Discovering God as Companion:

Real Life Stories from What Canst Thou Say

Mariellen Gilpin, Editor

Published 23 February 2007 by AuthorHouse, Bloomington IN, 172 pages, paperback.

Introduction

Discovering God as Companion is a collection of stories of mystical openings among modern people, most of them members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Writers share their stories because they have a deep sense of spiritual responsibility. They have hungered and been filled, and they are eager to share their knowledge that God is.

Many spiritual traditions caution about the difficulties and dangers of trying to teach or even communicate about mystical experiences. The world’s great spiritual literature warns about making much of one’s mystical experience. But in our modern rationalist culture the mystical is often thought to be a mental aberration. Seldom does the word get out that the mystic is a sturdy worker in God’s vineyard: 16th century mystic Teresa of Avila not only founded but administered an order of nuns, mixing the mystical with great practical good sense. As Dorothee Soelle wrote,

"Mysticism is the experience of the oneness and wholeness of life. Therefore, mysticism’s perception of life, its vision, is also the unrelenting perception of how fragmented life is. Suffering on account of that fragmentation and finding it unbearable is part of mysticism. Finding God fragmented into rich and poor, top and bottom, sick and well, weak and mighty: that’s the mystic’s suffering. The resistance of Saint Francis or Elisabeth of Thuringia or of Martin Luther King, Jr,. grew out of the perception of beauty. And the longest lasting and most dangerous resistance is the one that was born from beauty."

The writers in this book—of whom I am one—have yearned to tell our stories of what God has done for us. Our stories are too important to hug to ourselves forever. Someone else needs the comfort and reassurance and challenge these stories provide. We were helped to overcome an obstacle, and someone may be helped by our stories. Someone is searching as we have sought, just as forlorn and despairing as we were, and we want our readers to know which rock to look under for the answer. God is not one size fits all; we can’t depend on learning one prayer and reading one book and having all our problems fall into line like little robots. God has provided help uniquely designed for our special needs, and our writers want others to know God will honor their individuality as well. In “Tractor Dream” Lynda Schaller’s hunger for God is awakened when she dreams about her father’s tractor; in “Healing Old Wounds” a wooden mouse on a cheeseboard helps heal Judith Weir’s troubled relationship with her ex-husband.

To tell our stories is to honor God. But the experience of God’s presence is intimate; it cannot be described in words. Words are inadequate, and people who have not had our experience won’t understand. They may be scared, or judgmental, or stop listening. Thus, mystics don’t always share what they have experienced. On the other hand, there is a great longing to share with others who have had like experiences. And we want to be companions for those others.

Many of the writers in Discovering God as Companion have been helped by hearing others’ stories, and many of us have decided to share our own stories. We have learned we are not crazy, and we can tap into a body of experience. Together we can ground our experiences and better understand them, and help others ground themselves as well. Isolation is disorienting, but when we meet others we learn we are not alone. Together we can find wholeness.

Some spiritual traditions warn against trying to write down the things of God, for fear of putting a strait jacket on our understanding of the Spirit of God. We must not tell people precisely what to expect of God, because God is Creativity Itself—we can’t pour God into any mold. The way God moves in my life is unique to my needs, my situation, my personality. In “The Price of Professionalism” public defender Steven Gross awakens to God when a murderer grieves her murdered partner.

Stories are the spiritual heart of the Bible. Stories tell how God acted in one life, dealing with one person. We may laugh at Abraham working the wiles of a horse trader on the Creator of the Universe, but we realize that although God was dealing with a horse trader, he didn’t hesitate to communicate with Abraham. Abraham was changed by his encounter. God has communicated with me, with my limitations and maladjustments. When I tell how I have changed as a result of that communication, maybe you will feel emboldened to listen for God in a new way. Your experience will be unique to you. Someone else’s story may point toward God, but when you find God, it will be in your own way. Marti Matthews finds God in the act of flossing her teeth; in “Reflections on Living Reverently” Marlou Carlson longs to be always centered in God, choosing less busyness and more listening.

The stories in this book were published in What Canst Thou Say? between 1994 and 2004. The biographical sketches are presented as originally published. The stories are grouped under five themes:
God Breaking In—When times seem the most ordinary, we can be amazed, challenged, inspired by God’s abounding and abiding great love.
God in Nature—We can be restored and nourished by discovering God’s creation and our oneness with that creation.
God in Times of Pain and Despair—When times are the most painful, we can be carried by insight, guidance, and a sense of God’s presence and grace.
Living Faithfully—When we are filled with love for God, we can be called to serve God in deep and wondrous ways.
In Celebration—When God is intimate friend and companion, all of life—painful, ordinary, marvelous—is rich and full of joy.

There is a deep honesty—a deep sharing—in these stories offered by ordinary people who are authentic lovers of God. In this book you will meet a God who is alive and well, and still in the business of changing lives. To read these stories is to open oneself to being changed. Enjoy!

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