Kidd: Spiritual Whittling
“There’s an old Carolina story I like about a country boy who had a great talent for carving beautiful dogs out of wood. Every day he sat on his porch whittling, letting the shavings fall around him. One day a visitor, greatly impressed, asked him the secret of his art. “I just take a block of wood and whittle off the parts that don’t look like a dog,” he replied…. In spiritual whittling, though, we don’t discard the shavings. Transformation happens not by rejecting these parts of ourselves but by gathering them up and integrating them. Through this process we reach a new wholeness. Spiritual whittling is an encounter with Mystery, waiting, the silence of inner places—all those things most folks no longer have time for.”—Sue Monk Kidd in When the Heart Waits (HarperOne 2016 )
new doors opening
This is also my experience of transformation. I constantly realize parts of my life that keep me “together” or keep me connected to God that are useful at one time in my life, later become tired and worn and need to rest. Our ministry or what we have to offer changes. One of the most challenging changes for me was leaving my medical practice, that was my identity. But I wanted to do so many other things. It becomes more challenging to keep up with the constantly changing technical, medical world if we do not stay with it constantly. I learned that just because we are good at one ministry doesn’t mean we should always keep doing it. We may be keeping others from the joy of that ministry, and actually, they may even do it better! Also, the wisdom we learn from one career or ministry is always useful for the next one. Nothing is ever wasted.
I am also learning to be more vigilant about habits that kept me safe during some parts of my life, which later became destructive.
What am I trying to say? Life is about constantly giving up control or the illusion that we are in control. It is also being open to change, letting doors shut, but being open to entering new doors or not being afraid to sit in the hallway for a while, waiting to hear the squeak of another door opening. Finally, it is about trusting, avoiding being stuck and stagnating, or thinking we are out of options.
What new doors will be opened to us this Lent?
Joanna joannaseibert.com
