II. SECTION 13. What is a Miracle?
Lesson 346 Today the peace of God envelops me, and I forget all things except His Love.
- Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things. And so begins the day I share with You as I will share eternity for time has stepped aside today. I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them. What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time. I would forget all things except Your Love. I would abide in You and know no laws except Your law of love. And I would find the peace which You created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I behold Your glory and my own.
- And when the evening comes today, we will remember nothing but the peace of God. For we will learn today what peace is ours, when we forget all things except God’s Love.[1]
When I sat down to do my lesson today, my heart was much more relaxed and at ease than it has been for the past several days. All this travel and excitement left me little time or place for my usual devotional set-up; it threw me off course, no pun intended! I practiced my devotions, managing to read my lessons and pray in the moments in between going here and there, but it did not feel like real communion. Then when I did find time for solitude, instead of doing my lessons, I did other things. Vacation mode settled in; I was weary of thinking of the deep things of God. I felt lost on how to apply the principles of the Course to my daily life, and frankly, all the urgency surrounding forgiveness was baffling me. If the world is an illusion and I made it all up, why even bother with it at all? What is to save if there is nothing out there, if I made it all up, if I only imagine the whole thing?
The last several lessons, I read but did not work too hard at applying. I simply posted the lesson asking the Holy Spirit, “Please don’t let me miss the truth. Do not let me drop the ball – if this is true, let me believe in it entirely. If it is false, let me let it go. Lead me not into lies and hallucinations, Lord. Protect me from emptiness, nothingness, despair. All I want is to know You. All I want is to return to You.”
This is a very safe and trusting prayer. It strips one of all concerns. We are taking our egos out of it. We are putting ourselves in the hands, the very capable hands of God. We are saying – “I have no way of knowing anything for sure here in the shadowy land of separation, so I throw all my faith and trust in You. Let me not drown in lies and illusion. Let me not search in vain for answers where there are none! Lead me not astray, my Loving Father. Let me not delay myself or fall into diversion.”
So today, we awaken with miracles. I share this day with God even as I share eternity with God – time steps aside today, and I will not seek anything that time has to offer. In fact, I won’t even look at the things of time, but only seek the peace of God. It’s a lovely thought, but when I try to put it into practice, this is what I get:
There is my coffee – so rich and good, and I am thankful for it. There is the thick, warm, fluffy comforter the hotel offers us this week, so lovely against the chill, and I am grateful for it. The sun calls me to come and take a walk, and I am thankful for fresh air, for a good stretch of my legs after being cooped up in the Jeep for travel and then all that excellent rest and relaxation yesterday regrouping from our adventures.
Yesterday I had a conversation with one of the brothers from the study group, and I said as much. I love the Course and believe in it, but I wish we were given explicit directions through parables and application on how to live in the world, knowing it is not real. I cannot forget the world like our lessons tell us to do. I can forget it for moments here and there. I know in my mind and in my heart that the world is an illusion, and I am going to leave it very soon, and all that happens here is in the past and will mean very little to me in the great beyond.
But still. This is where I am now. I have to eat. I have to exercise. I have to take care of my body, our house, our family, our pets, and our travel arrangements. I pay our taxes and make business calls and talk on the phone with my brothers. I rub my husband’s shoulders when he is tired and give his feet a massage. When he walks through the door at night, coming home from work, happiness courses through me. I thrill at seeing my grown children and grandchildren. I am excited about Christmas and bringing out the decorations and all the good dishes! While I am here, the world feels real. It is fun to bake cookies, make Christmas gumbo, and attend holiday parties. The carols, the nativity sets, the crackling fire against the cold fill me with cozy contentment. There is hot cocoa and walnut-studded, buttery sand tarts made over my mom’s recipe that link me to toothsome traditions from childhood. Holy friendships to celebrate Christ’s birth throughout the year sustain me.
How do I reconcile today’s lesson with the reality of my everyday life in the world? I put it into God’s capable hands. I call upon Him. Today the peace of God envelops me, and I forget everything but His Love. This is not meant to be a burden! I will not be chastised for cherishing my dream and enjoying its pleasures. God loves me and makes my dream part of His great love. There is no such thing as spiritual striving and forcing myself to pretend that nothing here matters to me. A great deal matters to me in time! But when I forget all that I have learned about God and only remember His Love, His peace fills my conflicted mind and transforms, even this time of separation, into bliss.
[1] A Course in Miracles, Workbook for Students Lesson 346 Today the peace of God…Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition, p. 476.
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