How I Think God Shows Up

“Synchronicities can remind us that we aren’t alone; we are connected, and there is a mysterious and meaningful direction to our lives.” – Jung

The Bible

I remember a comment a well-respected judge in our area made in a conversation: “I don’t worship the Bible. I worship God.” At that moment, I knew a truth, at least to me, was that I had been taught to worship the Bible, and that was a problem.

What I will share here is deeply personal. These are my thoughts and experiences. I’m not putting this in print to try to change anyone’s mind or their beliefs. I am simply sharing my personal journey.

As I study the writings of Bible scholars, I’ve come to appreciate a much broader way of thinking. I’ve come to a belief in a much bigger God than the one I learned of in Sunday School as a child.

“God of the Bible is the God of the biblical writers and their experiences in plurality of ways.” – Enns

“Knowledge and faith should complement each other rather than remain in opposition.” Jung

One day, out of the blue, a friend, Mary Cannon, came to my door. She had been “told” she should bring me a copy of Entering the Castle by Caroline Myss. This book is a life-changer. I encourage anyone who desires to delve deeply into their spiritual growth to read/study this book. It is a modern version of Sister Teresa of Avila‘s The Interior Castle.

“Exposure to truth changes your life.”

“. .. the contemporary mystic is called to represent an invisible power in the world through a personal spiritual practice, through the power of prayer, through living consciously and practicing compassion, and through becoming a channel for grace.”

Mystical service means modeling calm in chaos, kindness amid anger, always forgiving, and personal integrity.”

Edith Hamilton wrote: “Faith is not belief. Belief is passive. Faith is active.”

Ask yourself-“How am I meant to be of service?”

Challenges to Belief – Harm Caused by Christians

When I was in college, I took a debate class and was assigned to argue for the motion that “religion had caused more harm than good.” I argued against it, and I lost. I didn’t want it to be true. However, when I read Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned, I had to face some facts that I wanted to deny and certainly weren’t taught in Sunday School.

Facts like:

• The death toll from the Crusades is generally believed to be in the millions, with estimates commonly cited between 1 and 6 million people killed, reflecting the complexity and scale of these religious wars. – Perplexity
• I wasn’t taught that other Christians gained unimaginable wealth through slavery, or that the vast majority of white Christians in the South defended slavery either actively or tacitly, or that America’s largest denomination formed to perpetuate slavery on biblical grounds.
• I wasn’t taught how Christians mocked, persecuted, and opposed many brilliant thinkers, from Copernicus and Galileo to Charles Darwin and Rachel Carson.
• I wasn’t taught that Christians, including many of the major Christian donors, created, profited from, and defended the systems that produced so many orphans, widows, downtrodden, sick, destitute, and poor.
• I was taught that Christians like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Archbishop Desmond Tutu courageously fought to overcome the American and South African versions of apartheid. I was never told that their fellow Christians created those very systems and defended them with elaborate theological justifications, deceptive legal machinations, and plenty of violence.

We believe God’s nature is revealed in many ways, but especially through the life and teachings of Jesus. We believe God’s love and Christ’s example can help us be more than we can be on our own: more authentic, empowered, caring, purposeful, fulfilled, at peace, and joy-filled. – Marble Collegiate Church

Denominations

Over my adult years, I’ve attended various Christian denominations and have come away with an awareness that each one has its core beliefs and an emphasis around which its beliefs are attached.

I was raised in a Southern Baptist church—First Baptist Church, Port Neches, Texas. We were literalists but didn’t know we carried that label. As a young adult, I pulled away from the SBC. Before I had children, while living in Houston, I attended a Methodist Church and even tutored students as part of their program. When we moved to Nederland in 1974, I didn’t attend church. I didn’t concern myself with it.

When my last child, Lance, was born, I began to feel the pull of the Spirit. I joined a small Presbyterian church in Port Neches. After the divorce, I began attending Cathedral in the Pines in Beaumont. It was an Assembly of God church, but I wasn’t aware of that at the time. The worship services were in a controlled environment. A full orchestra prepared us for worship. There was a singles’ class and group there that meant a lot to me. It was led by Leora Wagliardo. She was an ordained pastor and a jewel. I appreciated her more than she ever realized. We took trips and had socials. It provided a healthy social life for me. We always went to Dickens on the Strand in Galveston.

But after the Pastor (Dabney) died in 1994, that church underwent changes and pastors. By 2003, the services were no longer calm and controlled. We no longer felt welcome there. We left and didn’t attend church again until we attended Calder Baptist (a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church). Sam loved Jim Fuller, the pastor, and he and his wife, Jo, became our good friends.

SOUL QUALITIES

“Silence is the soul’s oxygen. . . a practice of silence in your spiritual life is both realistic and essential.”

“Silence is a learned practice that requires far more than just not talking. Not talking is not silence; it’s just not talking. Daily silence, prayer, and contemplation are traditional practices that you must adopt as a contemporary mystic.”

Concepts of God

Rohr also believes all religions share the same core truth and are all paths to truth (perennialism). He openly affirms panentheism, a view of God’s nature that teaches God is in all and all is in God, but God also transcends the world.

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More to come

I raised three children as a single mother before I remarried. In 2007, I founded SMORE for Women, a nonprofit whose goal is Single Moms, Overjoyed, Rejuvenated, and Empowered. I’m also a Certified Professional Coach, and my stories have been published in several Christian books and magazines. My book has been picked up by Morgan James Publishing and is available for preorder on Barnes and Noble
Visit  My Website.