul weary.  Sometimes we have just had enough!  We are finished; we cannot take anymore.  We just want to be left alone by the world, our job, our enemies, our spouse, maybe even our well-meaning friends.  When we finally run everyone off, when we are finally alone, we find it is not what we want at all.  We really just want someone to understand us.  We want someone to know what we are going through.  We want someone to be there with and for us.  Where do we go at times like these?  To whom do we run?

     The answer may seem obvious.  You already know I am going to say we should take it to God, and I am.  However, I am also going to lure you there!  What is in it for you?  Why should you take your tiredness, your disgust, your hurt, your doubt, your desire to give up, and lay it at the foot of The Cross?  Yes, He saved you from sin, but why would He care about you outside of sin?

     The one answer I love the most, is the fact that He is your Father.  Forget for a moment that He created you, in His image and likeness by the way.  Forget that He saved you from your sins, and is waiting to welcome you into Everlasting Life.  Forget, for a moment, that He is a part of you, that He is in you.  Focus only on the fact that He is your Father.

     A good Father cares deeply about His child.  He wants to see His child happy and fulfilled.  He wants His child to feel His love.  A good Father will nurture His child with kindness and protect His child at all costs, even lay down His Life.  A good Father can only do these things when He knows His child intimately, and when He knows His child’s needs.  A good Father knows every child is unique, and every child’s needs are singular to that child.  A good Father is the one person to whom a child can come and feel unconditionally loved; the one place a child can lay down and rest; can let down his or her guard, and trust.

     It is to Our Father in Heaven we need to run, to be restored, to find rest for our soul.  We need to lay everything at the foot of The Cross.  We need to spend time in His presence, so He can know our individual needs and nurture us with His love and protection.  In my “Journey Through The Stillness”, July 19, 2010, He points out to me, “Lean on Me, Martha.  I am your strength.  Strength does not come from you.  You cannot make or will yourself strong.  It comes from this time apart with Me.  Everything that you are comes from being apart with Me.  I grant you the strength you need.  I infuse you with Me, and you become strong; physically, mentally, spiritually.  I am Almighty, All-Powerful.”

    When your soul is weary, and much in need of rest, run to Him, not from Him.  Lie down at His feet.  He is your Father, and He is a good Father.  Trust in Him to make you strong again.  Trust in Him to make you whole again.

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Out Of Wretchedness … Into Confident Humility

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Martha

David_Goliath_Small“What a wretched man I am!  Who can free me from this body under the power of death?”  Romans 7:24

     My first response when He asks me to do something is to ask, “Why me, Lord.” I ask out of a sense of unworthiness, wretchedness. He knows me better than I know myself and uses me anyway!

     He doesn’t ask anything of us that He doesn’t already know we can do, that He doesn’t already know the outcome.  Sometimes we work so hard at not being prideful, that we overdo the humility!  There is a balance here to be struck.  We need be humble that He has called upon us, and at the same time confident we can accomplish what He asks of us. 

     In excessive humility we never accomplish anything.  We think we are too unworthy to even attempt what is being asked of us.  We think someone else could do a better job!  However, He didn’t choose someone else, He chose us!

     When we are over confident the opposite occurs, and still nothing is accomplished.  We think we can do it all, and either get in over our head and find out we can’t, or run everyone else off because we think we are the only one who can!

     God asks us to ask for His forgiveness, and then to come out of our wretchedness.  He does not want us to live in guilt or wretchedness, but instead, to live in forgiveness, in wholeness.  He asks us to be open to His will for us.  He knows our limitations.  He sees our faults, and still He chooses to use us for His Glory. 

     When He asks us to do something, instead of asking, “Why me, Lord?”, we need to ask, “Where do I start?”  We need to proclaim, “Here I am, Lord.”  We need to leave our wretchedness behind and let His Spirit fill us with enough confidence to get the job done!

     In His infinite wisdom, God gave each of us a free will.  We can, therefore, choose to wallow in our wretchedness, or we can choose to live in Spirit, in wholeness.

