Another Rigby Podcast: As Great As We Are America…God Likes Other People Too!

Take The Lowest Place or What Does It Really Mean to “Surrender”?

Dr. James Rigby

The last in Dr. Rigby’s series of coupling the writings of Eastern Taoism together with the texts of Western Christianity, in which he manages to unravel the mysteries of life in under twenty minutes.

It’s important to me that my readers know this man, this pastor, who has been faithful to one path called Truth for his enitre life, dedicated to one congregation called St. Andrew’s for more than twenty-five years, and committed fully to equipping humanity to live out their lives fully, in ways that press us towards our highest compassion, our deepest love, and our most authentic selves.  Unlike any theologian, pastor, minister, evangelist, televangelist I’ve ever known, he’s not selling anything.  He’s not after our pocketbooks.  He’s not after fame and wealth.  He doesn’t dress in expensive suits or drive expensive cars or even own a home–he’s more like the “Columbo” of ministers, living a modest and unassuming life.  He’s on this planet to do the work of justice; Dr. Rigby does so, every day of his life, with utter humility and grace.  He’s real, he’s funny, he’s deep and everytime he speaks, he articulates what most of us can’t even begin to put into words.  I am so grateful for this teacher, his life, his gifts that has surrendered on behalf of the greater good of and for us all.  {More on Dr. Rigby and his podcasts can be found on http://ashtoraspeaks.wordpress.com]

Master of storytelling, using metaphors and images from life in addition the symbols of the ages, Rigby attempts to help each of us to understand the concept of ‘Surrender’ in its deepest, most valuable context.  With the intimacy he shares with those who listen, self-evident, whether you actually “get this” or not, you’ll find this teacher’s insights easy to listen to, thought provoking and entertaining.  You can write him, Dr. Jim Rigby with your questions and comments:  jrigby0000@aol.com  He always takes the time to write back.

The spoon never tastes the soup; because it is not porous [the spoon] misses out on tasting the soup…so can we, if we don’t open every pore to the gift of this day and the next day….Rigby, 2008

[for Carol Creel's blog on Surrender, refer to www.lifeworks-marketing.com]

 

My Gift of Love…

Statistics bear out the fact that my history of several marriages is not uncommon; however, my last marriage, at the age of 45, took me by surprise, as I believed that I would never marry again.The man that I married was precious beyond comparison. He loved me with all of his strength, devoting inordinate amounts of energy to our life together. The six years we spent together were the only drug-free years of his life, since his teen hood.

I loved him with all of my strength too. When he left me because he had returned to a life of using, it nearly killed me. The loss was too great. For two years afterward, I maintained contact, to make sure he was okay…surviving at least; always yearning in my heart for him to decide to recover from his departure and want “us” again.

Two years after he left me, I finally surrendered him and “us” to Spirit. Several weeks later, he asked me to relocate, and take a job near him. I didn’t think that I could do it, but my heart is what it is, and I believed that surrendering to Spirit allowed this to happen.

Leaving a metropolitan area that I had known for twenty years as my home, I moved my border collie and me to a remote mountain area, a thousand miles away, where all of the traditions of love, marriage, commitment, companionship and friendship that have heretofore shaped my life underwent radical reconstruction. My husband and I live near in geographical proximity to one another, see each other frequently, have morning coffee together, have brief conversations, sometimes longer, camp together, hike together, work together, ride horses together, play with our border collies together, sometimes even make love together…but do not live together.

I’ve accepted his current lifestyle, circumstances and choices even though they are not in harmony with mine. I’ve never asked him to change anything about himself. If I don’t love him as he is for who he is and what he’s become, then I don’t love him. Of course, I want the best for him, but how do I know what his Spiritual Path is? It’s not up to me to determine his path. I’m extremely grateful that our paths allow us to walk side by side, sometimes.

In the past, I could never have imagined such an unorthodox or non-traditional relationship; but in my view, by surrendering to Spirit…letting go, I’ve enlarged my views and concepts of what love is and what love is not. I don’t believe that love judges or criticizes though it’s often called upon to reflect and to offer perspective. I believe that love finds the strength to believe in and see the perfection, no matter what.

Surrendered, I love this man that I took as my mate, eight years ago. His strength, his weakness, his love, his searching, his confusion, his abilities, his inabilities, his peace, his turmoil, all of him…I just love him as he is for who he is, who he was, and who he is yet to become. I love me too; for all the same reasons.

This is my gift of love.