Awakening to Wholeness is a series of prompts, reflections, and teachings about how holding the tension of opposites can help us to heal division and experience wholeness. If you feel moved to share your own reflections, we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites” or tag us on social media with #EHoPWisdomOfOpposites.
This is a guest post by EHoP community member Dianne Schlichting. She writes, “A Holy One that I turn to in the face of contempt, needing the balancing virtue of compassion, is Grandmother Weaver.”
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I walked alone to the Weaver’s Shop today
To visit privately with Grandmother.
I came to learn about the value of weeping.
What of weeping, Grandmother God—
What words of Wisdom can you share?
Grandmother sat in her rickety rocking chair
And pulled close her favorite shawl.
She began with the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael.
Ishmael, abandoned, banished from home,
Placed under a shrub and left to die,
Cried loudly—he actually wailed!
Grandmother chuckled as she added,
“Not even I could long stand
The sound of that child in distress.”
So, dear granddaughter, when you feel
Bereft and neglected like Ishmael,
Cry out—wail, if necessary.
The second story related
The death of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Having lived together for roughly a hundred years,
Abraham was likely Sarah’s soulmate and she, his.
Her death created a crater-sized void
In Abraham’s life.
When Sarah died, Abraham mourned.“
Remember,” Grandmother cautioned,
“Death is real; it cuts the heart wide open.
When you experience its pain,
Mourn for a while; feel free to rage, be angry.
Howl to the heavens, if you feel the need.
Your expression of sorrow
Will often reflect the depths of your love.
The next story was that of Esau and Jacob,
Two brothers who vied
For their father’s affection.
Upon learning that his mother and brother
Had conspired against him
And had stolen his birthright
And his father’s blessing,
Esau pleaded with Isaac, his father,
“Do you have only one blessing to give,
O my father?”
Upon hearing Isaac’s answer,
Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
Dearest, when you or others are cheated,
Denied what is rightfully due,
When ambushed by lies and deceit,
Lift up your voice and, with Esau, weep.
After sitting in silence for a while,
She continued.
Psalm 39 cries out,
“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and
Give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears.”
When you experience desolation,
When you are filled with anger,
When you cry and no one listens,
Turn to me.
Cry out and don’t stop crying
Until you are heard;
I will come.
My dear Grandmother then chose a story
That has become dear to me,
The story of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.
She reminded me that when Jesus
Saw Mary weeping,
And all who were with her weeping as well,
He, too, mourned the death of Lazarus.
He was deeply moved in spirit
And wept.
With tears glistening in her aged eyes,
She asked me to join others in their losses.
Grieve with and for them.
Be a woman of compassion, she counseled;
Offer comfort to all in need.
A final time she paused,
Perhaps wondering if more was needed;
She added one last reflection.
We turned to Isaiah.
She was sad as she spoke,
Remembering the past
While at the same time seeing the present age.
In both times, brave men cry in the streets,
And ambassadors of peace
Weep bitterly.
And so, Granddaughter, I encourage you
To find your place
Inside humanity’s pain.
There are wars raging,
Countries in competition
To own the world’s resources.
There are many in flight from places of danger,
Who live in brokenness and in despair.
Cry loudly with, in and through Christ
Who is even now
Weeping with and for us.
Join the conversation! If you feel moved to share your reflections—either in response to one of our posts, or on the topic of the wisdom of opposites more broadly—we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites” or tag us on social media with #EHoPWisdomOfOpposites.
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Dianne Schlichting
Dianne is a member of EHoP; she and her husband John value the opportunity to share contemplative prayer and outreach with others who make the House of Prayer their spiritual home. Dianne is a wife, mother, and grandmother who loves spending time in nature, especially canoeing with John.
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