Therefore take
up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:13
I stared at the blank space opening up into the TUSD website:
Create a new password.
And I paused.
Joann led this week’s Sunday School through a consideration
of how one actually lives in the Word. And really, it’s a little odd the things
that saints through the ages have found helpful. One example that she shared is
how at first she thought it was a little odd that I would choose a Chorus of
the Day to echo throughout my brain during the cracks of silence up and down
Speedway and waiting at traffic lights.
I then shared the odd discipline of a coworker at the ranch in Mexico:
every morning he would rise up and motion his way through putting on the full armor
of God, so that he would be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
And we all read through Ephesians 6 to remind ourselves of the tools at our
disposal. The same tools that saints through the ages have wielded. My dad had
his kids memorize 26 Bible verses written on 3x5 cards, each one starting with
a different letter of the alphabet. And he would keep the stack on the kitchen
table, and time and time again we would run through them. And when I had “Zeal for Your
house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen
on me,” hidden in my heart that I might
not sin against Thee, we started all over with a brand new set: And be sure your sins will find you out; Be
ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; Casting all your
cares upon Him, for He cares for you. And a rather tattered Tau cross hangs
from basically a shoelace around my neck in this world of professional dress. And
the sign of the cross comes quickly to my fingertips now, asking for the wisdom
of the Father, the heart of the Son, and the strength and power of the Holy
Spirit. Again and again. Because so easily I gambol off into my own lost lamb
ways moment after moment, distracted by the least green snacky snack of grass
or a colorful flitting butterfly or most frequently of all, a buzzing gnat
swarm of discouraging thoughts.
The Monday night ladies are reading The Attentive Life, and the author
shared his experiences living in a monastery with the brothers who prayed the
hours, starting at three in the morning. And even though we were a room of
ever-so-weary working women, something tugged at our soul-strings, this church
bell call of further in and farther up. And we could all set our assorted technology
to ring out the hours, as a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path. And my homework is to investigate nearby
silent retreats for us to step into, oddly enough in this rush rush world, for
we don’t want to run this race in vain.
Thus I created a new password: CauseMe2,
which in the world of The District means I will have to type it dozens, and
maybe more dozens of times, a day.
CauseMe2 hear thy
lovingkindness in the morning, for in Thee do I trust.
CauseMe2 know the
way where in I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee.
My background noise from yesterday.
Odd, but, so be it.
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
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