Meditation

    Meditation is a word I have read many times in the Bible. Christians are always encouraged to meditate. I always assumed that it simply meant to ponder the word of God instead of simply reading through it fast. However according to Foster in Celebration of Discipline, "Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God's voice and obey his word. It is that simple." It seems that it is not only to listen and think about what God is telling us but also to put it into action. 

  

   To make things even more confusing to me it does not always mean that we are thinking about a particular Biblical passage, it could be meditating on His creation or even the things on our hearts and minds. I realized how very narrow my perception of this discipline was.Another thing encouraged by this discipline was to find a place of solitude and to leave all phones and devices behind so that it is easier to give our full attention to God's word and to his promptings. Foster also say in this same book that "If we are constantly being swept off our feet with frantic activity, we will be unable to be attentive at the moment of inward silence." Basically that God will sometimes try to communicate things to us but we are too busy to listen.

   The last part of this discipline is what I find the most difficult. I like to have my phone on me and I like to be around people, being around others or talking to people is what energizes me. I find it hard to unplug myself from my social world. I decided that this week I would find a place where I could sit where I would most probably be hidden from other people and be sure to leave my cell phone and all other distractions elsewhere. 

    Putting this into practice was difficult to say the least. I found many things getting in the way of this practice over this weekend. I originally wanted to go outside into nature and have my moments of meditation there but, it has been so incredibly cold and I did not dare sit outside for any length of time. Another reason that kept me from practicing this for a while was the fact I went to visit my parents over the weekend and found it difficult not to spend all of that time with them. Not only this but I was not at home and so I could.t choose a place to go back to regularly because I wasn't actually home. The fourth thing that got in the way was my cellphone... In fact Saturday afternoon I decided that because of the weather I would just go upstairs away from the rest of my family and sit and read my Bible, however I made the mistake of bringing my phone with me.

   Finally on this last night I was able to practice meditation or at least fully try. I grabbed my Bible, left my phone by my computer and decided that at least until the weather got nicer this was something I was going to practice indoors. So, I sat on the couch at first but one of the girls who lives with me was also in the living room. I decided that I would sit in the hallway instead so that I could at least not see anyone but... I could still hear my roommate in the living room on her computer and could now also hear her roommate in her room on her computer... this was just too distracting for me. I wished I could just sit in my room on my bed but my roommate was already sleeping. This is a problem because I like to do my thinking and Bible reading late in the evening and she is usually in bed by then. Then it dawned on me that I could go sit in our closet and close the door so that I could have the light on. I know... this may sound silly but it was actually perfect! I was able to find a place even within my small apartment where I know I wont be disturbed or distracted. 

    Once I finally figured out my spot, I read my Bible and also practiced something called "palms down, palms up". In this exercise you put your palms down and talk to God about things weighing heavily on you and then you turn your palms up in your desire to receive something like patience or joy from the Lord and pray about that. I am not going to lie this was all rather difficult for me. I had a hard time focusing even when I was away from everything else. It might have had a little bit to do with the fact I wasn't feeling so grand at the moment, but the fact is I struggled. My Bible reading for the day was rather long and so by the time I got to the hands down hands up exercise I found myself speeding through it. I have come to realize that this is a spiritual discipline that I really need to work on. I can definitely see the benefit in it I just have a hard time practicing it. My busy schedule seems to take over my life and leave me exhausted by the end of each day. It is important for me not only to realize but to put into practice this discipline where I get away from the busyness in order to have my full attention on God and not simply rush through my personal time with Him or multitask instead of giving God my undivided attention. I pray God helps me to grow in this area of my life.