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Letters to Corinne

Re-Entry: RENEW & RESTORE

Tuesday, October 4th, 2016

RENEW & RESTORE

Dear Corinne,

Thank you for letting me know how you got on with ‘A Walk in the Forest‘ meditation and the final outcome of the stones exercise. I thought a tower might not be feasible! But the circle seems to have worked well and leaving it on your small side table, will provide a daily reminder of God’s goodness and provision for you during your travels.

They say that travel ‘broadens the mind’ and it certainly does widen our understanding of different countries and cultures. It also serves to challenge and change our perspective of people, places, and events.

Travel and time away from our familiar routines and surroundings can, as you know, be refreshing and renewing, enabling us to return with renewed vision and purpose and ready for new patterns and possibilities. It is encouraging to hear that as you are sifting through your experiences and ideas that specific themes and new courses of action are emerging for you. While these may not materialise immediately, taking steps to implement them is all part of the process of change!

The process of change can often be impeded by, a variety of factors, not least the expectations of those around us and so I would encourage you to listen for the ‘still small voice’ saying, “This is the way; walk in it” Isaiah 30:21 (NIV), concerning any proposed new course of action/direction and pay heed to the wisdom of those you value and respect.

Michelle DeRusha recently wrote a Blog entitled ‘Why It’s Taken 46 Years for Me to Say No’   Although you are not yet at her age or stage of life, I think nevertheless that you will resonate with some of the following quote from her Blog:

“This past summer has been transformational for me. I’ve had a lot of time to think in a very deep way about who I am. I’ve glimpsed a truer identity for myself than the one I have fashioned for the last 46 years. I’ve felt my soul come alive in a way I have never before experienced. And I believe it’s because I have glimpsed who God is, who I am in relation to him, and who he has created me to be.
My deepest desire is to hold on to this new self, this new identity, that’s been revealed. And that desire has made me more aware than ever of dangerous ground, of the pitfalls that could trip me up and send me hurtling down the path of soul- and self-destruction.”

“…it doesn’t take much for me to fall back into my old ways of more, more, more; push, push, push; compare, compare, compare; hustle, hustle, hustle. I can go headlong into the hungry pursuit of “the next big thing” quicker than you can blink.

And I know, from a lifetime of experience, that when I do that, I lose some of my soul in the process. I lose some of my whole self.”

The seasons that we travel through, serve to shape and mould us. So does the impact of the storms and challenges we face along the way. These all combine to transform us, into who we were created to be. Thomas Merton summed this up in the following quote:

“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”

Hopefully see you soon!

with love,

 

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Written by Dorinda Miller; © D Miller 2016. For full credits please see the site credits page
This letter is from the series: 'Re-Entry'

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