Resting in the Presence of the Beloved

I share today my adaptation of Lesson 109, “I Rest in God,” from A Course in Miracles – Volume II: Workbook for Students.

Lately I’ve been feeling the need to meditate on these words in very intentional and consistent ways. This is because I’ve been very aware these past few weeks that there is much going on in the world – and within my own life – that is unsettling and capable of provoking worry and fear.

The words of Lesson 109, words I trust come from the Beloved One, offer both a guiding light and a healing balm to all that threatens to obscure the holy peace already (and always) deep within me – deep within all of us. It is the peace of the Beloved One, which is my preferred term for God, the Divine Presence at the heart of all things.

As with the previous adaptations of A Course in Miracles I’ve shared (see here, here, here and here), if this one resonates with you, feel free to make it even more meaningful by using your preferred images and words: “God,” “Allah,” “Lord,” “Jesus,” “Holy One,” “Great Spirit,” “Father,” “Mother.” . . . I trust they all serve as different pathways leading up the same holy mountain; or, to use another metaphor, different gateways leading inwards to our center, the deepest part of which we all share. For as Henri Nouwen so beautifully reminds us: “In the depths of my being, I meet my fellow humans with whom I share [all things].”

NOTE: The adaptaion I share today is the one I sometimes share with my patients in my work as a Palliative Care interfaith spiritual health provider (or chaplain).

________________________

I rest in God today.

This thought will bring me
the rest and quiet,
the peace and stillness,
and the safety and deep healing
I seek.

I rest in God today.

This thought will carry me
through storms and strife,
past discomfort and pain,
past loss and death,
and onward to the certainty of God.

This is a day of peace
for I rest in God today.
And while the outer world
is torn by winds of confusion and fear,
my rest remains completely undisturbed.
Mine is the rest of truth;
the truth of God’s transforming Love.
I trust that when I open myself to this Love,
I have no burdens, no anxiety,
no fear of the future and no past regrets.
It is in God’s timelessness that I rest.

And so I close my eyes and surrender into
the stillness of this present moment.
I let this time of rest reassure my mind that all is well.
I let my mind be still and thankful
for this awareness, this healing.
No more fearful thoughts will come
now that I rest in God.

As I enter into this time of rest,
I surrender to God anything that causes distress.
I open myself to the presence of God
within me and all around me.
I rest in this presence and trust that
my time with God will make a difference.
My circumstances may remain the same
but I will be changed.
Such is the miracle of God’s transforming love,
ever present, here and now.

I rest in God today.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Stepping Out of Time and Resting Your Mind
• In the Stillness and Silence of This Present Moment
• God Rest Us
• Allow Everything to Rest Right Now
• The Beauty and Challenge of Being Present in the Moment
• Today I Will Be Still
• Cultivating Stillness
• I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to the Living Light
• A Sacred Pause
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Mystical Participation
• Dwelling in Peace
• Inner Peace
• The Soul’s Beloved
• You Are My Goal, Beloved One
• Be In My Mind, Beloved One
• Your Peace Is With Me, Beloved One
• Beloved and Antlered
• Meeting (and Embodying) the Lover God
• Finding Balance in the Presence of the Beloved
• The Light Within

Image: At Pelican Lake, Glenwood, MN – August 19, 2023. (Photo: Angela Hanson)