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Physical vs Spiritual

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Martha
St Mark's Cathedral, Venice, Italy

Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Venice, Italy, 2012

“And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”  Matthew 26:39 

     Sometimes you just can’t have it both ways.  You must choose one way or the other.  This dilemma often presents itself when we want what we want, yet God has a different plan.  Simply put, I call situations such as these the battle of wills … the physical will versus the spiritual will.

     To make my point, I will share an example from my personal experience.  In the past I have received some diagnoses that have put me to the test.  While, not life threatening, they have been physically uncomfortable, at time worrying, and just plain no fun.  I pray continually for acceptance and compliance to God’s will, and just when I think I am there, I find I have to undergo more tests to check for some new resulting condition.  It is these times that I find myself drained and fighting that battle between physical and spiritual will.

     I have learned through much prayer, reflection, and time spent in stillness before God, that I am not, and never will be, in control of my life.  I have learned that the only thing in my control is my reaction to, and my attitude toward God’s will for me.

     To further illustrate this battle of wills I will also share part of an entry from “Journey Through The Stillness,” my personal spiritual journal.  This particular entry is written the day before one such doctor’s appointment.

March 21, 2011 – Today’s Stillness is more in my Spiritual Communion … In my offering I pray: “Lord, you know my heart and mind.  Physically I want to be healed.  I want to have my eyes back from this disease.  I want to lose the weight the medicine has helped me to put on.  I want the pressures in my head to cease.  Physically I ask to be healed.  Spiritually, Lord, my soul knows there is a bigger picture, a larger plan, of which You are in total control.  Spiritually, I pray, Lord, only You know the plans You have made for me.  I trust in your plan.  I trust in your will for my life completely.  Physically my being cries out heal me; Spiritually my soul cries out save me.  Let it be according to your will.”  When I enter into The Stillness, He lets me know this is what He wants from me.  He wants complete surrender to Him.

     Surrender is tough, but truly not as tough as that battle between physical and spiritual will.  That battle keeps one’s soul in turmoil, while surrender brings quiet peace, brings hope in the knowledge that we are in His loving Hands.  In that peace of knowing is the strength to say, “Let it be according to your will, not mine.

     The personal experiences I share are not to call attention to me, but to hopefully help others who may be going through similar or even worse battles and struggles.

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The Black And White Horse Behind Those Trees

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Martha

Scout and Sierra“But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  Luke 18:16

     If you have ever driven kids in the car anywhere then you know it can sometimes be hard on the nerves.  Even just one kid!

     I grew up the youngest of three.  I was always stuck riding in the middle back seat, sandwiched between my sister and brother.  If I so much as leaned in either direction there was an eruption from one of them.  And, did they ever love to make fun of me!  One of their favorite things to do was to sing in unison, in a very annoying way, over and over, until I would be in tears, “Martha is a prevaricator!  Martha is a prevaricator!  (aka liar)Most of the time my Mom’s reaction was to tell us to be quiet, to stop it!  And then, hand out sticks of Wrigley’s chewing gum!

     When my three kids were young, I came up with all kinds of things to entertain them and keep things going smoothly.  One summer, when I was seven months pregnant with my youngest, we took a trip to Maine.  I spent most of the trip riding backwards reading, playing cards, and singing with our daughter and son.  I had even created homemade car bingo sheets for us.  Somewhere in Connecticut, after bouncing for hours over potholes made by the winter salting of the icy roads, I had a meltdown.  It was like riding a bucking bronco backwards with a big basketball under your shirt!  I told my husband he could stop the car, let me out, and I would gladly walk back to Florida!   Well, we did make it to Maine, and it was a wonderful trip.

