61: Live a Gathered Life
Growing up, I was what many people would probably describe as “messy.” My bedroom was pretty much always a disaster, with toys and clothes and books strewn all across the floor. For the most part, I grew out of that (though I must admit, there are often still piles of books randomly placed throughout the house). But I do remember those days when, by parent-demand, the dreaded and inevitable “bedroom cleanup” would be on the day’s agenda.
One by one, I would have to pick up each item I had conveniently left out and put it in its proper place. Placing each item where it belonged. While the process often felt grueling as a kid, I must admit, the result always felt right. To this day, I feel a sense a peace when everything is where it should be.
However, in the larger context of life, that is not often my inner reality. Sure, it might be somewhat easy to keep the house in order, but life overall? Not so much. I don’t always feel like everything is where it belongs.
Generally speaking, life for me often feels very scattered. Like a jar of marbles spilled and rolling every which way across hardwood floors, my focus, my attention, my thoughts often feel divided and all over the place. And in a world that seems to thrive on the frenzy of multi-tasking, I wonder if there could be another way.
If you’re listening in realtime, we are right in the middle of a season all about gathering. In fact, walk through any home decor store, and you might see the word “gather” plastered on pretty much anything and everything. By the way, no judgement. I have a few items that bear that word. And honestly, the trend makes sense. This time of year, we prioritize gathering together with loved ones, with family and friends, both near and far, with the intention of being together all in one place.
And so this idea of gathering isn’t a new one by any means. But in my own life, I feel like God has been inviting me to consider how I might live as a gathered person, fully present, fully known, fully loved.
As much as our society might uphold the “gift” of multi-tasking, and as much as we might pride ourselves on our supposed ability to do so, I’m learning that a multi-tasking life, a scattered life, isn’t a life we’re meant to live. As one of my professors, Keas Keasler writes,
“…there’s a dark side to multitasking that must be considered: it chips away at our being ‘whole’ persons. Doing something over here while your mind is thinking about something else over there doesn’t mean you’re in both places; it means you’re in neither place. Even if multitasking does make us more efficient, it comes at the high cost of making us fragmented persons.”
I don’t know about you, but that word, fragmented, feels about right. I don’t want to continue living as a fragmented person. I want to seek to live a gathered life. And the good news is that, as Keas continues to share,
“God’s love…can take a fragmented self and make it whole again.”
As we remember where we belong, as we come home to our whole, gathered selves, we are truly being re-membered. The bits and pieces of ourselves that once felt so scattered are brought together once again. We slow down. We let go. We breathe in. We simplify. We pay attention.
Many months ago, I was introduced to a prayer called, “Gather Me Now” by Ted Loder. I began to pray parts of it each and every morning. I cannot tell you how transformative praying this prayer has been for me as I seek to live a gathered life. And in the midst of all the chaos, distractions, and pressure to multi-task that many of us might be experiencing, today, I thought it might serve you.
O God, gather me now to be with you as you are with me.
Soothe my tiredness;
Quiet my fretfulness;
Curb my aimlessness;
Relieve my compulsiveness;
Let me be easy for a moment.
O Lord, release me from the fears and guilts which grip me so tightly;
From the expectations and opinions which I so tightly grip,
That I may be open to receiving what you give,
To risking something genuinely new,
To learning something refreshingly different.
Forgive me for claiming so much for myself that I leave no room for gratitude;
For confusing exercises in self-importance with acceptance of self-worth;
For complaining so much of my burdens that I become a burden;
For competing against others so insidiously that I stifle celebrating them
And receiving your blessing through their gifts.
O God, gather me to with you as you are with me.
Keep me in touch with myself,
with my needs,
my anxieties,
my angers,
my pains,
my corruptions,
that I may claim them as my own rather than blame them on someone else.
O Lord, deepen my wounds into wisdom;
shape my weakness into compassion;
gentle my envy into enjoyment,
My fear into trust…
O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.
Amen.
Today, if you feel scattered, distracted, or spread too thin, remember to live a gathered life. May each of us be re-membered. Gathered together once again. Whole persons who are fully present, fully known, and fully loved right where we are, right where we belong.