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Resuming the Beautiful and Powerful Dialogue

Resuming the Beautiful and Powerful Dialogue

Last updated on: January 1, 2013 at 10:05 pm by Osheta Moore

Resuming the Beautiful and Powerful Dialogue 2013-01-01T22:05:00-08:00 Osheta Moore

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My favorite seventh grade teacher was named Mrs. Sparrowhawk and she was everything you’d expect a woman whose name was comprised of two seemingly contradictory birds to be.

She was thin and frail, but robust and commanding.

There were moments in class where she’d flit around the room full of excitement because we were all participating in class discussion. She’d draw us out, helping us give words to our thoughts and then validate our efforts to engage literature. There were also moments when she’d stand at her desk at the head of the class, proud and keen, calling us out like a hawk calls out to his pray in the field and demand us to read our short responses to the entire class. She’d lay in on us for grammar, spelling, and sometimes, word choice. “Words have power, students! Use them well” was one of her favorite sayings and she said it often.

Many students complained and tried to get out of her AP class, I didn’t. I loved every moment I got to spend in her eccentric presence!

It was around that same time that I began to think about Scripture as more than a blueprint for my life, but God’s active form of communication with me. Scriptures like, Isaiah 1:18 where God invited me to come now a reason with Him–came alive! Despite my mistakes, I was considered a worthy conversation partner of the Creator of the universe. Amazing!

And so a beautiful dialogue that spanned years, heartbreak, and milestones began:

God: Hey did you know I know the number of hairs on your head?

Me: Really? But they’re so…

God: frustrating?

Me: Yeah, I hate them!

God: Well… I don’t

God: Hey… check out my servant Peter!

Me (after reading Matthew 14:22-31): He walked on water! No way!

God: Totally possible with me, just don’t let your fears get the best of you…you’ll never accomplish the great things I’ve in store for you if you do.

God: Hey I know you’re worried about paying for college

Me: Yeah. I am.

God: I will supply all your needs according to my riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Me: Really!

God: Yep. I’ve got your covered.

And many, many more.

My conversing with God was varied from quick check-ins before I rush off to school to deep times of meditations on Scripture after bedtime.

Mrs. Sparrowhawk was right. Words do have power. I felt their magic when I read Frost, Alcott, Poe, and Fitzgerald, but I knew their power when I read the Bible.

Sadly, familiarity does, at times, breed contempt because those passages don’t do it for me anymore. More often than not, I’m ambivalent to their power…sure they worked for me then…but c’mon God…say something new. Or if you’re gonna say the same thing, say it in a new way. Say it from a smoky stage with flashing lights, or sing it from a folksy band with a sense I style I envy, say it in a fiery woman’s voice that understands my issues as a modern Christian woman or say it in a controversial blog post.

Because You and You alone aren’t enough.

I think I’m not being a great listener in this conversation anymore. Like when you’re thinking about what you want to say next while your friend is talking. Maybe I’ve been thinking too much while God has been speaking to me.

With this church plant there’s tons for me to think about but that doesn’t change one very important thing:

I miss my Wordsmith of a Savior and I need to remain in dialogue with Him.

So this year , I resolve to create spaces for Him to transform my life and the lives of those around me with His powerful words.

Two spaces I want to explore would be to reclaim the Proverbs 31 passage as a way to encourage my friends instead of misinterpreting it as an unrealistic standard to them ( and me) and to practice contemplative prayer through using the Revised Common Lectionary, the daily God book, or practicing lectio divina.

I’ll be posting in the weeks to come on re-discovering the power of God breathed words. Hopefully they’ll be words that encourage, entertain, and embolden you to know Him better in this New Year.

Thankful to God for using eccentric teachers,

taken from Justin Lee’s blog…

Georgia, serif;font-size:13px;line-height:20px;”>P.S. God does not actually speak to me in an audible voice. This dialogue is my interpretation of a conversation with God. Dear God, if I’ve misquoted you, please forgive me and don’t sue me for libel. Thanks.
ditto for me, God -Osheta 🙂

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