"One may not be able to triumph over evil, but one need not remain silent in the face of it." -Smith Hempstone
Photograph: Salt Chandelier in Wieliczka Salt Mine (Courtesy of Sarah Allen)
February 28, 2009 6:00 p.m.
Today was such a fun and lighthearted day, compared to the bleakness and gravity of yesterday. We got up bright and early this morning to visit Wieliczka Salt Mine, where we were invited to lick the walls--yes, I said LICK--to taste the salt in the rock. We all did it, of course, even Jaron. It was kind of fun, kind of weird, and kind of gross, but that didn't occur to us until afterward...
Three storeys underground, we viewed beautiful sculptures of salt, including one of St. Kinga. According to legend, when a Polish king sent his envoys to escort princess Kinga to Poland to become his wife, Kinga's father wanted to show royal generosity by giving gold and silver from his treasury to the Poles. Kinga asked him to give salt instead, since Poles did have gold and silver but they did not have rare and valuable salt. The king of Hungary agreed to let Kinga to take as much Hungarian salt as she wanted, but Kinga had a premonition, and before she left with the Polish envoys, she dropped her engagement ring into one of Hungary's salt mines.
After Kinga's wedding in Krakow, she went on a trip to the nearby town of Wieliczka, where she ordered the people there to dig a well. The people who dug the well were forced to stop when they encountered a hard stone. Kinga then ordered them to lift up the chunk of the stone, which turned out to be rock salt. When the piece of salt was broken apart, Kinga's engagement ring was found inside! In the place where Kinga asked to dig the well, huge deposits of pure salt were found. Therefore she became the patron saint of salt miners.
We also saw a cathedral made entirely of salt: stairs, floor, friezes on the walls--even the chandeliers! It was weird... but very beautiful. On our way out of the mine, we stopped briefly near an underground lake even saltier than the Dead Sea; we dropped coins into it, and they took an unusually long time to sink.
Salt is a seasoning and a preservative--once called 'white gold' in Europe because of it's rarity and value. It adds savor to bland foods and complements the flavor of most dishes, and it keeps things from going bad. In the salt mine, all the support beams are made of wood, not iron. Iron will, over time, rust and become brittle. Wood, on the other hand, is porous, and over time it absorbs the salt from the air around it and begins to petrify, becoming as strong as stone. In the same way, we are to influence and infuse those around us, helping them to grow in strength and grace.
Something Patti said really struck a chord in me: "You know, all of this would be nothing without light." It was true; without light, the mine would have been just a dark hole. The play of light on the sparkling salt, and the chandeliers made of salt, sent me back in time a year to remember the way that light defines Waterford Crystal... ah, memories. Back to the present... for a souvenir, I purchased a votive holder made of salt, to remind me of the salt and light that I am called to be.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
-Matthew 5:13-16
If I cease to live life to the full and refuse to shine in or season this world, I become useless. God has a specific purpose for my life, and it is rebellious and sinful to live as though this life were my own. I was bought at a price; I will not waste my life. God is not fond of slackers.
"The complacency of fools will destroy them."
-Proverbs 1:32b
"The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection." -C. S. Lewis
I must not become comfortable with 'the way things are' or satisfied with where I am right now, as far as what I am doing to serve God. There is no such thing as 'good enough.' I must be always improving, because God's standard is perfection, and I do not yet measure up.
"The test of observance to Christ's teachings is our consciousness of our failure to attain an ideal perfection. The degree to which we draw near this perfection cannot be seen; all we can see is the extent of our deviation." -Leo Tolstoy
"The highest perfection consists not in interior favors or in great rapture, but in the bringing of our wills so closely into conformity with the will of God that as soon as we realize that He wills anything, we desire it ourselves with all our might." -St. Teresa of Avila
"When better is possible, then good is not enough." -From Becoming a Person of Influence
Why did I have to come all the way to Poland to fully realize how much all of this matters, that it is true, and that truth ought to define me more than my emotions and passions? Feelings change--truth does not. Jesus is the Truth*, and He must be my only driving force. Love for Him must be my sole motivation; He alone can keep me going through any and every difficulty.
I was disturbed during our training session this evening, when Barnabas played the video from http://www.loveisthenewhate.com and asked us for our thoughts. I was extremely convicted that Biblical illiteracy is crippling our young Christians and making them easy to deceive. But what can I do about it? Knowing the truth is one thing; doing something about it is another thing entirely. I cannot in good conscience just stand by and allow things to happen; let me rather be a person who makes things happen. This will require a change in my thinking, and a definite change in my life.
For starters, I have to pray. Without God, I can do nothing. With Him, there's nothing I can't do.
"The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them." "They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD."
-Jeremiah 1:4-10; 17 & 19
"Therefore this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you, that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you," declares the LORD."
-Jeremiah 15:19-20
Father God,
You are my silence in the middle of this noise; my peace in the middle of this chaos.** I praise you for your relentless pursuit of me, although I do not understand it. Even when I turn my back on you, you wait patiently for me to realize my folly and fall back into your open arms. But I know I do not need your arms of comfort; you are rather bracing me for difficulties still to come.
Forgive my disobedience and my flippancy; there never was anything more serious than the life you require of me. Help me not to dwell on the things I've done wrong, but to learn from them and start to live again in a way that is purposeful and pleasing to you. Let me play the hypocrite no longer and embrace my destiny, becoming the person you have created me to be.
Barnabas says I have grown in grace--have I really? Help me to use that for your sake. If I've grown, then good. If not, then help me to be as effective as possible where I am right now, and help me continue to move forward. Let me begin now, instead of procrastinating. 'Do Hard Things' is a 'right now' mentality. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Help me to place greater value on my life and my freedom while they last.
In Christ's Name, Amen.
*John 14:6
**Sanctus Real "Whatever You're Doing" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06AgY5Xoavw
No comments:
Post a Comment