Beloved Community,
It is with GREAT JOY that I write to you for the first time as your Senior Minister to update you about our moving plan and share our spiritual growth in the process.
The original plan was for me to drive from Grass Valley, CA to Columbia, MD, March 1 thru March 4th, work for the month, then drive back to California to get Debra and the boys (dogs) and drive right back to Maryland. Several of you have reached out, expressing your wisdom in a different, more efficient way.
I HEARD YOU AND I’M LISTENING!!
I will fly out of Sacramento, CA on Wednesday, March 8th at 6 AM to Las Vegas at 7:19 AM, then out of Las Vegas at 8 AM arriving at BWI at 3 PM. I’ll be there are working through March 26th before heading back to California on March 27th to assist Debra to finish packing our moving POD and get it picked up, and then we begin our cross-country caravan on March 31st.
We got an unexpected foot of snow this week, delaying the delivery of our moving POD, and yes, I initially had a minor meltdown… the snow wasn’t impacted in the least… LOL. I reminded myself of our founder’s words on pages 258-259 of The Science of Mind; A Philosophy, A Faith, A Way of Life. He writes:
Weather Conditions
Pure Spirit is not and cannot be governed by any weather conditions whatsoever. All weather is a manifestation of Spirit, a flowering of the Divine in sunshine, in shade, in rain, and in clouds. Say:
“I am in complete unity with all. I am in complete agreement with all, and I enjoy all. There is no congestion in the weather and none in me. There is no confusion about the weather in my thought. I have no fear of any kind of weather since I know that I am at one with all. I love the clouds, the rain and the sunshine. I am one with the heat and with the cold. I am unified with the humidity, with dryness of atmosphere, and with sunshine and shadow.”
“Every atom of my body responds to this understanding that changes in weather conditions are but variations of the One Life, but different manifestations of the One God appearing to me in many forms. Each and every one of the forms I love and feel my unity with. I love the heat of the desert and the dampness of the ocean. I feel physically complete and harmonious in every climate. I do not condemn any kind of weather for all are part of me. I am one with all. I love all and I feel comfortable in all.”
“Every belief that I may ever have had that says I am afraid of weather conditions, is now vanished from my thought forever. It is no more and therefore can no longer operate. I know and feel my freedom. In this freedom I rejoice.”
I’m quite certain we can accurately add “snow” to Dr. Holme’s words without distorting his message to joyfully embrace whatever shows up in complete freedom.
So, today I invite you to join me in Spiritual Practice:
- Choose to see me successfully shoveling about 300 yards of snow from the unplowed section of our road to ensure the POD delivery happens tomorrow, Friday, March 3rd.
- Choose to see our moving POD arriving safely and being put in the perfect spot for ease of loading it.
- Choose to see us joyfully loading it and access Infinite Intelligence to use every inch of space efficiently.
- Choose to see every aspect of my flight unfolding with ease, grace, and perfection.
In the meantime, I invite each of you to reach out as you desire to connect with me, to chat, to build relationships, to share your ideas and what’s alive in you to express. If I don’t answer, it’s cuz I’m engaged with someone else so please do leave your name, number, and when you’d like me to call you back.
In closing, please join me in celebrating the generosity of Reggie & Tom for housing me temporarily and providing me with wheels to get around, for Julia for working relentlessly behind the scenes to secure us a home, for each of you who have reached out to welcome us and support our cross country move, and for my amazing wife, Debra for choosing to stay on this very often crazy train of ministry.
“SEE” you March 5th!! We’re going to do AMAZING things together!!
In the service of Love,
Rev. Rafe
(916) 390-7036
revrafe@columbiacsl.com
