M.C. Richards has been one of the most influential people in my life I have never actually met in person. Her poetry, prose, pottery and person-hood are exquisite examples of Divine Love taking place in flesh and blood.
I have been feeling spiritually ‘beat up’ the last few weeks, my hunger and pining for God being off the hook. Yet, my sense of God is punctuated more by Absence then Presence. I am learning again the painful lesson that spiritual maturity is based more on acknowledging and living out truths as acts of will rather than as reactions based on shape-shifting emotions. So, it does not matter that I do not ‘feel’ God. I know the truth: God is faithfully and eternally Present to me, since God dwells within me and therefore cannot deny his own Being and Presence therein.
That being said, I kick and scream during spiritual growth spurts, throwing tantrums on the ground, refusing to see the necessity of growing up spiritually. Then I am reminded that growing up spiritually takes deep courage, rooted faith, child-like trust, and the willingness to go through rather than around the fear. I am learning albeit slowly that courage comes after not before the act.
So here is some truth and perspective from the deep wells of M.C. Richards:
It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who we are. We face surprises. And disappointments. The crucial fact is that we are different from anybody we know and admire…. It takes all one’s courage to be the person one is, fulfilling one’s odd and unique possibilities.
Source: Opening Our Moral Eye
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