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Fruits of
the Spirit
"But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
"~Galatians
5:22
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Submitted
by Katherine Harms July 2008
Why
Walk A Labyrinth?
When
Jessicah Duckworth visited our church last spring, she only
had time to spark our thinking and our prayers on the subject
of the Christian life. Her presentations have been fermenting
in my mind ever since. I felt that she brought up something
very important about living as a Christian. It is a life
that requires to be examined from time to time. Yet this
examination cannot be conducted in a vacuum.
When a scientist wants to examine something, he removes
as many variables as possible and introduces the subject
of investigation into a controlled environment. Scientists
want to limit the number of influences on the subject of
the examination. In order to understand what is happening,
scientists set up experiments. They ask questions such as
"What happens if A increases while D grows smaller?"
The Christian life, however, cannot be removed from reality.
Events such as retreats or prayer vigils allow us to separate
ourselves from our busy lives temporarily, but even there,
our concerns and our connections intrude. We don't live
our lives in controlled environments.
Furthermore, a Christian has a hard time stepping outside
herself to look at life without the bias of personal involvement.
If we want to examine ourselves, we need help.
Fortunately, there are ways to achieve a modicum of separation,
and there is a Helper who can shine the light of truth on
our lives in the midst of the realities.
Christ Church members have a very useful tool available
for achieving a degree of separation and promoting the focus
necessary for self-examination. This tool is the labyrinth
on the plaza. Our labyrinth design is named "Vision Quest."
I like that name, because in many ways, a labyrinth walk
can be considered to be a quest for a vision, especially
if used as a tool for self-examination. The design of a
labyrinth takes the walker from the outside world to a quiet
place in its center. The pattern creates a mental separation
from the world outside the labyrinth. Walking within the
beautiful, meandering pattern is peaceful. It promotes relaxation
and openness to discovery. Some people have experiences
that might be called visions, or maybe they just begin to
see some things in their lives more clearly. It isn't magic.
The same effect can happen when walking in nature or in
an art museum. Nevertheless, using a labyrinth that is dedicated
as a prayer tool can help us experience that willingness
to be surprised by truths we otherwise overlook in our daily
busyness.
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Would you like to contribute something inspirational?
Send your thoughts or story to: spirit@christinnerharbor.org
(There
is no guarantee that your entry will be posted.)
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