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My Trip - My Sacred Quest
Growth through Love & Loss
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Dear Haverim (Friends),
I would like to share with you some thoughts on my trip this year, which I'm called My Sacred Quest. It was a sacred quest for quality time, alone, with God and His creation.For many years, my time, food shopping, my chores at home and my secular work seemed to be time apart from the Divine. To tell you the truth, I felt it was far from my calling, or so I thought! Sure, a few special moments that I had each day seemed prayerful enough, you could even say at times "Divinely Touched" by God's mighty hand, but for me it was never enough time with God. However most of that to me I thought were "simply" the secular things I was doing, and it was apart from God in my life. Fulfilling all the other duties of my life, although essential, seemed honorable, but certainly not "sacred" or "holy" to me. But that all changed for me with my trip to Hawaii and my great awakening, which I had there in November 2000.
Well, another great awakening took place for me this year in beautiful Pagosa Springs, Colorado August of 2008. Boy oh boy what a lovely place to be in the hot summer. It's just outrageously awesome place with all the mountains surrounding it, and its so green.
Now the first time this "great awakening" happened to me I was on the beauty island of Maui, and it happened to me early in the morning. I was on the dock and saw a big fat rainbow (picture below) beaming down on me. It was so very bright it hurt my eyes to look at it with out my sunglasses on. I heard it singing some words, that's right, the rainbow was singing, talking!
"God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, so come on and bless His name!"
No joke, the rainbow sung to me that morning, but I told no one for fear they'd think I was off my rocker. I had a realization right then that by virtue of God's "good creation" (Genesis chapter 1), our Good Creator (the Aleph and the Tav i.e. the Messiah), nothing originally made by Him was profane in any way shape or form, and that everything is "sacred" to Him, even my time. Wow, that was a wowzer for me, but the day was just starting...
Early Morning on Maui November 2000 taken by
Barbara Di Gilio
This whole wide world is full of God's great tastes, and He showed me that that day. He made islands for us to enjoy, and He made exotic flowers for our pleasure also. And He even made some very funny looking fish, fishes that I saw under the sea at the Molokini crater that day too. He showed me that day that everything really depended on my viewpoint and my perception of His purpose and His intention for the earth and His children, whom He loved so very much! Was it all "good" or was some of it "bad," that was the question I was asking Him in my mind? His answer was everything: "He made was good!"I don't do well on boats. I was seasick for the whole day standing on the deck of that large sail boat. Nevertheless seeing what I did that day, I know it was worth it all. But I'm not sure I'd ever do it again, nevertheless it was sure a lovely trip in more ways than one for me and for the family.
Barbara stand on the lower deck of the sail boat, sea sick, and looking at the point to steady herself...
Molokini is a Crescent shaped islet located in the Alalakeiki Channel just about about 3 miles off Maui's southwestern coast. God showed me the C stood for Christ because God places His mark everywhere, even here, in the middle of the islands of the sea. I thought it funny that the word Alalakeiki means: "crying baby" - for I was crying out to God the whole day on the deck of that boat not to up-chuck all my food I ate for breakfast. I did not, so I praised God on the trip home.
I must tell you now, that day I felt so FREE and ALIVE and in Him, and I still remember it so well. I knew everything was permissible for me; and I even thought "Lord, I can even walk on water because You are here with me." What freedom came with those words that day that He imparted into my spirit as the rainbow sang with His acoustic truth that even His Creation understood His "Goodness" and it came with a capital G. I remember thinking about what rabbi Sha'ul (Paul) said it to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 and again in 10:23, here, read them for yourself.
"Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial.
"Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.
(1 Corinthians 6:12)
"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial.
"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive.
(1 Corinthians 10:23)
I had felt I was being mastered by a few things in my life and I did not like how it felt. I'll not go into any of them with you because for me now they are things of the past...and better left there.But did you know there are all sorts of Christian groups out there today dedicating people only to practice one particular virtue, and they are not living an activity holy lifestyle for God? Such groups and movements I know are robbing people of the "Whole Life Experience" of living daily out their lives with God. These groups have their own brand of special bible instructions for you, you either get it right or else you just can't be saved- it's just so sad to me seeing people I knew so bound-up this way. I was sick to death of all of this in the year 2000 (the time of my wilderness experience), and I really thought of leaving the ministry because I found nothing "sacred" in anything most of the churches I knew were doing. All I saw in them was heaping condemnation on folks I "knew" loved the Lord and asking for money, money and more money from their people.
And still today, I'm still learning about my life in God. It's a life time process but I am devoted and dedicating myself anew to exemplifying living a simple life for Messiah, and encountering the "sacredness of all human endeavors in God" by doing so and loving every one just a bit more like Messiah Yeshua. This year so far has been one of release, release, and more release! My mantra is "Let it all go to God for He cares for you Barbara." I tell you my friends that feels really really good!!!
