Dispatch from the Wilderness : two quotes, two thoughts

"A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials." - Confucius (attrib.)

A number of factors have been working together to dissuade me from posting.  I have no stomach for the current events or politics as of late and my studies have left me....unsatisfied.  That said, Dad's idea of OJT has been most 'illuminating' and has done much to stretch me mentally, emotionally and psychologically.  Also, my beloved has been most helpful in tempering and testing my beliefs and I feel rather indebted to her for this.  Polishing the stone, indeed.

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (I Cor. 2 : 4-7)

The more I look at this, where Dad is calling me and what needs doing, the more I realize that I can't reasonably be like most other priests and that my 'people' don't fit in a parish.  Maybe it's  all of the days and nights in the Wilderness, but the folks who I am called to serve don't sit in pews, sing V2 hymns off-key and talk about their grandchildren.  They don't care about ad orientem, by-mouth reception, bishops or any of that stuff.  They need to see, to know that both the Divine which suffuses all and people here on Earth love and care about them and wish to help them.

There is a lot of uncertainty and questioning which comes of this, being so far beyond the comfortable walls of 'church as usual'.  What I know for certain is that I do not walk alone.  There are others, both visible and invisible, who wander the wastelands with me.