Hornet Story

 

Some years ago, I was enjoying worship in an old meeting house that didn’t have air conditioning.  It was a hot summer day and so the windows were all open.  I chose to sit in front of a window to feel the sun beat on my back.  It felt glorious.  I closed my eyes and slipped deep into worship.  At some point I became aware of an insect walking on my arm.  Eyes still closed, I pondered what it might be.  It wasn’t a fly or any insect that I could easily identify, so I peeked and saw a black hornet.  I watched him for a moment, closed my eyes and continued in worship.  The hornet flew away several minutes later.   So, you say, why are you now sharing this story?

 I’m sharing this story because I learned something that day.  I learned something about fear and how it feeds conflict.  I learned something about trust and faith.  And I learned that the way that I behave can influence the way other people behave.  That probably feels like a lot of weight to give a hornet walking on my arm so allow me to explain.

 In a different place, and a different setting, I might have reacted to finding a hornet on my arm from a place of fear.  I might have swung something at it thinking to harm it.  I might have attempted to swat it off.  Those actions, based in fear, might well have awakened fear in the hornet and caused it to bite me.  The other path, the one that I chose that morning, gave us both the grace to simply greet one another and continue on with our days.  I trusted that this small creature meant me no ill will.  He was simply walking up something that was in his path.  I had faith that if I were able to embrace his presence, he would do me no harm.

 I later learned that more than one person in the room was watching the hornet’s progress as he walked up my arm.  I also learned that they were each trying to decide what to do.  Among the options was to strike the hornet.  When they saw me open my eyes, observe the hornet, and return to worship, those Friends relaxed and they too returned to worship.

Since my encounter with that hornet, there have been many times when letting go of fear and opening to trust and faith have changed a potentially negative outcome to one where hope and grace abide.  I am grateful for the lesson Black Hornet brought me.

Our call is to love

 

Our call is to Love 

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy".   Thomas Merton

 

In these times when we are surrounded by acts of seemingly intentional harm, and uncaring, we are challenged to delve deeply into our Quaker faith.  I hear Friends lift up a call to live into our Peace testimony.  That is surely a good thing.  As we seek to lean into that testimony it is important to remember that it does not stand by itself.  All of our Testimonies work together to form a cohesive guide for us to test how we can live our best lives, no matter the circumstances that we find ourselves in.  Each one is integral to our understanding of the others.  We are called to testify to that enlivening movement in our lives. 

The work of peace and peacemaking requires delving  into our deepest selves, calling upon all that we are and all that  Spirit calls us to be.  For Friends it means acknowledging and living from that place where we encounter God within and remembering that place is not unique to us as Friends.  We say that there is that of God within everyone.  In acknowledging and accepting that as true, we acknowledge that each and every person is a child of God.  Once we acknowledge that, we must also acknowledge that no one is evil.  Some of God’s children surely seem to have lost their way as they choose to engage in evil acts but they nonetheless remain God’s children, carrying that of God within.  Our call is to love them; to hold them in the Light, to pray that they will find the Light within themselves and be moved to hope, and joy, and love.  We are called to love everyone without judgement and, in that most challenging act, we are lead toward hope and unity.  It is not easy work, but it is ours.

Still Small Voice

 

When my daughters were quite young, eighteen months, three years old, and five years old, I first began to explore the Quaker path.  The girls and I attended Meeting for Worship together.  I’d settle on a bench with a child on either side and the youngest snuggled in my lap.  Sometimes, they’d whisper a question.  I remember my eldest daughter, Rebecca, asking me what people were doing. “Listening for God.”  “Do they hear him?” “Sometimes.”  “Have you heard him?”  “Yes.”  “What does He sound like?”  Well, this stopped me short.  I had heard that inner voice but as hard as I tried, I could not describe what it sounded like.  That’s true even today, but the clarity and directness of it’s biddings continue to ring true in my life.

The first time I clearly heard that voice I was directed to lay hands on someone in healing.  That happened twice.  Each time I said “No, I don’t know how to do that.  You need to find someone else.” And each time my heart ached for having said “no” until I finally promised that if I were asked again I would do as I was bidden.  Years later, that call was repeated and for the first time, I laid hands on someone in healing. I listened carefully to the guidance of Spirit, and as I followed that guidance, healing happened.  That day I learned that I didn’t need to know what to do, I only needed to listen and obey Spirit’s guidance.  I learned that when Spirit asks, everything that is required will be provided to complete the work.  That voice was kind, forgiving, insistent, loving and yes, quiet.

Another time I was asked by New York Yearly Meeting to engage with Friends in the country of Georgia; to bring refugee aid and conflict resolution skills to that country.  I had never stepped into work of that magnitude and felt unclear that I had the knowledge or the ability to carry it forward – and so I prayed.  I prayed for three days before I heard that voice.  It was not small or quiet!  It roared “Just do it!!!” clearly annoyed with my persistent query. I asked for additional guidance but that was all I got: “Just do it!!!”  and so I moved into the work and again what was needed fell into place.

As I’ve learned to listen for and to the Presence, that voice has become a constant companion and guide.  Over the years it has become my habit to share these experiences, not because they make me special in any way – just the opposite – I share them because I firmly believe that it is possible for everyone in their everyday lives to hear the voice of Spirit as eyes and ears and hearts open to accept the reality of God’s presence and love and guidance.  May it be so.