How to Hear God Even in the Rabbit Hole

We must receive all words of God tenderly and subtly, so that we can speak them to others with tenderness and subtlety. ~Father Richard Rohr

“Alice laughed: ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said; ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’

‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”’. ~ from Alice in Wonderland

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”. ~ Matthew 19:26

At some point in our lives, all of us face tasks and situations that seem insurmountable, truly impossible. Grief over the loss of a child. Deep pain over a divorce we vowed we’d never do. Addiction in ourselves or someone we love deeply. Forgiving ourselves or another for a seemingly completely unforgiveable wrong. A personal “failure” or a sin we just can’t seem to shake or accept forgiveness for ourselves.

Perhaps, it is something more intangible like knowing God is calling us to something deeper, riskier, less culturally acceptable, and even costly to our current way of life and something that we are unable to see how to step into those turbulent waters while maintaining our comfortable homeostasis. We don’t want to be like Alice spinning out of control as she says, “Yes.” and falls helplessly down the rabbit hole of the unknown.

As for me, most of my troubles of seeing the good and the beautiful in the God’s Rabbit Hole comes from the category of my own shortcomings and “failures”. Somehow, I find it much easier to accept and believe that God will save others from themselves than to trust he’ll do the same for me.

I often feel too far beyond his reach, irredeemable. Of course, these are just feelings and not Biblical truth. If I let them they can keep me paralyzed for long periods of time. Freedom only comes when I am will to let go of all the feelings, lies, and despondency and fall into his hole of unknowing—where his arms never fail to catch me.

I find the self-permission to do this when I am able to remember Father Richard Rohr’s words, “We must receive [hear]all words of God tenderly and subtly, so that we can speak them to others with tenderness and subtlety.”. When I overwork God’s word into something I should or must do, rather than something of a blessing I get to do, I might do a good work, but never settle into the peace, joy, and abundant life it was meant to bring.

Question to ponder: Are we willing to not only “let” God wreck our lives, but also, see the good and beautiful in this wrecking so that he can help us return to something far more glorious than we or mankind could ever offer or build—the original beauty he intended for us as he knit us in our mothers’ womb?

Love, your sister along the journey,

k