The Field of Faith and Understanding…

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Dear Reader:

When I returned home from Conway Sunday afternoon I opened up all my new windows and let this luscious cool weather into my home. The old house seemed to shudder with surprise and delight. It had been decades since any real fresh air had blown into the edifice. It was a wondrous feeling of refreshment and renewal.

One of my greatest delights is my new bedroom window…it had been in the worst condition of all the windows… so I kept the blinds down to cover its ugliness from the mold gathered around each pane. And now, suddenly, I have this bright new shiny white window that raises to the sunlight and breezes of the day.

IMG_7336For the first time I have a new perspective on my garden from the angle of the window…and I feel like my own personal fantasy land dwells right outside its view.

It is true (as the calendar tells us in the middle of September) that “In the garden of life, late bloomers are especially beautiful.”  (I find myself rooting for these flowers each morning)

An interesting excerpt from a poem by Rumi (Awakin Weekly) got me thinking about fields of dreams and faith. In this particular article the author ( Rachel Remen) was talking to a group of future young doctors about the importance of, not only guarding the words they say, but, also, the expressions on their faces, and gestures while addressing and communicating with their patients.

Later a student walked by and placed a piece of paper in the speaker’s coat pocket. It read:

I had a dream
That honeybees were making honey in my heart
Out of my old failures.
There is no right or wrong
Beyond the right and the wrong
There is a field.
I’ll meet you there.

……………………

Isn’t that a lovely thought…one we all hope and pray exists….a place beyond societal interpretation of right and wrong and judgment/punishment for mistakes.  One commenter on this thought from the blog article said:

Kristin Pedemonti wrote:  The field beyond right or wrong is the place where we accept what has happened without judgment. Where we allow ourselves to learn from the experience without beating ourselves up about it.

MV5BMTkxNDc3MzMwOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzY1Mjk3OA@@._V1_SY317_CR12,0,214,317_AL_In one of my favorite movies…Field of Dreams…the story line is about the faith of one man to follow a voice and build a baseball field in the middle of his Iowa corn field amidst the ridicule of his neighbors. “If you build it…they will come.”

It is a story that transcends baseball…it is a story about redemption, forgiveness, and second chances.

The “they” that will come turns out to be the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. But the voice doesn’t just extend to this team but to certain other individuals who never got their chance at the plate…they will form the team to play the Chicago White Sox team.

The mix of magic, dreams, second chances, and a field built on faith makes this feel good movie quite memorable…for me…it is movie making at its best.

My garden of dreams is the place where I can take my cares and worries and leave them for another day…shoveled under dirt and compost. The flowers never judge me about a right or wrong decision…they just accept me for who I am.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is our ‘field of dreams’ where we are loved unconditionally and accepted for just our being?

So until tomorrow…Let us all seek and find our personal place of refuge…where ‘honey bees make honey in our heart‘ from the mistakes we have made along our journey and judgment runs away from the field of faith and dreams.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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8 Responses to The Field of Faith and Understanding…

  1. Anne says:

    Beautiful post, Becky! I love the forgiveness concept and honey pouring forth from our hearts…

  2. Jo Dufford says:

    Glad you are enjoying opening those windows. I know it must have been hard when you realized you had to do so many expensive repairs, but I’ve always said, “No matter how bad something may be, something good can come out of the event if one looks for it.” Certainly your open windows with the cool air gently blowing through has to be one of those things. Surviving growing up in the south with no air conditioner was made possible by the open tall windows and the cross ventilation in our homes. I can still feel those cool breezes blowing across my bed at night. Love your thoughts about God’s “Field of Dreams” and “judgment running away from our field of faith and dreams.” Hope today is good and tomorrow even better for you.

    • Becky Dingle says:

      Jo…my last window (beside my computer) got installed yesterday while I was at Edisto and I am typing with cool breezes floating across me….I am in love with my windows!

  3. Gin-g Edwards says:

    Becky I sent you an email about dinner tonight at 6 at my house. Tried to call and text. If you see this just let me know.

  4. Becky Dingle says:

    Be there at six….texting just isn’t taking for some reason…but glad we made the connection

  5. Johnny Johnson says:

    My wrongs have all been made right by my lord and Saviour! I go there for that’s where my huh obey bees make honey!

  6. Becky Dingle says:

    I feel like my heart must be filled with honey for all the mistakes I have made!

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