The weather has been hot, which is nothing unusual here in
Arizona this time of year. The humidity has been uncomfortable. Okay, 90% is
humid and miserable for those back home, especially when the thermometer hovers
above 90 degrees F. For us, though, we are more used to lack of humidity –
anything from 7-10%. Right now, in the early evening, it is 20%, but at six o'clock
this morning, it was more like 30-35% at 90 degrees. In short, it was very uncomfortable.
The weather reports keep saying we'll have rain in this corner of the Valley of
the Sun, but so far, we've had only a few 30-second rainstorms.
It's like the weather is teasing us, sending us humidity.
Still, no rain comes to alleviate a severe drought that is emptying our rivers
and lakes. It is really getting serious here. On the other side of the Valley
(50 miles away or so), and even up north in the mountains, they're getting
enough rain to cause minor inconveniences or even serious flooding. In one town
up north, flooding left 44 people who could not be reported safe for about 24
hours. Luckily, all were found alive and well.
Teasing is seldom a totally nice thing. Families do it,
usually with love and mutual enjoyment. Still, there are times when even the
closest of siblings get on each other's nerves with what seems funny to the teaser,
but not always to the recipient. Teasing can lead to bullying, which is never a
good thing, whether from a sibling, a person in authority, a teacher, a priest
or other clergy, or even a classmate or co-worker. We seem to live in a culture
where bullying is decried publicly but is allowed privately to go on unchecked.
We seem helpless to do anything about it. Yet, many acts of mass violence seem
rooted in someone's experiences of being bullied until they take it upon
themselves to turn the tables. How many fatalities have we had this year
already because of situations like that?
There is another form of teasing, though. Did you ever try tickling
trout or noodling catfish? It's usually done in reasonably calm water and
requires slow, almost imperceptible movements. The fingers start at the base of
the tail and slowly tickle the fish along the belly until the fisherman reaches
the head. Then the fish is nabbed by the gills and lifted from the water. The
fish seems to enjoy the tickling part as it puts them in a seeming trance until
they suddenly find themselves out of the water and in someone's cooler.
I wonder – are there times when God uses the same kind of technique
to more or less move us along or at least get us to a place where we are quiet
enough to listen to what we are being told? Does the Spirit use her feathers to
gently soothe us into a state where we are open to suggestions and directions? Sometimes,
whispering in the ears doesn't work, and we are too busy to pay attention. So
if we find a quiet pool in which to swim, maybe that's the best time to get us
in the mood to listen.
These days, quiet pools are often very few and far between,
or they suit alligators and other predators searching for easy dinners. Even at
night, when we try to compose ourselves to sleep, the hum of a mosquito or the constant
rattling of windows from passing cars with extra-loud bass speakers get in the
way. We seem to fall asleep immediately from exhaustion or lie twitching or
turning when sleep seems to have gone on vacation.
Suppose we could just get to the point where we can lie
there, maybe add a few prayers to our daily quota, or contemplate something we
have heard or read. In that case, God (and the Spirit) have a chance to get a
word in edgewise, even if they have to tickle us into a kind of trance. No
tickling of the feet should be required.
We must learn to tease our minds and bodies into a place
where we are open to what is around us and what thoughts come to us. Little ideas
that come to us during our busy times are still in the brain, and maybe we need
to noodle them into our calmer consciousness.
Not long ago, I was trying to sleep when I remembered
thinking earlier in the day that maybe I could return to knitting prayer shawls
as a ministry rather than merely a way to keep my hands busy or, as the old
saying goes, off the streets and out of the bars (even my Southern Baptist
relatives use that saying!). The knitting is calming, soothing, and relaxing.
It is also creating something for someone else who may need the comfort and feeling
of being hugged when needed, even if no human arms are present at the time. I
have begun knitting again for other people and finding joy in it, even if I don't
know for whom each item is intended or how I will know it's needed.
The challenge is, what can we do to find our own quiet pools
and places to let ourselves feel safe and relaxed enough to let God in? It's a
challenge that can improve our relationship with God and release our bodies
from tension and anxiety simultaneously.
Come to think of it, the sound of rain on the tin roof would
do that for me too. I wonder when I'll hear it again. (Deep sigh.)
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