Sometimes this mortal existence can be a bit trying, don’t you think? All the emphasis on trying to earn enough money to survive, dealing with what is politically correct (and not), and figuring out what our priorities should be among all the things competing for our time and attention. It’s exhausting!
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and about how much easier things are when my perspective is through the lens of what matters eternally. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French priest and scientist, once said “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are “spiritual beings having a human experience.” This resonates deeply with me and has for many years.
Somehow, I’ve always known that I would be a writer. I’m not sure exactly how I’ve known. It just seems to have been knowledge I was born with. I’m guessing there are things you too have always known. Knowing something innately provides a guiding star. All those years when I worked as an administrative assistant I clung to the knowledge that one day I would be a writer. And because of that, I sought, found, and sometimes created opportunities to write in my job. Doing so helped me be patient until it was time to step into my personal mission.
What is it that you have always known deep down in your soul? And how has that knowledge allowed you to stay grounded when life was swirling about you?
Knowing Innately vs. Learning by Experience
Unfortunately, most knowledge doesn’t come naturally like this to us. That’s why we spend years in school trying to learn what will allow us to function as adults. And to learn them takes time. It takes classroom time and time to read and think about what we’ve read. It takes assimilating various knowledge from different places to come up with plausible ideas. And it takes doing or experimenting with principles and theories to test them.
When I was young, I didn’t want anyone to tell me what their experience was. I didn’t want them to quash my curiosity and prevent me from learning for myself. I remember my mother telling me when I was young that my desire to know and understand all things from my own experience would make things difficult and that if I would just take the advice of others and learn from their experience, I could save myself a lot of trouble. I hated it when she said that. I felt like she was trying to stop me from learning and fully experiencing life!
Looking back now though, I suppose in some respects my mother was right. Tasting mud pies didn’t turn out to be the pleasant experience I anticipated, nor was the time I chose to walk into a patch of poison ivy to pick elderberries.
I learned from those experiences though. I learned that the taste of mud is gritty, not smooth like chocolate fudge. And I learned how to recognize and use plantain, the antidote for poison ivy, (which nearly always grows within just a few feet of it). Because of those experiences, I decided it was worth it to spend some time learning (reading and experimenting) about wild edibles, so I didn’t eat something yucky again. I also decided to sacrifice having a perfect lawn and not spray my yard for “weeds.” You see, not only are dandelions a wild edible, but one of the “weeds” in my grass is plantain, and since poison ivy grows in the thicket back by the creek, I think it’s best to let the plantain live!
The Best Kind of Learning
Through the years and all the ups and downs, I have finally decided that while learning from experience and learning by observation, reading, and accepting counsel are all good, there is one kind of learning that tops them all for me. Hands down.
I’m talking about learning through Epiphanies. Some might describe this as having “Aha!” moments or “Spiritual downloads.” You know, when all of a sudden, the Spirit speaks to your mind and/or your heart in unmistakable ways and you know that you were just gifted with divine knowledge? Where it just makes sense . . . and sometimes it even seems like a conduit straight from heaven has opened up and enlightenment just pours down through it into the top of your head and into your soul?
I would describe epiphanies as personal revelation from God or as divine letters from home. Sometimes Epiphanies are concise and profound. Sometimes they are lengthier and more detailed. But always they bring insight and understanding we didn’t have before. They help us connect the dots. They help us understand cause and effect. To see things more clearly and to better appreciate that there is absolute truth. They show us there is a divine plan for us, and that our Heavenly Father wants us to understand it so we can live in harmony with it and find pure joy.
Reminders to Seek Epiphanies
Nature provides beautiful reminders for us that God is there and aware of us. When I see the beauty of a sunrise or the transparent majestic colors of a rainbow, I feel like He is close by. When the sun streams through the clouds in rays of light, I feel His presence beckoning to me.
“Come,” I seem to hear. “Come and let’s counsel together. I have things to share with you and blessings to impart.”
Will We Open Ourselves to Receive Epiphanies?
Going back to my mother’s observation that if I would just learn from the experience of others, things would be a whole lot easier . . . the same is true of Epiphanies. When we turn to God and draw ourselves apart into a quiet place where we can receive the epiphanies that He has for us, we will always be blessed. And things will go much better for us.
God’s counsel is never wrong because He is never wrong. He knows everything. He sees everything. He understands everything. And so, if we turn to Him and open ourselves up to His counsel, we can’t possibly go wrong either. We will know what to do. We will know what to say – even in the toughest circumstances. We will know what to prioritize.
When We Don’t Feel Ready for Epiphanies
Not too many years ago I was working in a very intense job. The organization was undergoing many changes and to prepare for those changes I had more work to do than normal. No overtime was approved, and the stress was mounting. I was losing sleep at night. I was running on adrenaline in the daytime. I was getting further and further behind in my work despite working at full capacity, skipping breaks and lunches, and staying late – without permission.
One day I hit my limit when a huge assignment was handed to me on top of what I already had on my plate. No one asked me to take it on. The announcement that this responsibility was now mine was made at a department luncheon.
As soon as I could, I excused myself from the table and went to the women’s restroom in the restaurant. There was no one but me in the room. I stood at the sink gripping onto the countertop for support and began to pour out my overwhelm to God. It was too much for one person to do. There was no way for me to accomplish it on top of everything else.
As the tears ran down my cheeks, an epiphany started to come. It came in the form of a question: Do you want to know my plans for you?
More? I thought. You want to tell me MORE?
At that moment I couldn’t receive what God wanted to give me. In my ignorance, I thought He was going to tell me why all these things were being piled on me and how He planned to use the experience I was gaining to accomplish things in the future. I thought that whatever He was going to tell me was going to add more stress – not take it away.
“Not now, Heavenly Father,” I managed to say. “I need some time to prepare to hear more because I know when you tell me whatever you’re going to tell me I’m going to need to follow your counsel and I’m just too overwhelmed right now.”
About 4 months later, I finally felt ready to ask Him what it was He had wanted to say to me that day in the women’s room. I had largely completed the transition work for the organization which was mine to do.
When the epiphany came, I was stunned. What He said to me was different than what I had anticipated. He said, “You need to quit your job. There almost isn’t enough time for you to write what needs to be written.”
In retrospect, I wonder how receiving that epiphany when He first offered it to me would have impacted me. I’m certain that I would have rejoiced to know that I wasn’t meant to stay at that job longer. That His plan for me was for me to leave my career and finally step into what I had known my whole life I was meant to do.
His Timing is Always Perfect
The Lord’s counsel is always perfect, but so is his timing. It may not seem like it at the moment, but if we can subdue our fears and lean into whatever He wants to share with us when He wants to share it with us, it will be a great blessing to us.
Trust Him. Trust His timing. Trust what He chooses to share with you. He has a plan for you that will bring you great joy. Greater joy than you’ve ever experienced before. You just have to be willing to open your heart and soul to receive the epiphanies He wants to give you.
You are a spiritual being first and foremost. Set aside the human experience and reach for the divine.
And then?
The sky is the limit.