Holiness In The Hidden

We live in an instant world. Instant messages keep us connected. Photos are taken, posted, shared and printed instantly.  Request your Uber or Lyft ride and instantly your driver is three minutes away.  And don’t get me started on Amazon Prime! If I want it tomorrow, I can order within six hours and simply hit the one click and it’s done … instantly.

I believe a part of us is conditioned and enjoy the benefits of receiving something instantly.

I think of my first instant camera and there was nothing instant about it.

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It was this big and bulky, and the photo would come out with hidden images. It took time to develop.  We’d fight to hold the photo and gradually see the images come into focus. I realized what I liked the most about the process was waiting.  

There’s holiness in the hidden … in the moments that don’t happen in an instant.  

I am still reflecting, nearly two months later, on Holy Saturday. The day that came between Friday’s crucifixion and Saturday’s resurrection. It was the day that Jesus was in the tomb, blocked by the stone. It felt as if nothing was happening, yet everything was happening at the same time. There is power in the hidden.

We can encounter Holy Saturday moments throughout our lives. It is in those mean time, in between time, experiences and no one is watching. The moments between crucifixion and resurrection of a dream or hope. The moments where it appears an area of your life is blocked by a stone. There’s power in the hidden.

Jesus had ministered for three years, we’ve read about his journey, studied his sermons and parables. We know about his teachings and miracles. Yet most of his life was hidden.  

We hear of his birth and then he’s hidden for several days.

Jesus is circumcised and hidden for a couple of years

When he is two, he is in the court and hidden for 10 years.

We see him again in the temple at 12 years old — confounding the teachers and again his life is hidden for nearly two decades.

Yet it is in these hidden years, that he grew, developed and was prepared for his ministry.

There’s power in the hidden. Just because something is anonymous or hidden, doesn’t mean that it is insignificant. When we look at the powerful ministry of Christ, we understand the impact of those hidden years. There’s power in our hidden seasons.

My photographer friend taught me about darkrooms. The room can be made completely dark to allow the processing and developing of the light-sensitive photographic materials.  

Spiritual darkrooms develop us. God is the photographer that captures the images of our lives and is with us in the spiritual darkroom. 

There is holiness in the hidden.

When the photos came out of the instant camera, we shook the photo, so it would develop faster. That actually harmed the photo. Likewise we can’t rush, edit or delete the hidden years.  But there is power in the hidden.

There is power in those anonymous and uncelebrated seasons of hiddenness. Our faith develops, our prayer life grows, we learn the important ministries of listening and presence.  You treasure those people who encourage and supported you during those moments. 

There’s holiness in the hidden and power in what we and others can’t yet see.

Blessed to be a blessing to you,

Sheila P Spencer

Life Interrupted ......

“We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming …..”

I guarantee you that growing  up, I always heard this at the most inconvenient time. It was during the crucial conversation of a favorite show or the last play of the game I  was looking forward to all week.  

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Life Interrrupted ......

Interruptions, by their nature, don't always come when planned. They are true to their definition of breaking the continuity of continuous process of an activity of process. Interruptions alter plans, cause you to change directions and adjust.

Did I say that interruptions come at the most inconvenient time?

Life Interrupted …..

The past several weeks my life has been interrupted ….

“Sheila, We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programmed Life as Goer and a Giver with this Breaking News :  Sit down, Be Still and Receive."

My response .........

Are you serious .....?

Are you serious .....?

 

Be Still and Receive ……… The two most difficult things for someone who is a Goer and  Giver ……….. Someone like me.

For the last month, I have had to slow down, be still and receive.  And no, it never comes at a convenient time….. Never…   It meant a change of plans, letting go, re-positioning and adjustments.

And I did say that never comes at a convenient time, right?

It’s like pressing pause and resetting….. But this life interruption taught me that I need to go through a review lesson on receiving.  I am not the best student ....

“Gracious acceptance is an art - an art which most of us never bother to cultivate.  We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving .. Accepting another person’s gift is allowing that person to express their feelings for you. “ Alexander McCall Smith

  • The only way to learn how to receive is …… to receive.

  • Receiving gives the giver an opportunity to be a channel of blessing.   One of my students told me bluntly, “Ms. Spencer, you’re always saying that it is a blessing to give, So you why are you blocking my blessing when you won’t let me give to you?”

  • Receiving reminds me that I am not in control … Not that I ever really was in control. I have learned the importance of being part of a community that supports and loves.  Receiving is another reminder that we need each other.

  • Receiving gives you the opportunity to deepen relationships -  My friend told me today that I am such the committed giver, that I need to take the time to step back and let others reciprocate.  He reminded me that receiving gives you a glimpse into someone's heart.  It is a way that you can learn more about someone.

I need these reminders

There are lessons learned from a life interrupted.  I have realized that it’s changed my perspective and reminded me of some basic truths.  In the midst of always being on the go and giving to others, sometimes I can miss the wisdom that is right in front of me.

Life Interrupted .... or is it?

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’, or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending one day by day: what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination.”  CS Lewis

 I realized that instead of viewing it as life interrupted .... it should just be life.  Life is naturally full of changes, twists and turns that come along with the journey.  Maybe Interruptions can be detours that turn out to be the tour that we needed to take to learn the lesson.  Life can be both more than you ever dreamed and nothing like you expected.  What if we viewed the interruptions as a continual part of life.  Interruptions can be interventions that are nothing that we planned, yet just what God scheduled.  The cancelled flight that completely throws your schedule off, but you end up running into a friend you haven't seen in years.  The interruptions that shift our Plan A into Plan B, J or Z. 

What if it's not life interrupted ... But simply life ...

This life interruption has made me stop, be still and  receive. This unexpected interruption has given me the space to pause, reset, heal and reflect.

I've had time to reflect upon life's interruptions and receive  .... that has been a benefit of being still.

Being still ....... yeah about that. 

Yeah, that's going be another blog.

Not the best student in that area either .....

Maybe it's not Life Interrupted ...……. maybe it's just life

 

Life,

Sheila