Sickness On A Trip

SUN., NOV. 30, 1997, 9:20 AM
JUSTIN’S RM., BEN LOMOND

Generally your health is positively good, with rather little sickness to impede your functioning. Not so, as you come close to the end of this Western visit. You can be thankful for good health, most of your life, but you do need a few of these “bouts”, now and again. In one sense each of the “departures” is a test of your spirit. How well can you, a man of good health, adapt to the departure of that wellness and the presence of what should be, a small sickness?

Health is a “dimension” of the spirit, just as the spiritual is a dimension of health. They are interrelated, and each affects the other. You know quite well that I want you to see the spiritual as the dominant force in health. A strong spirit tends to bring the other dimensions of health along, even helping to maintain physical functioning. Thus, you might assume that when you come down with some small sickness such as this one it is because your spirit has weakened, allowing organisms normally curbed to become “dominant” in your chest and throat.

OR, and this is an equally feasible hypothesis, spirit, in strength, allows this development of symptoms as a test of… well, itself. Can you experience this discomfort, and the embarrassment it brings on, and still have a strong sense of spirit in this day? Your being here with Me now is evidence that your spirit is searching for strength and renewal. One might suppose that this spirit rejuvenation might be achieved better in a service of worship, even in the Orthodox style. But then you have to admit that this is such a departure from your normal worship that it is more of an intercultural experience than one of real worship. You have tried… and you shall try again on some later visit… to truly appreciate the spiritual power of these services, but this doesn’t come easy.

You have almost resolved the hurt that comes when you are not allowed to be given the Holy Eucharist, but it has to be an acceptance of a different cultural pattern rather than for a truly spiritual reason. But it is not a comfortable resolution, in your spirit, even yet… and it could be a factor in your spirit’s “role” in this sickness.

This has been a worthwhile trip (except for this malady of which I speak today), renewing relations with this son and his family and experiencing the environment of their new, and perhaps last, fine home. Now you have a clearer picture of where and how they live, and some of what they look forward to in making this place more of a pleasant and functional home. Let this inspire you to move ahead with “projects” as you return home… those that will make your “best place” even better.

So… you expected the continuation of full physical functioning (or… as full as it can be with your several minor, but permanent, disabilities) on this trip, but you have had to deal with less than the “perfection” you wanted. But hear again that such experiences are usually tests of your spirit rather than just weakness or “rogue events”. Your spirit is developing quite well, in this life, but it still needs tests, usually small ones like this, from time to time. I can cause, but I usually just allow conditions to develop into a “test”. It is not easy for you to experience sickness. Let this explanation that I have shared with you be a help in acceptance.

You are still quite pleased with your life, and you should be. You are not bothered by My affirmations that I, Holy Spirit, have guided you into this professional, religious, and residential life on which you now look back. In fact, as you should be, you are pleased and honored that I have chosen you in this way. It has been a life of some challenge, in which you have had some success. You are certainly not one of My “super-stars”, but just glory in being “choosed” as I say you have been.