PLAY, PRAY, AND PRACTICE
“Hark! My lover – here he come” - Song of Songs 2:8-14
Today marks the shortest daylight of the year for people who live in the Northern hemisphere as it tilts furthest away from the sun. What do we decide knowingly and hide unknowingly in the nooks and crannies, in the recesses of our being? Today’s first reading gives us a glimpse of that incredible feeling of freedom by trusting in God.
Sweeping was my least favorite chore growing up. In fact, all the chores were my least favorite, including sweeping.... until I moved into a newly built place this past year of 2021, where the floors are cold and hard, and the tiles are freezing. From the bedroom to the kitchen, there was not one piece of carpet. As a person who lived in Southern California most of her life, I am not accustomed to the cold temperatures. The mornings would be in the low 60’s and I would bundle up by putting on socks, throwing on a sweatshirt, and sliding into long pants to keep warm in my place. Also, there was no heater when I first moved in.
So, what is the easiest way to clean cold, hard tiled-floors? Sweeping. I learned that sweeping takes care of the large and small crumbs, hair shedding, and deleterious particles better than a wet and dry Swiffer. Initially, there were a number of mixed emotions and I had no idea why. I got angry, I got frustrated, and I wanted to give up. Then, the invitation from God, “to keep with it.”
I have come to recognize some of things associated with sweeping, internally and externally. For one, sweeping is not a one-time deal. It is a gradual progression and each daily repetition of sweeping helps me to discover the nooks and crannies of my physical place. Two, what are things that show up in these crevices? Things like the variety of spider species and interesting/uninteresting insects with some that I had never seen before. By the way, I disliked spiders and insects.
What I needed to learn was how to play, pray, and practice with sweeping. By playing, I let go of the shoulds and discovered what my body wanted to say. By praying, I allowed God to be with me in my anger, frustrations, and shoulds. By practicing, I make sweeping a daily habit and slowly begin to uncover things I never realized. What did I find? All these nooks and crannies of my physical place were nooks and crannies within myself where I allowed dust and cobwebs to collect over the years. God was asking for me to present to God and not to hide my past any longer. I had not kept up with my spiritual sweeping in the past and remember, sweeping does not clear the spiritual spaces in one full sweep. It is a daily practice.
After about the third month into sweeping my place, God began to reveal those places within me that I kept tucked away wishing to never open again. Why? Because it was my past, it was my little traumas, and it was my experience as child.
After learning the great freedom with playing, praying, and practicing, I recognized that this is what daily prayer is about. This is where the Examen prayer comes into play for me. The daily practice of doing a spiritual sweep, where God is beckoning me to take a look. Sweeping through the once dark and scary places in my life, helps transform these areas into God’s dwelling places. With each tiny and slow movement towards greater freedom, I come to shout with joy for our God.
Where is God beckoning me to come play, pray, and practice this Advent season?
Tram Nguyen