Being the Beloved:
stories of ongoing transformation in daily life
By Wanda Dorsing, Spiritual Director
Puttering in the kitchen is a source of joy for me, but I am intimidated by preparing meat. There is so much one must do right to get a good result as opposed to the latitude there is when making soup. I can work really hard and end up with meat that is flavorless, tough, and disappointing, especially considering the time and effort expended! To offset my meat-cooking limitation, I have learned to marinate.
Marinating is the process of soaking a cut of meat in a liquid made of oil, acid, and seasonings--a peanuty Thai or sweet Hawaiian. This helps the meat a) retain moisture, b) grow more flavorful, and c) become tender through the breaking down of proteins, which greatly improves the outcome. I have imported the process of marinating from my kitchen to my life.
Spiritual transformation can feel like my experience of cooking meat. Despite the number of years I have been at it, the results of my time and effort can be disappointing. Why am I not more patient, forgiving, compassionate, generous, grateful? Sure, I have become more practiced at mustering up such things, acting with maturity and wisdom. But that feels quite different than when forgiveness and compassion come from the transformed self.
Both ways of getting to forgiveness and compassion, etc., have value. But the goal of Christian spiritual transformation is to be a “new creation,” not an old creation acting like a new creation when she is able. In cooking terms, it is the difference between marinade-soaked teriyaki chicken and chicken dipped in teriyaki sauce.
This metaphor helps me think in concrete terms about how I place myself in God and rest there, allowing the Spirit to work in me. When I marinate in the presence of God, tough places are softened: the love, compassion, and patience of God increasingly permeate my nature. Ingredients vary but the process always involves time.
There are a variety of ways to soak in the presence of God:
● On sleepless nights, I forego crafting word prayers. Instead, in various stages of wakefulness, I direct my attention to God's abiding presence.
● I may carry part of a verse or a simple breath prayer with me as I go through my day.
● I pray “The Lord’s Prayer” several times a day for a season. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” gets worked into my system so that forgiveness becomes a more natural posture for me.
● Centering Prayer can feel like “not doing much” as I repeatedly return to my intention to be with God. Yet this practice has done more to transform me than years of trying.
Marinating is about showing up and slowing down, letting the presence and love of God envelop me, transforming me in ways I don’t understand and could never do for myself. It is about resting, immersed in the God of the universe who holds all things in love, who sees me, knows me, calls me by name. There, I am more and more transformed into the image of Jesus.
Perhaps it sounds too good to be true, too simple. But when I consider how good my chicken on the grill will taste tonight because of the time it rested in the marinade, I relax into the truth that time spent soaking in the ever-present reality and love of God is an essential and equally inviting part of ongoing transformation.
Wanda is a spiritual director living with her husband among the orchards of Central Washington with a recently emptied nest. She has been involved with CFDM for over a decade and is passionate about soul care and attending to God in the rhythms of life. She loves meeting new people at the laundromat the family recently opened and phone calls from the kids away at college.
What books, media, activities are nurturing your heart, soul, mind, strength in this season as we are loving God and our neighbor as ourselves? Post in the comments below or hop on over to our Facebook page and share with one another.