The latest was a young woman visiting Vancouver from Ireland. She was looking for a quiet sanctuary to say her prayers on an anniversary related to her grandmother, but unlike her experience in Ireland, all the likely spots in the downtown core were locked up for the afternoon. In the middle of the standard spiel about our need for volunteers to keep the worship space open to the public and that there would soon be a wedding rehearsal taking place, I stopped myself and said, ‘Oh never mind all that. C’mon, I’ll take you upstairs myself.’
The nave and chancel were peaceful and reverent as we entered and went our separate ways for a few minutes of private contemplation. As we closed up and retreated down the back stairway we chatted the usual, “so where in Ireland are you from” kind of conversation but in those few moments there was a part of one sentence that has stuck with me – “well, you should make it your business to ...”. This young woman said this in the context of me exploring my Irish heritage but I immediately sensed a deeper connection as I applied the phrase to my life as I live it now. I often “skim the surface” of life, not venturing anywhere too deep. The phrase “you should make it your business to ...” sounds like a trumpet calling me to action – a call to a deeper level of awareness and a call to experience and live life with more intention. It’s also a call to be curious, a call to slow down and pay attention to what is going on around me while being more aware of what is going on for others. It is a call to be thankful for all of my many blessings and a call to reach out and give back to others.
From what was expressed in our few minutes together, I know that my simple actions made a difference in another life that day. But in the gift that life is to each of us, the words of a young angel were her gift to me.
May you all “make it your business to ...” in 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment