So I haven’t posted anything in a while. My life has been incredibly busy in this transitional time where I currently work 2 jobs, and try to adjust to the commute. I think the hardest part so far for me has been how I am no longer capable of being a part of the Richmond Hill Community the way that I used to be. I even feel as though I have mourned it a little. In an attempt to try to become more of a part of the community again, I have changed my schedule at work to allow me to be at Richmond Hill until after lunch. This will mean that I won’t be home until very late in the evening, but I feel as though this will work out to my benefit.
I normally would be trying to sleep right now, but because I live at a non-profit, they are not turning on the air conditioning to save costs, and it is just too hot to sleep. I thought I would take this opportunity to update my blog. Instead of starting off by writing an entirely new set of thoughts, and believe me, I have many to go on, I have decided to simply post something I have already written. The following is from a column in Richmond Hill’s newsletter entitled Reflections on the Rule. It is an opportunity to share about my experience with the rule of Richmond Hill. This particular one comes from this month’s newsletter, April, 2009. I hope you like it.
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On Healing
Healing – Committing one’s own life to inner healing and to the healing of the larger community of metropolitan Richmond. Rule of Richmond Hill
When I think about the resurrection, the very nature of our salvation, the first thing that comes to mind is healing. After all, the resurrection is about bringing things back into their intended state of being, the healing of our bodies, our relationships, our souls. In many ways healing is difficult to talk about. I think in many churches, though certainly not all, there is often a thin veil of wellness that the people carry around with them. Whether they are afraid to admit their own brokenness for fear of hurting their reputation, or for fear of looking as though God has not worked in their lives, or perhaps even for fear of having to admit it to themselves; a culture exists in these churches where it is difficult to remove this veil. I think that within these same congregations there are many who are crying out inside, wanting their brokenness to be known, wanting the great Healer to bring the resurrection to their own lives. I think this, because that is how I felt, like I couldn’t share my true pains, even though I longed for healing.
A friend of mine recently compared the effectiveness of God’s power to a physics equation. As an engineer, I thought it was kind of funny, and that it falls short in it’s description, but I have been ruminating on it since, and so I wanted to share it with you. The equation is Ohm’s Law, or the measured current, I, is equal to the voltage potential, V, divided by the resistance, R. I=V/R. If God’s potential for healing is unlimited, then the measured effect of that potential is only limited by my resistance. Take a second and let that sink in.
What if we worked to remove the veil from our congregations? What if, instead of hiding our struggles so that we could make one another believe we have been impacted by the power of God, we took to heart that all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that we are all in need of healing, that we are all in need of a resurrection. Some of us need healing of our bodies, for some of us it’s our relationships, and for some of us, it’s our souls that need healing. The first step in a 12 step process is to admit that you are powerless over your struggle. Put in my own words, the first step towards healing is admitting that you are broken, and that you do indeed need healing.
