The 12 Days of Christmas Shout Outs: Frederick Buechner for day nine

The conversation this past Sunday began like this...

Me ~> peace

Lay preacher friend ~> what would we do without Buechner? How would I ever end a sermon without him.

My friend knows I dig Buechner. She has been to many an adult discussion led by me in which the man was quoted. I don't like being asked what my favorite this or that is because I tend to have many a favorite and don't enjoy ranking things much. With that said, Buechner is near the top. I have read his theology, his sermons, his autobiographies, and his novels.

So here are some things I have learned from all of that. Tell your story if you hope to heal. Find what brings you joy and if it matches a need of this world, you have discovered your vocation. You and I are peculiar treasures loved by a God that will search us out no matter where we go to hide.

When I went missing for a decade or two, I fled a religion that I wanted nothing to do with. When I returned, Buechner and the man who recommended him, showed me a different side of that religion. And for that I am grateful.

What would we do without him?

 

some thoughts on meditation

an e-mail came today which left me baffled. What could I say about going to meditate with co-workers that may inspire others to come also?

I didn't even respond when they sent out the initial e-mail asking if anyone was interested. I had once struggled through a weekend of meditation and had come to the conclusion, it was not for me...

Soon the e-mail came out announcing the times they would meet and a few nights later I picked up Frederick Buechner's Wishful Thinking and opened it up...

In our minds we are continually chatting with ourselves, and the purpose of meditation is to stop it...

... The end of mediation is to become empty enough to be filled with the kind of stillness the Psalmist has in mind when he says, "Be still, and know that I am God."

OK, so maybe it was a random moment, but I used it as a motivation to show up one afternoon. Some days I attempted some mindful nodding off. Well, to put it more correctly, I did some unmindful nodding off. When my focus left my breathing or the short prayer I try to center myself upon and instead found itself catching onto an intrusive thought, I floated right into a good chattering mind. I must have become bored with my often heard self-thoughts and started nodding off.

There was a day when I felt awake throughout the meditation and thought, "so maybe I can do this without coffee..."

The last time I went, I left feeling awake and clear in thought. It may never happen again, but it is worth going to clear the chattering from my mind every once in a while. I have gotten to know two wonderful folk and who knows who else I may meet along the way.