Sacred Geometry, or "Why You Cannot Reverse Engineer Your Influence"

This pine tree manifests the brilliant art of its Maker just by growing.

Its branches and its seed (pine cones) do that beautiful, spiral, "sacred geometry" thing.

This made me think of when I was interviewed for a podcast. Stay with me, here. There’s a mighty point to the story, I promise. Before the podcast interview, I sat down to pray, to ask the Lord to "give me the right words" because I want everything I do to point back to Him. I also want to help others.

So for seemingly good reasons, I was angsting a little bit, wanting to be wise and generous and very much hoping to inspire.

It was then that the Lord interrupted my thoughts and said, "You are at your very best, and you glorify Me the most, my daughter, when the good that you do is unconscious. Shalom, Sheila."

BOOM. The angst was gone! Honestly (please don't take this the wrong way) but I knew I was done praying. Not only in that moment was I at a place of full-on Shalom, but I have gone out to meet LIFE with more joy since that day.

After all - and I say this all the time - what we impart is NOT what we think we have to say. What we impart is the cumulative result of all our secret growings…or shrinkings. We impart to others our essence - we impart to others who we actually are, not how we want to be seen. We can only give to others what we first OWN for ourselves: which is whatever we have faithfully been in secret for YEARS. Not months or days. I’m talking about a way of being that can’t be reverse engineered.

This pine never attempted a Fibonacci sequence. It didn’t see its neighbor doing a spiral pattern, and then decide it was time to do the same thing. This pine did not admire its friend, and rush to its desktop to buy a website called “thegoldenmean.com” to try to become an iteration of its best pinegirlfriend. It did not read about another pine tree’s experience, and then write a blog post with borrowed thoughts on Divine Proportion. It wasn't going for Sacred Geometry.

Yet, there it is. Breathtaking and inspiring and yes, I laid flat on my back to grab this shot. This pine is who it naturally, unselfconsciously GREW to be, over many years.

Gosh, we can both rest in that, and be convicted (in a healthy way) in areas where we need to do and be differently. The results accumulate over much time. Which way is your tree growing? Who are you when no one is watching?

Our Longest Night

Did you see “The Christmas Star”?

We had a ridiculous amount of fun…

…and also felt a tremendous awe, at the same time!

In which case, I think we had a tiny foretaste of heaven.

There’s such a stirring in the unseen realm right now. Angels are swirling the waters. This stirring is manifesting in my life in several gentle manners: it has been a wonder to me, just how well the Holy Spirit can comfort His own. At a time when loss is very, very difficult, I and my family have been carried by God.

Worship on Sundays has taken on a resonance that makes me feel like I am being wrapped in a blanket of peace.

It was sweet to have my youngest son worship with us at Harvest Church yesterday. #thescruffychurchforthescruffycity

Altogether, there’s a strong sense in my spirit that all is well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

It’s the winter solstice.

Tomorrow, the year has officially tipped its scale, and the weight of favor is towards light.

Tonight, though, is that one last longest night, a portal for miracles. I’m going about the noble work of resting in faith, believing. I will lay my head upon my pillow in less than an hour, in the arms of a preacher.

We will pray aloud together as we always do, we may wipe away a few tears, nevertheless, without us doing another thing - just pray and rest, that’s all we will do - we will awaken tomorrow to more light than what was, the day before.

The coming “bleak midwinter” will be anything but bleak for me. This dark and inward looking series of weeks is often when I do my best work. I plant the seeds that will bear fruit in years to come, for years to come. Seasons have their rhythms, their reasons.

And every 800+ years or so, God gives us a Bethlehem Star.

None of these things are meaningless to one who knows God intimately. He places signs in the heavens above because He is a playful teacher.

I highly recommend that you bundle up with coats and hot chocolate tomorrow night, go outside and identify the Christmas Star with little ones - surely you know a few. Take pictures, laugh and sing a carol or two. Then watch The Nativity Movie by a warm wood burning fire. Share pictures of your star, and plan a nice dinner, because tomorrow you will have a few more moments of light!

After the star festivities, after all have left for their own beds, I want you you to crawl blessed into your own, and pray. Then…sleep. Sleep soundly. Sleep in peace. Sleep in innocence. Wake up to the knowledge that your friends are there, always ready to journey the Christian life alongside you.

How rich and righteous and favored we are. His very own.