Providing Christian resources from the YMCA past and present to nourish inclusive, equitable work in our diverse and global neighborhoods that build up healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
Govern all by your wisdom, O Lord, so that my soul may serve you, as you will it, and not as I may choose.
Do not punish me, I beg you, by granting that which I wish or ask, if it offend your love, which would always live in me.
Let me die to myself, that I may serve you, who in yourself is the true life.
Amen.
– St. Teresa of Avila
#aguidetoprayer
“…the solution of a problem always demands that we descend to a deeper level.”
With whatever problems you are facing in your personal life, at work, or in our society – or maybe all three – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated.
Even when you feel burdened, there are actions you can take to help turn the tide in a positive direction.
Simple problems require simple solutions, but what about stubbornly complex problems? What positive action can we take to find the wisest solutions and get moving forward again?
The following paragraphs have been transformative for me on how I interpret the problems I face and how I go about finding solutions.
May it be a helpful, healing perspective for you as well.
“…the solution of a problem always demands that we descend to a deeper level.
We must leave the level of conflicts and dilemmas to the level of self-examination under the searching light of God.
We then can understand that a dilemma is a sign; it is a sign that there are deeper discoveries to be made, a new order to perceive which will transform the whole nature of the problem.
True meditation is this descent to the deeper level under God’s direction.
There it is that really new inspirations come, to set us free from our dilemmas, to transform our relationships with ourselves, with others, with God.
Under every dilemma is hidden several fears: the fear of openly resisting, the fear of giving in, the fear of fighting, and the fear of being beaten.
It is love which drives back fear.
All is not thus solved.
Everyday we shall find ourselves before the most perplexing questions, even if we sincerely seek for divine guidance.
Yet these can be for us an opportunity for deeper, inner experience through which alternatives we thought to be incompatible may be resolved in new synthesis.
We used to set doubt in opposition to faith, acceptance to rebellion, self-affirmation to self-surrender, and resistance to giving in. We do so no longer.
Here it is that real life always unites into a marvelous harmony those movements of the inner person which we judged to be contradictory. They are shown to be complementary.
The real believer is not the man who hides from himself those persistent doubts deep down but irremovable. The opposite is the truth: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
The strong man is not he who hides his own failings from himself, but he who knows them well.
Surrendering our life to God is at the same time our supreme giving-in and our supreme act of self-affirmation!”
~Dr. Paul Tournier, To Resist or To Surrender, pgs 60-1
As a Christian in the YMCA, I strive everyday to live out our mission in a way that honors Christ and builds up others in spirit, mind and body.
One of the things I love about the Y is their commitment to be “for all.” That’s not an easy promise to keep, but it’s the right thing to do.
In getting to know more staff and members of the Y, I’m impressed at how many strive everyday to be “for all”. I appreciate the honesty from those who are on the journey to learn how to be for all.
There are always more people to be for, and it takes a lot of humility, patience, wisdom, and compassion to learn how to be for others.
It means a lot to me to have this kind of support from the Y as they gently, methodically, and persistently explore how to be for all in a way that embodies our Christian principles, builds spirit, mind, body for all, and strengthens the foundations of our community.
Because this is such personal work that requires inner transformation, as a Christian my striving to be for all is sourced in Christ.
He is both an example of how to be for the world – a beautiful but often horribly broken world- and be a savior of people – beautifully but also tragically broken people.
Soren Kierkegaard was a Christian writing around the same time the YMCA was being established in Britain, North America, and the world. His writings have been helpful to me in striving to live Christianly in a way that is caring, honest, respectful, and responsible.
His quote below has helped me reflect on how Christ helps me be for all.
I’m not always a very good Christian, and I’m not always very good at being for all.
But I appreciate what Kierkegaard is getting at here for Christians.
My take on the quote: Being saved from our sins should keep us humble and full of unending compassion for others, and when we fail at that, we are reminded of how much humble compassion Christ has towards us, which prompts us to repent and renew our striving to be humble and compassionate, with the help of Christ himself as our teacher and savior.
“It must be firmly maintained that Christ did not come to the world only to set an example for us.
If that were the case we would have law and works-righteousness again.
He comes to save us and in this way be our example.
His very example should humble us, teach us how infinitely far away we are from resembling him.
When we humble ourselves, then Christ is pure compassion.
And in our striving to approach him, he is again our very help.
It alternates: when we are striving, then he is our example; and when we stumble, lose courage, then he is the love that helps us up.
And then he is our example again.”
~ Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations, pg 223
This writing from Kierkegaard helps me frame how I strive to “love my neighbor as myself” which is how I try to be for all.
