Friday, April 06, 2007

"with the fingers of strength"

"O Son of Being! With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof." -Baha'u'llah
This morning, I was "saying" my prayers just after waking up, and this Hidden Word popped into my head when I was thinking about which "verses of God" I wanted to recite (one of the Baha'i laws is: "Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide," where the verses of God are the Writings of Baha'u'llah). It was the first sentence I thought of, and couldn't for sure remember the rest. At one point, I memorized most of the first half of the Hidden Words (one collection of Baha'u'llah's writings, short passages talking about our purpose in life, our origin, and the way to lead our lives), but as time has gone on, I've forgotten many of them.
After finding the whole quote, I was thinking about this passage in terms of sickness. God created my body, and my body has celiac disease which in turns means I have low IgA levels so in turn I get sick more easily and stay sick longer. But God created me with strength and power, and His creation was perfect. So, this is all for a reason. One thing it reminds me of is that our bodies are limited. So much care and attention goes into keeping them healthy, and sometimes they just get worn out. Then, we need to stop and take care of them. I've used my times of being sick, which come more frequently than for most people, as a time of reflection. Since my body is so worn down, I think about my priorities in life (and have to choose which I still attend to and which I give up to rest) and why my body might have gotten sick and what do I need to change. It's nice to have a chance to step back. And it also reminds me that it will be good to leave this body behind when I die. That my soul will live on without the constraints of my body. This celiac disease or low IgA levels don't define me. They're a part of my vessel ;), the thing I am using to develop my soul in this physical world. I need to take care of my body, but when my body is sick, my soul isn't necessarily. And I know I was created with strength, and so I will heal and I will become healthy again. That strength is there for me to draw on whenever I need it. It's a very comforting thought.

1 comment:

Blue Shutters said...

"you like my vessel? does it turn you on?" ;-)

i love you and your deep thoughts. i hope you feel better soon.