Folks, I was awakened some 15 years after coming to faith for the first time, as to how much God really loves me. I was also awakened to the close BOND linking "all my movement in LIFE to the Divine Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)" as they led me in the ways I should go everyday. I know that sounds deep for some of you, but in fact it's really not that deep at all. All that it is - is "Relational." God is my Father, my Abba (Daddy), Yeshua is my Saviour and my King as well as my Elder Brother and Friend, and the Holy Spirit is my daily Comforter, Teacher, and Guide in my life. Relational is what it is!
It is in Elohim (the Completeness of the Godhead) that we live and move and have our BEING, is it not? Rabbi Sha'ul quotes this to the men of Athens. He said it was one of their poets who wrote that poetic phrase (Acts 17:28), and the rabbi went on to say, we are His offspring, His children. That's relational. We are in God's family!!!
What I realized back in the year 2000 is that all my activity, however elementary they seem to me or to others, however misguided they seem at times to me or to others, however ineffective they seem to me or to others, is received and put to good use by my Daddy, and it's because He is the only One who stands in the Center of the Universe and knows "all things." It is He who holds all things together, and works all things for good for those who are "the called" - according to His Divine Purpose. (Romans 8:28; Hebrews 1:3).I know I am called and I know I am anointed for His Divine pleasure and purpose. And that's not prideful for me to say that, as some will think that it is. In His eyes, everything I do is a reflection of Him or on Him. For it is true that those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Messiah, His only Unique Son, that Yeshua is the firstborn among many brothers and sister for the Household of God. And those whom God predestined because He knows the end from the beginning, God also called; and those He also called, He also justified; and those God justified, God also glorified. Sweet!!!
What then brothers and sister shall we say in response to this great glorious Good News given to us by the Scriptures? We must answer what the rabbi stated, "If our God is for us, who or what can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
Can you see the sacred in all that your doing today?Boy I can, now even better in 2009 than I did in the year 2000. Like rabbi Sha'ul, I was journeying through life directing my own path for the first 40 years of my life, or so I thought. I was a woman thinking I was fully in-charge. Now I see what a joke that was to for me to believe that. I made all my own decisions, and many of them were poor decisions, but just as rabbi Sha'ul was forced to let go one day, forced by his blindness to be led by others, so it was his LOSS that brought about his BLESSEDNESS.
I think there is blindness in-part on all of us until we can one day fully let go of everything we have to God's good keeping, including our many ministries. I have grieved most of my losses in my life very differently, but LOSING my self to God totally on my last trip was one of the best things I have ever done. I really do feel renewed and up-lifted by His Creation.Now I see this so clearly, I know we can only grow through our losses, and of course our loves in life as well. Just like the Messiah gives to us so freely everyday of Himself, and He does it in so many many little way, we need to do this for others. His is an unconditional love, and it's an everlasting love, and it's not based on what we do or don't for Him. God is Love, that's who He is! When we recognize all of that in ourselves, and that in Him we do live, we do move and we do have our being, we can in truth say we are intimate and have come to know the Lover and Lord of our lives, and thus everything becomes Sacred to us!
Now before I go, let me give you a word the Lord dropped in my heart from Psalm 127:2 while I was putting this together.
"He grants sleep to those He loves."
If we have learned to rely totally upon our God, then we shall not lie awake with fear gnawing at us in the night seasons in our lives. But we shall leave all our concerns with Him; thus our thoughts and our meditations should be of Him and of His greatness. And if we do this, will reap a SWEET refreshing and release with Mornings Light. I tell you in these darks days only He can give us this kind of refreshing sleep, sleep that we all need to stay sharp. Take to heart these Scriptures, the words of our Lord and put your name into them:
25 Therefore I say to you Barbara, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; and for your body and what you should put on it. Is not the life more than food and drink, and the body more than what kind of clothing you wear? 26 Look at the birds of the air: for they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor do they gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds each of them well. Are you not much more worthy than they are? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one inch to your height? 28 And why take thought about your clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say to you, That even king Solomon in all his glory was not dressed-up like one of these. -- Matthew 6:25-29
To be the beloved of the Lord is the highest possible honor for the Believers (Christian). He is our Lover, He gives us all things that are good. To be loved by the Lord, the King of the Universe puts to death all selfish desires and every earthly care, or at least it should. If God loves us, and I know He does, then all is well and we may REST indeed in His arms, and whether awake or asleep we can be fully refreshed by Him. Amen.So I want to praise the Lord by saying that the Lord God has dealt kindly with my hubby and I on this trip. My husband George and I thanked God for every privilege He has given to us. We have met some very lovely people we now call friends. One such lovely couple was Shere, a nurse, and her husband Bob, the pastor of Gamerco Church of God in Gallup, New Mexico. We hope to see them again in just a few months.
I pray your journey is a sweet one. I pray God will make Himself known to you in a whole new way during the Fall Festival Season this year. This is the Season of listening for the sound of His Shofar. It's a time to be fully Awake in everything we do or say for God!!! If any person does not love the Lord, the words says let that person be Anathema, because in fact that person is cursed already, and not by us, but by God.May the Grace of our Lord Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah be with you.
We send our love to all of you in Messiah's holy name.
Maranatha - Shalom,
Barbara <><
If you have comments, send them to: Barbara@mayimhayim.org
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