Being vs. Doing

"We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have, and to Do. Craving, clutching, and fussing, on the material, political, social, emotional, intellectual -- even on the religious -- plane, we are kept in perpetual unrest: forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by and included in, the fundamental verb, to Be: and that Being, not wanting, having and doing, is the essence of a spiritual life." Evelyn Underhill

I can distinctly remember the conversation on a Tuesday morning around a friend's dining room table as we met for Women's Group from Covenant Life Church in Grand Haven, Michigan. The voices of our small children carried up the basement stairs and through the closed door. Above the backdrop of children's voices, we discussed what it was 'to Be' and how important Being vs. Doing is in our spiritual journey. We all decided that would be a wonderful possibility once our children were all in school all day, every day. If we went home 'to Be', and forgot the doing for an afternoon, our husbands would come home and really know what we 'do' every day.
Since that conversation some 15 years ago, I take notice of the discussion around Being vs. Doing. Once again, the reading from Evelyn Underhill brings up the importance of being in our life. A member of our small group here in Tacoma pointed this reading out to me, because at small group last week we had a discussion about how important playing with blocks has become. Two of us have had the privilege of playing blocks with our grandsons. One of us made the statement that while playing blocks with her grandson, she has never felt more in the center of God's will!
Playing blocks, being with our grandsons, the center of God's will - is being at peace. "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation", is the way the apostle Paul would phrase it. (Phil. 4:12)
So I post the picture of our grandson Malachi and our great creation with blocks. Who would have ever dreamed that an 8 year journey of seminary brought me to the place where I am content to play blocks. God is good and his love endures forever.