02.01.2010    Michael Fox CPCC, founder of m�agine!, is a professional coach and trainer, author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout the world. Michael is a Certified Practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.� Do you know someone who might benefit from our weekly email?    Grace...     This past week, we lost our Grace. For ten years we've shared our home with Lucy and Gracie, twin sisters, born of an awkward English Pointer who was once accosted by a delinquent Border Collie. Lucy and Gracie--endowed with beauty, brains, and benevolence--shared a delightful relationship. Lucy played the alpha role outdoors; Gracie assumed the role indoors. Gracie was a curious creature. When summoned by mom and dad, she would humbly lower her head in a pose that suggested, "I am unworthy"; yet she would bully her sister into surrendering the best cushion. Gracie was the most empathic canine I've known. She had the uncanny sense to know when a person was in physical or emotional distress, and she would seek to bring succor. Gracie passed away, quietly, mercifully. She had always been the more fragile of the sisters, but over the past few months she had inexplicably lost her sight and grown increasingly lethargic. On Thursday morning of this past week, while we hosted a number of special friends gathered for spiritual direction, Gracie lay down in the autumn grass of the backyard and fell asleep. We should be so fortunate when comes our hour. And so our hearts are sore; there's a surreal sense of loss, a discomforting breathlessness, a groaning in the gut. And we're reminded of the delicate dance between gain and loss, life and death, joy and sorrow. In our culture, we are assailed with the conception that the whole of life is to be free from loss and its subsequent distress, as author Henri Nouwen explains, "growth without crisis, healing without pains, the resurrection without the cross." We strive mightily to isolate painful experiences--either physical or emotional--and then to deny, to dismiss, to deflect, to detour, perhaps even to devour. Loss, however, is the crucible in which character and patience are forged. (In fact; our word "patience" comes from the root patior, meaning, "to suffer.") Without the crucible, our life--including its depth of experience and wisdom--would never stretch beyond our own limited imagination and courage; the layers that give texture and richness to life would be few. Without the crucible, our ability to endure would be compromised. What would it look like then to fully join the dance of gain and loss, life and death, joy and sorrow? To surrender to the flow of the dance, whether the accompanying rhythms be melodious or discordant? Perhaps you've suffered the loss of a kinsman or a friend; faced the infidelities of a spouse or the betrayal of a secret; maybe you've lost your dog. Acknowledge the pain and move through it. Stay with it--dare I say--with a spirit of gratitude, rather than resentment. "Let patience have its full effect, that you may be mature and complete" (James 1:4). I'm reminded of a conversation Paul had with the Father. The apostle suffered from a physical disability which he felt hindered his noble work. Three times he prayed for release; three times his plea was denied. "My grace is sufficient for you," the Father explained to Paul, "for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). The circumstances around Paul's pain were nonnegotiable. Consequently, Paul's prayers would move from deliverance to endurance--from the transformation of his circumstances to the transformation of his heart--positioning himself to receive of God's grace and power. The anonymous writer of Hebrews enjoined, "Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). This past week, we found the Father's grace. Where do you hurt? How does God reveal truth in loss? You may not be able to change the circumstances of your loss. Your choice, then, is not around what has happened or what will happen, but how you might receive it. How will you live your loss? Where might you find joy beneath the sorrow? Paul wrote, "For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan...for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering" (Romans 8:22-23). How would it look to perceive your "groaning"--your longing to be released from physical and emotional distress--as if in communion with all humanity and, indeed, all creation? How might it shift the focus away from you and toward participation in something larger? Ooh. Michael Fox m�agine! 530/613.2774 407 Myrtle Drive Farmerville, LA, USA 71241   In addition to personal and professional coaching, m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching, employing its proprietary models --Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength-- as well as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator� curriculum published by CPP, the People Development People. Michael's books include  Complete in Christ, Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files. Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details. For additional information, visit our website at maginethepossibilities.net. Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching. 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