The astute among you will have noticed that I have been following the October readings in the Northumbria Community’s Celtic Daily Prayer, which is a valuable resource for those of us wishing to cultivate a devotional life drawing on ancient traditions.
The readings have been quotes from the influential 20th century poet and mystic Evelyn Underhill. In one passage, she writes about what today we would call resilience:
If we desire a simple test of the quality of our spiritual life, a consideration of the tranquillity, gentleness and strength with which we deal with the circumstances of our outward life will serve us better than anything that is based on the loftiness of our religious notions, or fervour of our religious feelings…. This is the threefold imprint of the Spirit on the soul surrendered to God.
Resilience is a characteristic much-prized in mission workers, but one that is hard gained. Much member care is focussed on supporting people through trials and tribulations so that they grow more resilient with each test and are able to grow.
Yet resilience is not acquired through Biblical knowledge or professional skills, which are often the properties which commend themselves initially to church and agency as they mobilise and send us. Resilience is acquired through prayerfulness, time spend in the presence of God despite the demands of family, church, ministry and community. It comes from choosing, like Mary, to sit at the feet of Jesus when we know there is work to be done.
I discovered this resilience in my own life many years ago when I was struggling with long-term sickness, living on state benefits and finding it hard to live a ‘normal’ life. Yet at the same time I experienced an inner joy and lightness of spirit that was in complete contrast to the circumstances surrounding me. I concluded that what helped me was a heavenly perspective: God still loved me; Christ had still died for me; my place in heaven was secure – so what if the rest of this life is misery, sickness and squalor?
Yet many mission workers, far from experiencing such joy, are mired in what Mrs Underhill calls “the inequalities of family life, emotional and professional disappointments, the sudden intervention of bad fortune or bad health, and the rising and falling of our religious temperature.”
If your experience is more like that, it’s time to stop, take a holiday or go on retreat, before your stress levels lead you into burnout. It’s time to lay down some responsibilities and make time to sit and hold hands with God. As a result, we don’t necessarily get on top of the material circumstances of our lives, but we can transcend them.
