If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive. Dorothee Soelle
Meditation: Intimacy means that we give and receive freely. Intimacy means that we experience trust and interdependency. What is making it impossible for us to be intimately involved? When we are fully occupied with holding on to something, we are no longer able to receive or give. Instead, we are becoming preoccupied with behavior like hoarding and with holding onto and gathering all that we can. All of us have times like these. Times when we clench our fists. Times when we are bound. Bound by fear. Fear of being shortchanged by life. Fear of not having or being enough. Fear of not measuring up. Fear that people will take away, will steal or reduce what one has gathered. When we are afraid, we cannot be intimate. And when we don’t have open hands and hearts, we cannot receive. We are becoming isolated. Often we don’t even know that this is what is happening to us, as we are too preoccupied with holding on.
Prayer: God, You want to be our intimate refuge. You give freely to us, and You are always open to receiving our prayers, our praise and our lament. When You open our hands and hearts, we receive. When You open Your word, we are being comforted. God, You see when our fears overwhelm us and when we turn inward to the point of no longer giving or receiving in intimate ways. Help us when our fears overwhelm us. Help us when we hold onto things as if for dear life. Loosen our grip. Take our fear away. Help us experience intimacy again. Remind us that we are Yours and that nobody can take that from us. Let us sing again safely in the shadow of Your wings. Amen
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:8 (NIV)
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