October 19 - Chapter Three: Reattaching to Our Divine Parent
Remembering God: Lacy writes that “God has scattered God’s self throughout the world. God has always been near. But as a child you might not have labeled your experiences as God, or even registered them as significant.” What childhood experiences of love, closeness, attachment, or comfort can you remember? What if climbing a tree, feeling joy opening a birthday present, getting a hug when you were sad, or snuggling a family pet are all experiences of God? Here are a few specific prompts from Lacy:
Beauty is goodness made alive to the senses, says Christian philosopher Dallas Willard. Can you remember an experience of something that captured your senses?
Truth is an experience that reverberates deep within us. Truth has the ring of the real and authentic. It has a longevity that holds through tests and trials. When you rummage around in your memory, what has held? Is there a thought, idea, understanding that has had staying power, even today?
Wonder is a divinely given curiosity that grows as we notice the world around us. Through wonder, we gladly give mental space to the unfolding of human awareness. How did you wonder about the world as a child?
Mystery is a grateful resignation to what we don’t know. There is no conscious resignation to live in mystery for children; they live there quite naturally. They know that they don’t know, and that knowledge frees them up to a transcendent experience of what is before them. When as a child did you feel free to not know?
Awe is a full-bodied reverential experience of our core connection to all of creation. Awe will unconsciously cause our whole bodies to expand as we try to take it all in. Was there a time in your childhood when you experienced awe?
Nature is the first revelation of God. It is a place that goodness, beauty, and truth are most vivid and alive. What is it like to remember being outside as a child?
Woven threads of meaning are when things fit together in unmistakable ways, helping us to make meaning. Was there a time when, like puzzle pieces fitting together, you noticed that events or experiences fit together, and it helped you make sense of something?
Tears heighten our awareness of our longing for God, especially when we are children. Our patterns for hiding pain haven’t quite become habitual, so we are more tender to God’s loving presence and our desire for love. Was there a time when pain or loss heightened your sense of God’s presence or your own tender longing for God?
Unity is an experience of connection so deep that our self-preoccupation thins or disappears all together. Can you remember a time when you lost track of time or when you felt so close to another living being that you forgot about yourself?
Practice: Look at this icon of Christ as the Mother Hen or The Good Shepherdess by Kelly Latimore. Can you picture yourself safe in the arms of Mother God? I wonder how your child self would have seen these images?
October 12 - Chapter Two: Remembering Wonder. Redeeming Wounds
Lacy recalling both wounds and wonder from childhood reminded me of the refrain we often sing during worship: “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” I wonder what that refrain brings up for you? I wonder if there is a connection between wounds and wonder, suffering and mystery, that feels particularly for you? Or, I wonder if that feels untrue for you for any reason? Why or why not?
Near the end of the chapter, Lacy talks about nothing being wasted—not even our wounds. I wonder how we can think about this in a way that honors grief without trying to make too much meaning out of everything. In other words, it’s okay to push back against the idea that everything happens for a reason, and instead, to be honest with ourselves and with God about our feelings of grief. I think of the Godly Play question: “I wonder if we can leave out any part of this story and still have all of the story we need?” I wonder if there is any part of your story you wish you could leave out? Why or why not?
Our earliest experiences are rooted in wonder. The German poet Hermann Hesse wrote, “Much became narrow, what once was wide, much became impoverished, what once was precious” (as quoted in Wolbert et al.). I wonder what was precious for you in childhood? I wonder if you can imagine yourself walking the wide path back to wonder?
Optional practice from Lacy:
“Create an altar. Find a space where you can create a small altar reminding you of God’s generous way and your identity as beloved of God. Place pictures of yourself as a child on your altar. You might also include a candle, a passage of Scripture, or a poem that speaks to you of God’s generous way. Keep it simple and meaningful. Less is more when it comes to altars. Visit this space once a day for at least five minutes. Allow yourself to bask in God’s love for you.”
October 5 - Intro and Chapter One: Knowing God. Accepting Self.
Lacy identifies the trinity as a “community of Love” and in the introduction, talks about the word “welcome” in terms of being a “wished for guest.” How does it feel to be a wished for guest in the community of Love? How might that influence our reading of scripture in light of God’s desire for the whole world?
What is your earliest memory of God? What is your earliest memory of experiencing Love? Are they the same?
Lacy references the theologian Karl Rahner who said, “We do not have a childhood spirituality and then trade up for an adolescent spirituality and then again trade up for a young adult spirituality and so on. No, Rahner explained, we carry both our childhood selves and our adolescent selves with us into adulthood.. “ - I wonder what your childhood self is teaching you today?
Optional practice:
Reflect on this painting of The Holy Trinity by Ukrainian artist Ivanka Demchuk. Can you picture yourself at the table as a wished for guest? I wonder what it would feel like if the icon were all children? I wonder how the table might look? What the people might be doing?