{"id":18161,"date":"2018-06-19T17:14:10","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T00:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=18161"},"modified":"2018-06-19T17:16:52","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T00:16:52","slug":"may-u-journey-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/may-u-journey-on\/","title":{"rendered":"May U Journey On"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rev.\u00a0Ferdinand Llenado<\/strong><\/h4>\n

About 7 years ago, I went through a faith crisis. The paradigm shift from fundamentalism towards inclusive thinking, was a journey I have not navigated well.<\/p>\n

This crisis led to depression. The depression led to my decision to take a leave of absence from pastoral work.<\/p>\n

During this difficult season, the image and symbolic meaning of the Letter U became my faith map. The Letter U\u2019s downward line that hits a low valley curve, greatly illustrates what Richard Rohr calls a \u201cnecessary fall,\u201d\u2014a fall that births a potential upward climb. Carl Jung describes this crisis season as a painful transition that leads to the \u201csecond-half of life\u201d\u2014a period of rebirth and inner transformation. In other words, it is a faith-emergency that potentially leads to faith-emergence.<\/p>\n

While traversing this journey, I learned valuable insights that were pivotal to my recovery. I have written these learnings into 7 benedictions. So whether U, or someone U know is going through a crisis of faith and meaning, allow me to share some words from 5 of the 7 poetic blessings I have written.<\/p>\n

May U Be Willing To Not Know<\/h4>\n

This is the blessing of Mystery. May this mystery that U long avoided, now be a secret womb where God silently knits U.
\nMay darkness give to U the gift of transformation, as caterpillars are miraculously woven inside a dark enfold.
\nBe humble.
\nBe yielded.
\nYour soul is being expanded.<\/p>\n

May U Not Journey Alone<\/h4>\n

This is the blessing of Community.
\nMay U know that U don\u2019t have to continue the rest of this journey alone.
\nU are a spark that attests to the growing blaze of sacred discontent among many.
\nYour crisis stands as a witness to the larger unrest that are shifting collective views, and giving rise to an emergent communal faith.
\nLet me say again\u2014no one should be alone in this journey.
\nBut all can converge into an integral story of pain, death, and yes, shared-resurrection.
\nAnd so may U receive the blessing of deep conversations and real connections with fellow travelers who bravely ventures faith\u2019s path unknown.<\/p>\n

May U Be Kind To Yourself<\/h4>\n

This is the blessing of Self-Compassion.
\nMay U be validated by your very crisis that others are critical of.
\nMay your deep honesty be your self-affirming witness that your soul is beautifully expanding.
\nU are whole, and in spite of these changes, your wholeness is unaltered.
\nU are essential, and in Christ, your essence is secured.
\nU are loved, and in spite of, or because of this crisis, U are unconditionally fine.<\/p>\n

May U Encounter God In Silence<\/h4>\n

This is the blessing of Resurrection.
\nIf indeed faith crisis is like a death experience, then may U eventually rise up from the tomb of confusion, fear, and numbness.
\nWhen the pain of losing your faith\u2019s old vitality pulls you down, grieve.
\nGive attention to your inner suffering until it is heard and mended.
\nWhen your soul is coming to a state of stillness, be open.
\nMaybe this time God is not found in exact answers but in pure silence and peaceful unknown.
\nWhen U sense a soft rhythm stirring within, be ready.
\nPerhaps it is an indication that your faith is about to reawaken.<\/p>\n

May U Walk The Change Though Imperfect<\/h4>\n

This is the blessing of humble Intention.
\nYes, it is intention, but it not propelled by old religious certitudes anymore.
\nIt is purpose, but it\u2019s not caped any longer by the superhero complex of saving the world.
\nIt is power, but it\u2019s not injected any longer with past spiritual steroids.
\nIt is intentionality baptized in life\u2019s humbling adversity.
\nAs you walk slowly and imperfectly, may U honor the spirit of your own unfolding.
\nMay U harness the inner rising of your renewed intent and energy.<\/p>\n

There is a story in the Bible of a man named Jacob who wrestled with a divine being all night until daybreak. When this being saw that he could not overcome Jacob, he threw his hip out of joint. So though Jacob won that wrestling bout with a new name and a spiritual blessing, he was left with a limp. The limp will be Jacob\u2019s humbling reminder of both his strength and frailty. The limp will also be used by many as a metaphor for life\u2019s highest ideals that are confounded by life\u2019s inevitable flaws.<\/p>\n

In my own faith crisis, I found great comfort and connection with Jacob\u2019s limping walk at Peniel. It represents my faith\u2019s persistent imperfections as I slowly thread the U-map\u2019s upward course.<\/p>\n

So in the end, let me say this\u2014even with a limp, may U and I genuinely journey on.<\/p>\n

The benedictions here are taken from Rev. Llenado’s book, \u201cMay U Journey On: 7 Blessings in Faith Crisis<\/a>\u201d released earlier this month.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Rev.\u00a0Ferdinand Llenado<\/strong>\u00a0currently serves the Bethany and First United Methodist Churches in Tacoma, Washington. In July, he’ll be appointed to Fairwood Community United Methodist Church in Renton, Washington.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rev.\u00a0Ferdinand Llenado went through a faith crisis as he experienced a paradigm shift from fundamentalism towards inclusive thinking. In this post on the PNW News Blog, Llenado shares several benedictions from his recently published book, shaped by this faith journey through the U.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":18163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[93,115],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18161","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-devotional","8":"category-resources"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/May-U-Journey-On-Image-1.jpg?fit=876%2C1304&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-4IV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18161"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18165,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18161\/revisions\/18165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}