Meditation: August 26, 2007

"If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday." Isaiah 58:9b-10    

Reflection:

Doing good deeds as an antidote to gloominess? Refraining from evil as a way to banish darkness? While depression is a serious illness requiring professional help, the kind of bad moods many of us fall into from time to time may well be chased away by taking this passage from Isaiah to heart.

I think back to a time in my life when, recently divorced and immersed in a stressful job that required long hours at the office, I dreaded my lonely weekends. Arriving home at 6 p.m. or later on Friday nights, I sometimes wouldn’t speak a word out loud to anyone until Monday morning unless I went to the mall or grocery store to buy something. I spent more money than I care to remember on clothes and home furnishings with the belief that they would enliven my life.

Then I met Heather, a 12-year old girl looking for a Big Sister. I don’t recall why I decided to volunteer but soon after filling out the paperwork, I received a call that they had a match for me. The only child in a single parent household, Heather needed help in developing social skills, I was told.

Over the six years we were together, Heather gained poise and self-confidence as she grew into a young woman. In being her friend and mentor, I escaped my self-imposed isolation and began to heal, restoring a balance between work and leisure. Heather was my noonday in the darkness of long weekends.

Prayer:

God, put in our path a reason to set aside the gloominess that sometimes visits our lives. Amen 

Question of
the Week: How can I bring light into my life by tending to God’s work?        

Meditation written by Diane Glass of the St. John's Writing Team.