Making Friends

Dear TSJ Peeps,

Solomon came to my rescue this morning, like a friend. And I am not ashamed to say so.

As many of you know, I have struggled with public opinion about me and this stuffed sheep. But no more. I am making friends with myself these days. And I want to encourage you to do the same. But for many of us this is no easy task and for others it sounds ridiculous.

I have been thinking a lot about the concept of friends lately. Rather new for me is the idea of making friends with myself. And since I love making friends with others the idea has captured my attention.

Do you talk to yourself as kindly as you talk with your friends?

The idea of making friends with ourselves comes from what I have been learning about how our subconscious mind works, how human development seems to unfold, how our heart, mind and body communicate with each other and how our bodies carry memories within our cells. Oh, and best of all, how God wants to be in relationship with us as Friend.

I have felt excited, perplexed and humbled at the same time. So much to learn. So much to embrace that is good. And yet because of life’s warped speed and the hustle and bustle of activities, we barely communicate anymore face to face on a truly relational rather than functional level. Fatigue and being pressed for time take their toll on communication.

So this morning I was bemoaning how messed up human affairs seem to be – where we work, in our families, in our religions, and in our government. I was feeling the angst rather than the joy of so many ways of believing. The seed of negativity seemed to expand into large concentric circles around my mind and I felt helpless and uninspired.

Then magic or mystery happened. I looked down at Solomon sitting on his stool keeping watch. I picked him up and did something I may not have done since he arrived. I looked him right in the eye. I felt the softness and plumpness of his stuffed body. All negativity melted away.

There we were ~ Mr. Wisdom and Ms. Woe ~ face to face.

Mysteriously a huge surge of calm and a sudden surrender to something larger than the things I was lamenting came over me.

It was like coming face to face with Love itself.

You see, I had already been growing in understanding how we need to use our conscious mind to make friends with our our largely unconscious mind often filled with automatic negative thoughts. We need to “make friends” with all aspects of ourselves to be whole.

But something else had happened this week that struck me in a new way from reading the story of Moses. I am reluctant to share things that have to do with Bible stories. I am keenly aware I am not a theologian, I don’t always know the context of the stories, and I could offend people with making sacred texts too casual. On top of that I fear misrepresenting the Bible or the Christian faith I am part of.

What I often do when reading scriptures is deeply feel the human element. I relate to the stories of struggle of good vs. evil, of despair vs. hope, of human brokenness against the holy and loving God and of human conflict.

So all I can possibly share is how they strike me.  I am in process like the stories of ancient people. Struggles are old, the context is new. Friendships have been forever. And they always require time, energy and care. It is getting more and more difficult.

We “communicate” by Facebook, Tweets, soundbites, selfies, emails, texts etc. Yet we are some of the loneliest people ever, always looking for pleasure and immediate comforts to replace that nagging sense of wanting to be known, loved and understood. Again, we either don’t have time or are often too distracted to sit face to face with others and listen.

Reading about Moses’ ups and downs in his relationship with God and his people captivated my attention the other day. If Moses could feel a wide range of human emotions, then there is hope for us.

Interestingly, the friendship theme came up again. In a different and profound way. God, it seems, enjoyed a friendship with Moses. They argued. They listened to each other.. . one being the All Knowing I AM, and the other being a mortal like us, Moses.

How did Moses earn the intimacy of such a relationship?

He spent time with God. One verse says, “Thus, the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Ex. 33:11) Now, it goes on to explain that Moses did not actually see God’s Face, but God did show Moses his Light. . . to the point that Moses’ face shone after being in God’s presence.

Second, Moses asked. “Show me your ways, so that I may know you… ” (Exodus, 12:13)

God responded, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (v.14) … “I will do the very thing you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” (Ex. 33:17)

Friends know us by name, are present in spirit and love being loved right back.

Solomon says to relax and remember God knows you – by name.

My angst turned to awe. That is what love does.

Love from TSJ headquarters,