Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Harriet Tubman--mystic

"T'wasn't me, 'twas the Lord! I always told Him, 'I trust you, I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,' and He always did."
Harriet Tubman

I had planned on doing all the Usual Subject mystics for my Lent mini-course on the mystics, but when I went to the movie "Harriet" I realized she was a mystic. And wouldn't it be interesting to explore that a bit? Harriet Tubman had "spells" where she would catch a glimpse of the future or practical direction in her life at the moment. She had been hit in the head by a counter-weight as a thirteen year old girl, and after that, had spells or seizures. She said they served to let her hear God's voice more clearly. After traveling north to her own freedom she made around twenty more trips to the south to lead other slaves to the north via the Underground Railroad. She heard the voice of God, responded to that voice and changed the lives of so many. She realized that freedom wasn't just for her or even for a few, but for all her people. If you're looking for something worthwhile to do during this time of self-isolation, I would invite you to stream the movie "Harriet," and marvel how her mysticism changed the lives of others. What may the voice of God be saying to us today?  Can the mysticism of Harriet Tubman comfort and guide us through this time? Love, heidi

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

From the mystics...

"What do you need to hear from Jesus today?"
Pray-As-You-Go, 3/31/20

Way last September, which seems like a lifetime ago, I offered to do a little mini-course on the Christian mystics for Lent for our church.  A dear friend and I had done a similar thing years ago and it was interesting.  Little did I know, that in researching the mystics for this go around, I would find such comfort in what they said and cling to their words like a life preserver! The mystics were real people, living very real lives on this planet, and yet, they heard the voice of God and lived what they heard. As a result, they changed lives around them and can impact all of us who live after them. I thought I'd share some of the words of God, spoken through the Christian mystics, these next few days. Maybe what they say will give us all hope and comfort as we live the "lenty-est lent" ever!

From Hildegard von Bingen: All human beings and creatures of the cosmos are emanations of the love of God. (Let's remember that as we struggle with our fellow cosmos-dwellers!)
From Julian of Norwich: "All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well." 
More tomorrow...Stay home, stay well! Love, heidi