There is a chill in the air and dusk seems to be coming a little earlier every day. Autumn is a transitional season that links summer to winter. For me it’s a season of reflection. In my journey through the Bible September takes me through Job, Ecclesiastes and then into the Song of Songs. These are not books that are easy to understand. As I have read through them I’ve been thinking about how they reflect my own spiritual journey.
As a young child I would enter into the reverential silence of the sanctuary. There was the lingering fragrance of frankincense and myrrh, the flickering of the candles, and the chanting in Latin from the balcony behind me. My eyes would seek out the candle that I had been told was a symbol of God’s presence. I genuflected and took my seat. As a little girl I was introduced to the holiness of God.
My Grandmother lived close by, and often I would spend the night with her. At bedtime she would invite me to snuggle close beside her. I listened as she read aloud long portions from the book of Isaiah. I could feel a stirring in my soul even though I had no understanding of the poetry of the words. I would stand at the doorway in the morning waiting as she knelt by her bed, her long grey braid falling between her shoulders. I would listen as she blanketed those she loved in prayer. I traveled in prayer with her as she prayed for my aunt who lived as a missionary on the Amazon River. I learned that though God was holy I could learn to hear His voice, and that He was listening for my voice as well.
As a child I was taught that Jesus loved me. This was symbolized for me by a picture of Jesus sitting on the grass surrounded by children. In the picture there was a little girl with her head on Jesus’s lap. I believed that that little girl was me. Every night I would pretend that my pillow was His lap. In childlike trust I would rest my head there. As the night shadows gathered I would rest in His tender love and care.
This was how my journey began, with simple childlike faith. But it is a journey, and that is what I see represented in the books of Job, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. There has been light, and there has been darkness; there have been times when I have felt a deep intimacy with God, and there have been times that I wondered if He existed at all; there have been times when I have wept with the knowledge of His kindness, and there have been times when I wondered if He was cruel. I would like to invite you to join me as I reflect on my spiritual journey.
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