Saturday, May 22, 2010

Just Sharing....

Kind Readers,

I have been reading some books lately on the topics of listening and trust which are becoming more and more a concern of mine. One book that has been insightful is The Sacred Art of Listening, by Kay Lindahl. It is a good read on the importance of listening openly to others and God. I can't say enough about this simple book that I read in 2 evenings, which says something due to my eye strain! I loved it. (It is not of any particular denomination or group.) Today there seems to be a temptation to form most communication, not just by our young people, but adults as well through texting, twitter, etc. Not enough....

I thought I would also share this short but meaningful poem and queries that followed that were a good guide to me as I revisited Practicing Peace's trust chapter one evening in thought that might be of use to someone:


There is no going back.
We are a pilgrim people
who must take to the road again,
learning as we go to sing a new song
and to trust the God
who is always bringing new things to birth. Jo Farrow

Queries:
Do I make understanding God a prerequisite for trusting God?

What helps me trust others, knowing that trust offers no guarantees or safety?

What criteria or process do I use to assess whether I am too trusting or not trusting enough?

In Friendship and Light,

Jan Lyn

29 comments:

Renee said...

Very insightful, Jan Lyn...I have been struggling with keeping my mind focused on listening to God and others lately....Especially desire to be listening for God's whispers ~ at times I even miss his thunderous voice.... Thank you for sharing this...it is yet another way God is gently guiding me in this endeavor.

Ganeida said...

Jan Lyn: Oh I so love that poem! Thnk you for sharing. I am going to copy & paste & look for more of her work. It is lovely.

Are we sharing a mind just now? I posted on hearing God today before I saw your post. Listening & hearing God have very much been on my heart recently ~ Again! ☺

Jan Lyn said...

Oh Renee, I listen for 'God whispers' all day and whisper back to Him. :)

That's interesting Ganeida. The book that the poem came from, I can highly recommend. It is Practicing Peace, by Catherine Whitmire. She also first authored Plain Living. Both are excellent reads and can be gotten from Amazon I'm pretty sure.

God bless and keep you and yours, both.
Jan Lyn oxo

Amanda said...

Hello Jan Lyn :) I have found my way over to your blog via Ganeida's...

Trust is something we have been meditating and understanding more about within our Church fellowship.

With regards to this query, "What helps me trust others, knowing that trust offers no guarantees or safety?", I have come to the following conclusion:

I find that, really, in essence, there is not a lot of sure ground in trusting anyone. Sure, you can trust to a degree, but as the saying goes, 'man' will always let you down, at some point. Albiet, inadvertently or unconsciously. When our trust is place in the Lord, we TRUST HIM to always protect our hearts. If hurt or disappointment occurs, then I wholeheartedly believe, it is because He has allowed it, and will ultimately use it for His good (and our sanctification process).

The first question you posed is the biggie. I believe that the more we 'know' Him, and know Him intimately, our trust will surely grow and develop. I have witnessed this in my very own walk. He proves Himself over and over again, as a faithful and perfect Father and as we grow to believe and experience that, our trust soars in Him, and that we can 100% trust Him with every facet of our lives.

As to being too trusting of people, I find that a level of trust builds over time and intimacy with the person. If I feel a betrayal or disappointment of that trust, I simply work through forgiveness, but keep an element of guardedness. I don't believe we need to lay our hearts out for the slaughter, so to speak. He will endow us with wisdom and discernment, if we ask for it.

There you have it... my thoughts in a nutshell lol.

Thank you for such a lovely post. I pray God's blessings on you and your family...

Amanda

Jan Lyn said...

These days, I am not checking in with my blog very often, but am certainly glad I did today. I am pleased to 'meet' you Amanda. :)
The answers to my Quaker queries you so gracefully answered really speak to my heart as well. It appears we can much in common.

Blessings,
Jan Lyn

Renee said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
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