Draw Fruit From Your Illness: Letting God find me
Jim Manney asks, “How have you drawn spiritual benefit from times of sickness?”
On January 3rd I wrote for Medium, “Finding God Between Coughs.” As I noted, I had been “knocked down and dragged out by pounding head, running nose and wretched coughing” for three days. Turns out the phlegmy cold continued birthing fits akin to a dragon’s death dealing breath for two weeks. Even though the pounding head and running nose diminished, coughing looped through day and night, solidly stationing me at home, unfit for human congress.
I noticed several things set the phlegmy fits in motion; talking, laughing, changing position from sitting to standing or the reverse, cold air, bending or taking a deep breath. That did not leave much for me to do. Silently sitting absolutely still, mindful of breathing not too deeply, was the only way to bypass the wretched rib wracking coughs.
Slouched on my couch six days into my coughing confinement, while staring out the window a poignant peace settled within and around me. Silent as gently falling snow, wide as wisdom, abiding as beauty, it was as if time slowed, the deep green pine outside my window pulsed velvet, and all the way from my icy driveway to the wrinkled mountains, celestial light painted sacred blessing. Ahh. An easy breath smiled all the way from my toes.
The gift of my coughing fits was peace born of the intimate experience of God’s transfiguring Presence with me when I sat still enough for long enough to be.
Jim Manney’s question above is found in An Ignatian Book of Days by Jim Manney, a series of daily reflections from the Spiritual Wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Throughout the book we hear the voices of St. Ignatius as well as many great thinkers and writers, long gone and present day, each uniquely revealing the way of finding God in all things. And that is my intention; to find God/Divine Presence/Ultimate Reality in whatever presents itself to me each day in 2024.
Each day I read, reflect and write on the selection, hoping to articulate the ways in which I come to know God/Divine Presence/Ultimate Reality via personal experience, impelled by the leading of my inner life.
INVITATION
Would you like to join me? The book is accessible on Amazon. Let me know in the comments to this post and sign up to get an email whenever I post. I would love to read your reflections too, public or private messages welcome!
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https://www.debraasis.org
All words are generated by grace and the grit of a real human being,
Debra Asis