     Our kids were normal kids.  Overall they were very well behaved, but at times they could poke, prod, pull, make faces, and make fun of each other with the best of them.  And, be proud of it!  While game playing and singing worked well on long distance trips, the short jaunts to school everyday could be trying on my nerves.  Three of the days I taught Art at their school; the other two days, their Dad drove them.  At times, they would antagonize each other all the way to school, then jump out of the car happy as larks to greet their day.  I, on the other hand, would have become a frazzled mess, a nervous ninny, from trying to keep control of them while driving.  Their Dad shared that he was also experiencing the same.  Then I remembered the old adage, the family that prays together stays together.

     Thus, I implemented prayer time on the way to school.  Problem solved?  Not quite.  When we would finish praying, it was back to antics the rest of the way to school.  First, we prayed together, out loud, in unison.  Then, each of us would offer up a few special intentions for our day, such as help to do well on a test, or for friends, teachers and family members who might be sick.  Just like Mom, they also noticed, and prayed for, the animals we would see regularly along our route.  Hence, the black and white horse behind those trees!  (To this day, I still look for that horse, but he was old then, and it has been many years, but still …)  There was also Pizza Pup, a cute little black dog that lived in a fenced yard, and was once seen mauling an empty pizza box.  His house burned down, and we prayed for a long time, until one day he was spotted at a nearby home safe and sound.  God is good!

     All was going pretty smoothly, except for that last stretch of time before arriving at school.  I hated ending our nice ride together on a negative note, so I decided, I needed to stretch the prayer time.  While special intentions were nice, I sometimes wondered if they could leave us focused on fears of taking that test, or worries about sick people.  I needed our time to end on a more positive note, so I came up with the following.  After the special intentions, we would each share three things we were thankful to God for.  It was amazing to me to see that sometimes this was harder for them than ‘asking’ for intentions.  However, they soon caught on, and I am happy to say it was happy trails for us, and for that black and white horse behind those trees who was prayed for everyday!

    My special intentions for today are that each of you feels the love of God in your heart this day, and I truly thank God for my loving husband, my children, and all the special people in my life!  God Bless you all abundantly.

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Are You Sleeping In A Rocking Boat?

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Martha
Bernini's Holy Spirit at Saint Peter's Basilica

Bernini’s Holy Spirit at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, 2011

“Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”  Ephesians 5:14

     Are you sleeping through your life?  If so, you must awaken and come from the darkness into the Light.  It is often easy to glide along letting nothing disturb you or disrupt your way, ever trying to let nothing rock your boat.  In doing so, you miss the importance and real meaning of your life.  You live in vain; you live in ignorance.   Your life is wasted, and a wasted life is a travesty.

     Continue reading in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Keep careful watch over your conduct.  Do not act like fools, but like thoughtful men.  Make the most of the present opportunity, for these are evil days.  Do not continue in ignorance, but try to discern the will of the Lord.” 

     God often gently awakens us, opening our hearts to His voice.  However, He sometimes has to rock our boat to jolt us out of our deep sleep.  Do you listen for His voice?  Are you in a situation, that if you look closely, you can see His Hand rocking your boat?  Or, are you gliding along ignoring anything that makes you stop and think about your direction in life?  Is your boat rocking you to sleep, or rocking your world?!

     Do not remain ignorant.  Do not let your life be wasted.  Awake!  Arise!  Enter into the Light!  Do so by living in His Word, by reading and meditating on all God has to say.  Find His will for your life in the Good News of The Gospels.  Find the real meaning of your life in The Bible.

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Jesus Is Love

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Martha

 

St Peter's Basilica, 2011

Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, 2011

“What is written in the Law?’  Jesus replied. ‘How do you understand it?’

 “He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’  And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

“You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied.  ‘Do that, and you will live.”  Luke 10:26-28

     It can’t be made any plainer for us.  Love is the answer.  Without love we cannot be assured salvation.  Jesus is Love.  Jesus is in each and every one of us.  See Jesus in yourself and you will begin to love yourself as He does.  See Jesus in others and you will love them as you love yourself.  Do all for love of God so that you will live, so that you will share in Life Eternal with Him.

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