I was reading passages recently from a wonderful book called Find Your Way Home: Words from the Street, Wisdom from the Heart. It was written by the women of Magdalene. "Magdalene is a residential community in Nashville for women who have survived lives of prostitution, violence, and abuse. The women live together and support each other through the work of Thistle Farms, a nonprofit bath and body-care business run by the women." The book chronicles the lessons for communal living that the women have developed over the years as they grow, heal, and love each other back to health. Similar to the Benedictine rule established by monks centuries ago, these lessons are simple, non-restraining, and in fact, liberating. I believe they apply to us all, in one way or another.
Here are a few that struck me as especially powerful:
- Proclaim Original Grace
We are made in the image of God. We look at each person's journey beginning not with original sin but with original grace.Our journeys all start and end with God, and everything we do is a step toward our return to wholeness. Because grace is our beginning, we are worthy of all good things.We are God's children in flesh and spirit. We never have to live in shame for all the things that have been done to us or that we have done to others.
- Make a Small Change and See the Big Difference
Sometimes the miracle of healing happens so slowly that we fail to notice the great difference in our lives.Most of the changes in our lives occur in subtle ways. These subtle changes can lead to a difference that is big and profound.The difference can set us free so we never have to buy or sell pieces of ourselves again to find meaning.
- Stand on New Ground and Believe You are Not Lost
What we are feeling and experiencing is not a sense of being lost but the wonder of discovering something new.This is sacred ground. We walk it alone, following the advice of others who have walked before us.The prayer is to walk this ground in faith and trust that the Spirit leads us toward God.
- Lose Gracefully
If you are wrong, act with grace and carry on with the work of healing. It is the easiest way to move forward in peace.Say you are sorry for whatever you have done, ask for forgiveness, and let it go. It is not yours to worry about anymore.
- Consider the Thistle
The thistle blooms in streets and alleys where women walk and sleep.We spend a lot of time considering the thistle--its rough exterior, its soft and regal center, and its capacity to break through concrete to blossom.In a world that names them weeds, we taste the riches of thistles and savor their beauty.We are thistle farmers. The world is our farm, and we harvest where other people do not want to travel.
For more information about Thistle Farms or Magdalene House,
[Source: Find Your Way Home: Words from the Street, Wisdom from the Heart by the Women of Magdalene with Becca Stevens. Abingdon Press, Nashville. ©2008.]
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