"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
A friend had mentioned years ago that before any activity she ‘tops and tails’ it. She elaborated by saying that just as you prepare a vegetable like green beans by cutting off its top and its tail before cooking it, she prays to acknowledge God’s presence and power before and after each activity she undertakes.
Over the years I've endeavoured to do this whenever I remember it. One Friday evening, my husband and I were invited to a friend’s home for dinner. Beforehand I felt led to stop, be still and pray acknowledging that Christ was the head of her household and of each person’s home that was present. Humanly speaking there were several major challenges around the table including for our hostess. I claimed that " God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power. ". (Science & Health pg 473:8). I replaced God in this statement with each of the synonyms - as Love is everywhere, nothing apart from Love was present or had power. Therefore no one could feel alone or unloved in the presence of universal, all encompassing Love. I continued with the synonym Life- as Life is everywhere, nothing apart from Life was present or had power. Therefore there could be no feeling of ageing, no feeling of tiredness or burden in the presence of omnipotent Life. While praying I heard from 2 family members of challenges they were facing. I realised that these truths were either universal or they weren't. If I am claiming that God and all His qualities are everywhere, then they weren't confined to the hostess' table, but had to be seen and felt in my family members’ lives as well. My prayers continued in earnest along these lines.
The evening went well, and was very enjoyable though afterwards I found myself mulling over a few comments made by my husband which I felt were out of line and rude. It was a wake up call to ' tail' the event! It was unclear to me whether there was an actual issue or if it was simply my recollection of conversations. Either way, I was not at peace and realised as well that I was fearful that we might be excluded from a future event because of this. In other words, all of these feelings were a belief that universal Love, was not universal, all-powerful and ever present!
I recognised that rudeness and exclusion have no place in the presence of infinite Love. The Rule for Motives and Acts, Article 8, Section 1 from the Church Manual, came to thought. The specific phrase that came to thought was ‘ nor mere personal attachment” . The idea of attachment- my husband is so often expressing patience, understanding and selflessness that I realised that rudeness could not be 'attached’ to him or to anyone else as it is not a true quality. We don't attach ourselves to anything but God, and we cannot accept anything unlike God as being attached to us.
Also, I prayed with the 7 synonyms again affirming the universal presence of each of them and all their qualities that must be seen and manifested yesterday, today and tomorrow. Therefore there was no place for anything unlike God and these qualities as the only thing present is God.
I felt more peaceful and while led to mention something to my husband was able to do so briefly and without any emotion. He had been unaware of how his comments may have come across, thanked me for bringing it to his attention and said he'd be more alert in the future. That was the end of it.
I was very grateful for this reminder of the benefits of topping and tailing each activity I undertake!