Spiritual Journey First Thursday: Connection

It's the first Thursday of the month 
and time to show up with my friends 
for Spiritual Journey First Thursday. 
I'm hosting this month and
our theme is connection. 

 June 6th is a significant day.

Yes, it's D-day and this year marks the 75th anniversary.

It's also the day my parents married, June 6, 1941.

It's also the day my dad died, June 6, 1980,

on their 39th wedding anniversary.
(My sis pointed out to me that today
also marks 39 years since daddy died.)

And so I chose significance as my theme for this month.

But each of these significant dates

(except for D-day) is highly personal. 

So I switched our prompt for June to connection,

a significant word for our spiritual journeys. 

Of course the first thing that comes to mind is connecting with God. And there are many ways that can happen. For some of us it occurs in daily quiet time and prayer. "Be still and know that I am God," is one of my favorite passages of scripture. 

Sometimes we feel connected to God by the glory of nature. I cannot walk in the woods without celebrating the glory that is manifest there. I've loved the words to the hymn "How Great Thou Art" since I was a young child. "When through the woods and forest glades I wander . . . Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, How great thou art!"

Sometimes we feel connected to God when we recognize His hand at work in our lives. This happened last month when I was in Texas helping my older sister move into her new home. We had just completed a shopping expedition to Target. She was exiting the mobile chair she used to navigate the aisles and the parking lot. I was getting into my seat on the passenger side of the car when I heard her call out, "Oh no, I'm falling." I couldn't get there in time to help. By the time I came around the car, there she was, on the ground, legs splayed in front of her. When someone stopped to ask how she could help, I sent her into Target to ask for assistance. 

Suddenly, a man stepped over from the next row of parked cars and said, "I can pick her up." I immediately replied, "No, you can't. Someone is coming from Target to help us. Wait for someone else to help you." But he insisted that he could pick her up. Sliding his arms under her arms, he lifted her and held her there briefly while she gained her footing. I truly believe that the Lord was looking out for us that day and sent this man to help us. I'm sure the Target employees would have insisted that we wait for an ambulance. I still have no idea how he was able to lift her from a seated position on the ground, but he did. And I believe he was there at that time for a reason. He was our angel!

Another way that we connect with God is when we trust in Him, when we trust in the power of faith to overcome fear and worry. I love this verse, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  Anne Lamott says it this way: "...we do the next right thing. We tell the truth...We remember mustard seeds, that the littlest things will have great results. We do the smallest, realest, most human things. We water that which is dry." We connect with God and then we draw on His power to meet the challenges in our lives.

If you're interested, here's a post I discovered when I googled connect with God. You take a quiz to discover your worship personality and then you're directed to a variety of ways to connect with God via your particular worship personality.  

I'm looking forward to reading your posts about connection. Leave a comment with your link and I'll round up the posts. (Sorry, I don't know how to use Mr. Linky.)

Ruth reminds us that our connections are fraught with the pain of separation. She shares reassuring words from Henri J. M. Nouwen's book, Life of the Beloved. 

Irene shares what helps her feel connected and a book she's reading from every day this year. 

Margaret discovers a new connection to a friend after a funeral. She shares a poem and encourages us to seek meaningful, loving, and God-filled connections.  

Karen shares a new-to-me poem and reminds us that while connection may be what it's all about, it's also challenging work which her faith community has spent some time pursuing together. 

Carol has experienced a week filled with connections. She connects us each season with her gallery walks of photos and poetry. Her post is no exception. We're transported and connected to her garden by her words and poetry.