Sunday 29 June 2014

On trust

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

It is a little bit difficult for me to write this week. I can't really tell why but I guess it has something to do with the lesson I am learning at the moment. It is very intimate, personal, and hard to put in words. I am learning to trust, to accept the unknown, being content with one step when I would like to see the whole staircase.

As hard as it is to trust, there is one great thing about it. Trust is the source of inner peace. And the inner peace is knowing that no matter what is being seen, felt of experienced at the moment, there is a greater force working behind the scenes. The force working on your behalf, working for you.

We are always given all that we need, nothing more and nothing less. Our part in the deal is to do as much as we can with it. Sure, it is easy when the things go well but we need to pay just as much attention and love to the moments that challenge us.

I had one of those nights this week when I woke up before dawn again and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up, sitting in the darkness and breathing in the crispy morning air that was coming in through the open door. And there it was again. It had happened a couple of times before, the words started to fill my mind randomly and I couldn't help but take a pen and paper to jot them down. I found myself writing about trust!

Trust is taking a brick that fell on your toe and building a house from it. When together their existence makes sense but you decide to see it in every single one as well.

And you see your walls now in the colours of your experiences!

Many, including myself, talk about breaking down the walls of separation but this week I looked at those same walls from a different perspective. Just like with everything else, the intention is the key.
We can build the walls to protect ourselves, hide behind them, or we can build a shelter, a lighthouse for others. 
The shift happens when you trust that your current experience/situation is all that you need today to be able to move forward tomorrow.


Trust is not easy at all. In fact, it is more difficult for me than anything else. However, it helps me see the world more connected, life less disappointing, and hardships more meaningful. And don't let others tell you it is just a passive acceptance of what is. It actually sharpens your senses, makes you feel more alive, and teaches you about gratitude like nothing else I can think of.



I learn to trust again and just a thought of it fills me with peace and joy at the same time.


"Trust is to human relationships what faith is to gospel living. It is the beginning place, the foundation upon which more can be built. Where trust is, love can flourish. " Barbara Smith

5 comments:

  1. Hi Vladka,
    I'm so happy to read your text. For me it is like this too. Trust has freed me from worry sick about things or people. In fact, today at work when my boss, a colleague and I met to pray we talked about TRUST. Trust in the Lord. Tears filled my eyes when I read the proverb you shared above. I was telling my friends today that many times especially concerning spiritual life, we tend to try to take matters in our hands, but the work of God is pure and perfect and he knows all. How can I limited as I am, do it all? I can't. So trusting in the Lord has been one of the most amazing things that happened in my life. I also trust that He will take care of me and those I love and that He will guide me in all things.

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    1. Hi Rose,

      What a great comment and I am so happy to hear from you! Hope all is well with you and your lovely family. I sure understand how difficult task it is to trust fully. I am learning it myself daily. But honestly, I am always amazed how things work out miraculously once I do step back and trust.

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    2. Vladka talking about my family. I have news!!!!!! My husband had his appointment with the doctor and all is well with his leg. I don't know how to say that in English, but what matter is that he suffered for 9 long years and every surgery did not work out. It was said that he had a weak bone structure that did not heal itself and that was why he would need to be extra careful with the new surgery because it could take couple of years for the bones to grow back. The doctor is amazed on how fast, considering the medical condition he was in before, the bone is growing and gluing together. The first thing I did when my husband got back from his trip was to ask to see the x-ray. Everytime I remember what I saw, I cry. I'm so happy that he is able to walk without the crutches again. Thanks for praying for us. We trusted the Lord with all our heart and accepted whatever plan he had for us and all through those 9 years we praised his name and waited patiently. You'll do great on your trust learning because that is what God does. He not only asks us but he gives us the means to it. His Holly Spirit will cover you and guide you all through the way. <3 you!

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  2. Hi Vladka,
    Your words have spoken directly to me and have inspired me to trust and never forget my part in the deal. I've been through quite a lot lately and as you put it so well, "sure, it is easy when the things go well but we need to pay just as much attention and love to the moments that challenge us." Love and trust are the best paths we can choose in hard times and we need to wait patiently for what's to come. And we need to trust in God; ultimately we need to be very strong to love and trust. One of the best movies I've ever seen is "The Tree of Life," which depicts the most excruciating pain a mother can experience: the loss of her son. She must embark on an inner journey, during which she has to choose between the brutal forces of human nature, that is, to hate and seek revenge for her loss, and her trust in God, that is, to accept, trust and love Him above all things, just as Job did. It shouldn't take us longer than a split second to choose the former if we follow our most basic instincts, but it surely takes time and courage to choose the latter, for it's never "a passive acceptance" as those who have never experienced such things might think. I guess it could take a lifetime for some people to choose the path of love and trust, but it is comforting that it is a possible path and I believe in possibility. Thanks for your words that offer comfort and bear incredible lightness in times when all we are able to see is a heavy burden.

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    1. Dear Teresa,

      Thank you so much for a great comment and sharing your own experience. I said it many times but yes, trust is one of the most difficult lessons to learn, partially, because it asks us to rely on what is not seen or perceived in this physical world. First steps may be very scary and may leave us feeling lonely or even abandoned but again, that's just because we tend to identify ourselves too much with our own abilities and logic....you know, intuition is a part of trust, we agree to follow what is unseen, impossible to explain, without answers.
      Have a wonderful week!

      Love,
      Vladka

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