[Caspian, Peter, Edmund, and Susan all kneel in front of Aslan]
Aslan: Rise, kings and queens of Narnia.
[Peter, Edmund, and Susan stand up, but Caspian stays on one knee]
Aslan: All of you.
Prince Caspian: I do not think I am ready.
Aslan: It is for that very reason, that I know you are.
How often this is true! The very fact that we can accept our own unprepared-ness and therefore understand our need to rely on God is proof that we are ready for whatever He has in store.
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Words. Such an important part of life. And, often, one of the most abused. In the past few weeks, there have been a number of very different situations which have impressed upon me the importance of choosing one's words carefully.
1. The pastor from the Baptist church led Bible Study again a few weeks ago (Go here for the story of the first time he came). I got a lot more out of it than the first time: partly because of things happening in my life at that time and partly just because it was better. The topic was discerning God's will for your life, especially when it comes to important decisions. Although I didn't agree with everything he said (the joys of being a practicing Catholic, who loves/studies her faith, attending a non-denom Bible study), there were a number of good suggestions. One of these was, rather than asking for a "sign," to let something in the Word speak to you. Over the course of that next week a very unexpected situation came up which required a fairly important decision. I struggled with making the right choice for a couple of days. Finally, only hours before it was resolved, I went to daily Mass. Because it was a special feast day for the church, the readings were different from what I had read that morning. The "new" Gospel explicitly dealt with the issue that I was facing and gave me the final confirmation that I was making the right decision.
2. When the aforementioned decision came, it required a conversation (more words) which was painful for all involved. In the time before, I kept worrying over how I would phrase what I knew needed to be said. Finally, I took refuge in Mark 13:11 (Do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.). Although the situation could have gone better, I was able to "let go and let God."
3. A day or so after this situation, a coworker pulled me aside to ask some advice. I always feel a bit strange giving advice to people who are older than I. It just seems odd to be telling them "what to do" when they are older (and wiser) than I. When I was talking to her, I kept praying that God would give me the right words. I'm not even sure exactly what I said but, after a few minutes, she told me that she knew what she had to do. Yet another example of letting the Holy Spirit speak.
4. We all have little idiosyncrasies when it comes to words and often don't notice them until they are pointed out. I've been realizing lately how much use I make of modifiers to "soften" statements. Problem is, that can change the meaning of my comment. It's always interesting to realize things like that.
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Lots more I could write about, but this is it for the moment. (There you go, Miss SF, a blog post... happy now? :-D )
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