Today I was missing Chris. He has been gone two weeks now and I could feel such a strong sense of him and I had a need to feel connected to him.My weekend has been rather stressful with events out of my control taking over. I was feeling unsettled and a bit sad. As usual on Sundays Jim and I most always go to church which I find comforting and today was no exception.
The first of the month, I didn’t remember this until we walked through those very large welcoming front doors. The doors that seem to wrap you in their arms, that say you are welcome here with all your grace and glory. With all your troubles and woes. Come and feel the peace. Communion Sunday. I felt better already.
At the beginning of each service on Sunday since Mike came to be our minister, we are called into worship by entering into a time of quiet. He has taught us through a short meditation how to center ourselves and how to listen for God’s guidance and love. He has since added the ringing of three bells which now automatically take you to that quiet and prayerful place.
Today when I heard the first ring of those bells I thought of Chris. I remembered his bells when he would enter his meditation practice. The same bells, the same sacred sound. Then the second bell and finally the third bell. Today thought instead of going to that quiet place I was struck by how strong Chris’s presence was. I felt like he was right there beside me. Yet the fact of the matter is he is very far away, across many bodies of water in Burma. Then I remembered that the difference in our time is almost a day and 1/2.
It was the Bells. As I sat in my house of worship being called into prayer. Chris could have very well been in his house of worship listening to his own bells. We were both being called to listen and come into that place where all is well and a higher power is in charge. A place where comfort and care and love abound no matter how far the distance. We were together at that moment no matter the distance. The Bells confirmed it. And I believe it to be true. A sense of peace and well-being enveloped me and I’m hoping that he also felt my love and presence through the ringing of his bells.
God works in mysterious ways. No mystery in the ringing of the bells though. That ringing travels over many miles and across great bodies of water. I am sure that Chris heard them and knew that I was also there with him as he was here with me at exactly the same time on a beautiful Sunday morning.
October 3, 2010
1 Comment
Anonymous
Mom-
Thank you for this heart-felt reflection...it speaks of the ways connection, and the mysterious ways we come to experience it, are always possible...and the way you and I are never apart despite geography. Perhaps our "Buddhisms" and "Christianityisms" are just convenient labels for the universality of connection and knowing that is right here, like the sound of the bells ringing in a small church in Wenham and a small monastery in Burma, at the same time.
Love you,
chris
Saturday, August 27, 2011 - 10:19 AM