I'm still grappling with the idea that a human need is not an avenue through which God can work - that God does not fulfill needs. I first read it in Jim Rosemergy's book
The Gathering:
"This gut-wrenching fact is obvious. Whatever God is doing, God is always doing it. Spirit does not rest from Its creation. There is no vacation or furlough for God. If God could end the wars that plague the earth, it would be done. If the Almighty could end the pandemics, they would be no more. The hard truth is this: God does not fulfill needs."
I have read this many times since, in many different forms, and it seems to go against everything I came to believe when I first began attending Unity seventeen years ago. Doesn't God answer prayer? Won't God take care of my needs? Isn't it true that if I just think positive thoughts, all good things will come to me? Isn't this what Unity teaches? Even though my experience says otherwise, I want to continue to believe that God will handle my affairs for me. After all, this relieves me of the heavy burden of having to take responsibility for my own life.
If it's true that God doesn't fulfill needs, then how will my needs get met? This is the urgent question that lingers in the back of my mind day in and day out, especially when I am in the midst of a challenge or crisis. I can hear the little child within me asking, in a panic, "What if I don't know what to do? If I can't count on God to take care of things, then who can I count on? Am I all alone in the world?"
I don't believe that I am flying solo through this lifetime. I still have faith in an all-loving, all-knowing, ever-present God. And I believe, as Unity teaches, that this God resides in me and that all of God's qualities are also present within me. My needs serve a purpose, and that purpose is to turn me toward God. When I release my needs and turn toward God - when I cultivate an awareness of that all-loving, all-knowing Presence - I learn that I have everything I require to maneuver through even the stickiest of life's situations. Like a loving parent, God is with me and supporting me at all times. But it is up to me to live my own life and to handle my own affairs.
I have come, kicking and screaming, to the conclusion that my greatest ally is my mind. By developing a state of mindfulness and by continuously seeking a greater awareness of God's presence, I can maintain a connection to the Source of my own deepest wisdom and authentic power and I can access the very qualities I need to navigate the ups and downs of this human life.
~REBECCA
breathing,
It's almost back-to-school time. I can feel myself getting excited, just as I did every year at this time of year when I was in school. When August comes and the evenings start getting cooler and the cicadas can be heard singing their song in the trees, I am catapulted back to my youth when back-to-school time meant another year of new adventures in learning. I couldn't wait to purchase my new school supplies and organize my notebooks. I couldn't wait to get a new outfit for the first day of school and to find out who my teacher would be and what other children would be in my class. I can't think of another time, other than Christmas of course, that brought me such joy as a child. And even as an adult, when I am no longer a student in that back-to-school world, this time of year has me giddy with anticipation. I am excited for my children (more excited than they are) as they embark on their new school year full of learning adventures.