7/15/12 Rev. David McArthur
The “gospel” of Winnie the Pooh tells us a lot about ourselves. When Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit’s front doorway because he ate too much, it’s like when we get stuck from our own best intentions, but blame someone else for our stuckness. Stuck with relationship, with health, with money. However, your first step is knowing your are stuck. The second is turning to God for help, like Rabbit running to get Christopher Robin.
Step three is a point where you let go and figure out you can’t figure it out. You don’t get to—you already tried that. You did the math; you figured there’s no way out. And after all the disappointments, asking for what is impossible seems pretty foolish. What seems impossible by yourself is not to God! Let go. Ask in prayer for what you really need. Jesus demonstrated mastery by showing you need to be a co-creator. “The Father already knows. The Father will, if you ask.” Isn’t it time to be free? But you have to ask, to be willing to go to that place of sincere prayer, step four.
Lao Tsu wrote, “The master observes the world”– recognize you are stuck.
“but trusts his inner vision.”– turn to God, that beautiful inner wisdom that can guide you.
“He allows things to come and go.”– let go, and allow life to unfold.
“His heart is open as the sky.”– open to infinite possibilities of the Divine Presence that doesn’t buy into your limits. It is sincere prayer.
Most prayer comes from the head, as if Infinite Intelligence doesn’t know what you’re about. But God is good all the time, and letting go isn’t about right now, right away. It’s not about giving up, it’s about giving over—giving over to an intelligence which is part of you but you haven’t been using. God is good when you are stuck. God is good when you are figuring there’s no way out. God is good when you are feeling foolish but listening to what you are guided to do. And God is good when you are allowing it to unfold, open to infinite divine possibilities.
“But Christopher Robin looked at Pooh lovingly and said to himself, ‘silly old bear!’ “