Jul
Donner und Blitzen
At 3:19 Tuesday morning, we were woken by the loudest thunder clap I have ever heard. It was as if it had landed right next to us. For a moment, I was not sure if it were thunder or something else. Were it not for the residual rumbling, I might have assumed something far less benign.
There are folks who refer to spiritual experiences as a bolt of lightning. They make it sound as if spiritual growth comes as an instantaneous blast. It has been my experience that such is rarely the truth. Most comes subtly. Much comes gradually. Spiritual experience is usually a calm thing that happens with a whisper rather than a roar.
This is not to say that dramatic experiences cannot happen. They do. They are uncommon. In their wake, one might expect a great change. Aside from gaining insight, very little changes. A person does not suddenly become wise or powerful. All that happened is that he had a direct experience with the essence of spirituality.
Change and growth come gradually. As the old lore tells us, “One thing leads to another.” Spectacular experiences are uncommon and they do not do as much as the gradual attainment of spirituality.
Sometimes a lightning bolt and thunderclap are just a lightning bolt and thunderclap. And sometimes they are not.
Boom!
