The Veritas & Caritas Group

On a recent trip for work, I crossed paths with an old friend whom I hadn't seen or spoken to for more than a year.  In the course of talking over the events of our lives, he began to mention the idea that God was working on a plan for his life.  In fact, he framed it up as,"I never really believed others when they said,'God is asking me to do this.'  I have reached a point where I now believe they may have seen something I didn't — and now, God is at work in my life, and I think he is presenting a choice to me."

 Well, that's the executive summary of the conversation, anyway, without all the details.  Lots of people (myself included) go through an epiphany regarding the presence of God and his influence on their life decisions.  So what makes this any different?  I read this week that God in his totality may be too 'big' to grasp in our feeble human minds — and that we also learn to know Him by first understanding what He is not, and then by understanding where others stand in relation to Him. 

Even before my studies this week, I felt somehow refreshed and enlightened by the conversation I had with my old friend.  We knew each other for years, and this was a little different than any conversation between us…of course the obvious difference is that my old friend has experienced a change of heart.  I knew immediately that he had changed in his relationship with God by the way he spoke of God's presence and actions in his life.  But more than that — and this is my real message — I listened.  I was more comfortable than ever listening to someone elses witness; I wasn't uncomfortable with not know ing what to say.  I was at ease with the idea…even in public.  Finally, my studies shed some light on more of 'why' my conversation had perhaps been so fulfilling.

None of this could be a reality if I hadn't been involved with a small church community.  In hindsight, the point is that I've changed where I stand in relation to God because of my group.  The real beauty is that part of my growth as a Catholic through my SCC is a deeper appreciation for this journey and where others are along a similar journey.  It is certainly recent enough history that I can clearly recall what my response to someone elses witness might have been prior to this single conversation.  I hope my friend finds his way closer to God, and I hope he finds people to help him along the way.  The effects of our SCC on the far corners of our lives always amazes me — I have a circle of people to help me.  Our group is awesome…becaues our God is Awesome.

Just an open ended question that's sort of been floating around in the back of my mind…

Ever wondered what the 'glue' is that puts and holds people together?  Maybe the simple answer is the Spirit guides us all to this point.  That's a little bit of a cop out too because the Spirit guides us in all things if we pay attention.  This is after all, a rhetorical question.  Maybe a better way to ask is,"Why does the 'glue' work the way it does?  How does it work?".

Either way, why does God attract a specific group of people to a cause?  Why 3 housewives and a computer technician? Why a plant breeder and engineer?  And even better yet, why THAT plant breeder and THAT computer technician instead of 2 different ones??  Surely for anyone who has shared their faith (either in your marriage, church, SCC or simple witness to others), you've wondered what your role or purpose was in a greater plan. 

When I share my faith in the right group/setting/context, I experience God's love and plan like never before.  That's the way it is in V&C - like I didn't even know I could experience God outside of Mass.  I am convinced that's why God drew me to these people and a specific group.  Sometimes my attempts to connect with other people haven't been so successful.  Perhaps it means we're just all at different places along the journey.  I know God's plans aren't for me to understand, but ultimately, I've decided the original question isn't for me to answer; it's to ponder God's presence in every detail of my life.  That's something I haven't done very well in the past.   It's pretty humbling for me.  And when I get to that point, it becomes clear:  God has a plan for me that is only for me. 

I guess I'll chalk my rhetorical question (and naivite) up to 'Wonder & Awe' — I feel a little like a deer in the woods with theirs pricked up…something tells them they are supposed to listen for something, but they don't know exactly what to listen for.  If it's just awareness of God trying to communicate with me, then I hope I keep my ears pricked long enough to hear what God needs me to hear.  Maybe listening closely enough, I'll even get some 'Wisdom' and 'Courage' for use on my journey!

About 15 months ago, we went through one of those big life change things — ours, at that point, was a 'move'.  With a 7 year stint in a small Texas town, we really didn't realize till the move date came around just how deep our roots had been put down.  And, it was job related — good pay, new adventure, all that, but something we tried to consider prayerfully.  We had/have dear friends there, and a small but active church life, and we weren't far from family.  We had long discussions (my wife and I, and again with the kids) over the course of several weeks about what may or may not happen, and why we should or shouldn't move.  We prayed to make the right decision.  Well, I was reading C.S. Lewis in the months leading up to the move and found consolation in several things, but there's a quote that stuck with me through all the uncertainty and long after settling down after the move…to paraphrase: God invites us down to the water, and we ultimately splash and play and dip our toes in the surf, only to eventually return to the margins of dry land.  What God really wants is for us to cast off for deeper water: to swim, to immerse ourselves totally in him and trust him.  (Mere Christianity, I think? Do copyright laws warrant confessions?)

 So, this little analogy kept sticking with me and keep surfacing in my head over some weeks (it's an attention disorder, I'm sure), and all the parts of the analogy were fairly plain — God, me, surf, yadda yadda yadda…until I thought: how did any of us learn to swim?  It dawned on me that God doesn't really 'teach' us per se, although he wrote the manual.  Just like our kids, there's usually somebody there, even if it's just watching good swimmers and trying to look like they look in the water.  The piece I took the longest to recognize, the piece that was right in front of me was everyone else: my little west Texas church.  They-my church- taught me how to swim.  Priest, parishioners, everybody.  There were people to watch that I knew were good swimmers.  There were people to help, and encourage (including you-know-who), that weren't going to be very good unless they made a bigger effort, or got some help along the way.  Just by allowing me to experience the highs and lows of their spiritual journey,  lots of people inspired and encouraged me.  And along the way, I got a little bit better (and yes, still have a long way to go).

Fast forward 15 months:  the events of a month have revived a string of thoughts I had back before we moved.  Yep, 1 month since we started The Group (save the tea chest, boss…).  Some highs, some lows, but called to share them among fellow swimmers.  Here's a group of parents with their children sharing the highs and lows of their journeys…sound familiar?  I mean, okay, it's a little cozier and a little more encouraged than when I realized what I had back in Texas, but it's very, very much the same.  What's better?  Well, before, it was like the whole elementary was at the pool; now, it's kind of like just the 3rd grade has the deep end all to themselves.  We have a few more things in common — so it helps us understand each other.

So, if you're waiting for God to reach up with an arm of water and pull you in, you might have a longer wait than you like…it just hasn't happened for me.  My suggestion:  Look around.  Find your swimmin' buddy.  Heck, find your group of buddies.  Count to 3.  Jump in!  The water's great.

It’s always been hard for me to imagine the call to close, personal contact with other people about my faith: witnessing…especially on a regular basis. For that reason, I still had a few lingering doubts about how well I would fit into our SCC. I mean it isn’t just about my own journey, but am I really adding to the others in the group? Will I step on anyone’s toes? Will they step on mine? Bad analogy — there were a LOT of toes there last night.

Anyway, our second group meeting put all that to rest, even with a few more couples AND kids. Some of us have just met through this process, and, contrary to any worries I had, we had a great time. Open, sincere dialogue about things that are usually hard to be open about.

It’s one thing to let the circle of adults grow. It’s an additional thing to grow the group of kids. That’s right — no head trauma, no fights, no bruised feelings…the biggest complaint of the night from 15 pre-teens was that we had to go home! Great time had by all. If that’s not another clear sign of God at work in our group…you get the drift.

Every day’s an adventure — it’s really cool to share it with some other adventurers. God’s got all kinds of stuff to show us, but you can’t take the trip alone.