Miracles News

July-September, 2018

Are You Holy Spirit’s Assistant?

by Rev. Barbara Goodman Siegel, O.M.C.

Barbara Siegel Reflecting on a spiritual counseling session I had done with a client earlier in the day, I felt that somehow I had missed the boat in my advice to her. This client has been feeling extremely overwhelmed with the duties of being a caretaker for her very ill partner as well as having the responsibilities for their home and pets. I have felt that she is doing far more than she needs to (baking bread, caring for a fish tank that she would gladly give away, not being willing to hire someone to clean the yard of dog poop, etc.), but she is in such a habit of doing these things that she is reluctant to let anything go. (I suspect that it also gives her a false sense of control in a situation over which she feels she has no control.) I have suggested that she ask Holy Spirit to help her write a schedule of what needs to be done and what she can release, but this suggestion has been met with great reluctance.

This client is a long-time A Course in Miracles student. Intellectually she knows (as we all do) that she should ask Holy Spirit what to do, but seems afraid she won’t “hear” Holy Spirit’s direction or that it won’t help her find peace and may make things even worse. I did want her to feel she had Holy Spirit’s help so I told her that she has a full time assistant, Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit is there all the time and is completely free of charge.

But, as Course students, we both knew that the way it really should go is the reverse: Holy Spirit is the manager and she is the assistant. Holy Spirit will tell her what to do, when to do it, and how, and then she can do it with Spirit’s help and she need only do what she is guided to do. I knew that if I told her this she would ask me how she would know it was Spirit and not her ego talking to her as her ego has been very loud of late. So, the next morning, in my Course study and journaling time I asked Holy Spirit about it and the following is the conversation we had.

Me to Spirit:

You lead and we follow, correct? But how do we do that? Like today, I am thinking of going for a manicure/pedicure. Is that what you want me to do? I have no idea. Really! Is it just the holy encounters that you want me to have and it doesn’t matter what I do? I don’t know how to know and that is what I want your help with. Do I get a mani/pedi today? Do I wait until next Tuesday, the day they a give discounted price? Do you even care? Is there something you want me to do today that I haven’t even thought of? I think you see how confused I am especially when it comes to the trivia of everyday life. Indeed, I think I am embarrassed to ask about anything so trivial as a mani/pedi, but the Course says we are to follow your direction in everything, so I am willing to listen. Please help me in how to hear. Is it moment by moment? What if I need to make an appointment?

I “hear” this answer from Divine Spirit:

OK, Barbara, I get it. Sometimes it is moment by moment and sometimes we need to look ahead, so it is going to vary and nothing is too trivial to ask me about. If you choose to get a mani/pedi today, are you at peace about it? Does it seem like fun or does it seem like a chore. Are you fighting something else in your mind concerning what you feel you are being guided to do and pushing it out to do this, or does going for a mani/pedi feel good? Above all, do you feel you can do it with joy, love, and peace?

When you feel you can do whatever it is you are thinking of doing in joy, love, and peace, than I am with you. When you force it, when it just feels like a big, exhausting chore, than you are choosing to lead and I am no longer in charge. Look at your thought of what you are going to do and ask yourself, “Does this feel like drudgery or joy?” Let Me lead in joy.

I always lead in joy, love, and peace, even if what I am telling you to do is dig a ditch, clean a toilet, write a bestseller, or build a beautiful building. It doesn’t matter — one is not bigger, greater, or more significant. All that matters is that you do it in joy, in love, and in peace. That is why My lead is important because everything we do together is done this way! Remember in the movie The Shack, when the main character tries to walk on the water alone and can’t? Jesus (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) says to him: “This works better when we do it together, don’t you think?” And then they run together across the top of the water having the best time ever!

Even in the most horrific time of the main character’s life, finding his murdered daughter’s body and forgiving her killer, he can bare it because I am with him and I am holding him in love and compassion. Can you imagine if he had found his murdered daughter’s body without Me there? Oh my! Could he have gone on living? Thank God (literally) we do not know the answer to that question.

This is the best answer I can give you, Barbara. Start each day by joining with Me and re-dedicating yourself to being My assistant. Let Me lead the way. Listen and you will hear (or feel) my direction. You do this well when writing (as does your client, by the way), now take it into all you do. When finishing one thing, stop long enough to hear Me tell you or feel Me guide you to what our next task or activity is. Also, please be sure to allow Me to say that it is time to have fun. (Something you might be resistant to.) Just like the above example of running across the water, I like to have fun! I also know we need to rest in God, so we will allow for that. It may be in meditation or in literal rest. Don’t anticipate, don’t worry, and don’t try to plan everything. I am in the present and I am here always and forever. I am that I AM. Stay with Me, let Me lead. The way will be easy when I am in charge.

I love you and I love your willingness to follow Me, now translate your willingness into doing. The more you do this, the easier it will become until it is second nature. Start where you are, but start! There isn’t going to be a better day or time than now. To wait is to suffer. To wait is to push away your enlightenment. (Please see the word “lighten” in that statement as it literally will lighten the weight you try to carry alone.) To wait is to consciously choose darkness over light, hell over Heaven. You are very aware now of which choice you are making, so no more excuses. What will it be? What do you want?

Me: I want to follow You!

Holy Spirit: Then you know what to do and I am with you. Let’s begin. I promise you that there is nothing to fear. Your day will flow easily and you will go to bed at night with a smile on your face, peace in your mind, and love in your heart.

I sent this article to my client with great gratitude for the lesson and healing I had received through her concerns and questions. I hope this answers her questions and I hope it helps you, dear reader, with yours.

Rev. Barbara Goodman Siegel, O.M.C., author of “Finding Your Self in the Mirror: Awakening Through Mirror Affirmations for the 365 Lessons of A Course in Miracles,” is a Pathways of Light minister living in St. Louis, Missouri. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: Barbaragoodmansiegel.com Finding Your Self in the Mirror is now available at http://www.pathwaysoflight.org. Click on Store, select Books inspired by ACIM.

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