Meditation at Driehoeven

William Bode

Sunday, November 10, 2013 Meditation doesn't have to be taught. The art of slow thinking is natural. I can remember each of my children at some point in their very early life 'coming out with something unexpected'. These statements or questions could arise in any situation or at anytime. These gems of cognitive connection may bear no discernable link to the current circumstances but they always evidence meditation. It very likely that meditation performed properly, slowly and naturally will produce a crystal clear concise and relevant question. This question will reveal more about the heart and motive than the casual inattentive listener might ever realise. Suppose your child overhears a conversation about whether or not grandparents will be able to come for the child's birthday party. It seems grandma and grandpa may not make it because thier car had to go into the shop to have the transmission replaced and so they would not have a car for a week. The plan couldn't be changed because the garage was very busy and they were doing the job for grandpa for half price. Grandma and grandpa live three hours away so it was unlikely they'd make it to the party in two weeks. Days later you are in the check out line at the store buying wiper blades for your car. And your child blurts out, 'Couldn't they barrow aunt Sharon's car?' Now here is the unknown chain of thought behind the statement. The news of grandpa's absence from the birthday party means your child thinks they won't get the money grandpa always gives at birthdays. This is a real disappointment to the child. A few days later your car's wipers cause a lot of stress on a trip home from school Now it is raining hard again so you borrow the neighbour's car to quickly get some wiper blades. You need to do this before you drive to get the older kids from camp. It's pretty urgent since the weather forecast is for heavy rain. While waiting for the checkout your youngest child sees a snickers and remembered that aunt Sharon bought a snickers for grandma last time we visited. 'Then the light comes on', aunt Sharon lives near grandma and grandpa's house, aunt Sharon has a car, we just borrowed the neighbour's car...... ... 'Couldn't they barrow aunt Sharon's car?' One form of meditation is driven by the recognition of a need and the patient search for a solution to your dilemma. A lot of good meditation happens because of an acute awareness of need or desire. The child's active but relaxed mind accepts they can't solve the issues that are out of thier league. But they looking for an answer. They are listening to all the new information and sifting through the old information. Snickers, the lack of money, grandpa's gift, aunt Sharon's proximity, wiper blades, and borrowing the neighbour's car all converged on a solution. As you consider meditation and the reading of God's word this week, let me encourage you to identify your needs or the needs of the world. I've often noticed in my children a period of relative quiet during the mediation process. It is easy to miss this because you are busy and the quiet is a welcome break from nonstop requests and questions. But this quiet is the evidence of mediation. It doesn't mean that all of life stops, it does mean at times we need to concentrate. But we can concentrate in chunks while doing the washing up or standing in a queue. Meditation sees the complexity of life and draws on it all no matter how seemingly unrelated to find formerly unrecognised connections. I say unrecognised but often meditation isn't comparative between people. It is usually a personal journey. It is possible Grandpa would send the money, it's reasonable to think that grandpa had already considered Aunt Sharon's car and probably no one except the child realised the severity of the need. But meditation isn't about what others may have already considered, often it is highly personal and so it takes responsibility to weigh all the data themselves. Some where in the arena of family, cars, needs, and the wonderful world of possibilities there lies a solution and the ever attentive mind of the child is trying each block in every shaped hole until they find a match. Will you meditate on God's word? Will you find the solutions you seek for your most pressing needs?