Is Your Axe Sharp?

A young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. “That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell this tree.”

The young man stepped forward, and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, “You can start Monday.”

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by — and Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your pay check on the way out today.”

Startled, the young man replied, “I thought you paid on Friday.”

“Normally we do,” said the foreman. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last place today.”

“But I’m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last, and even have worked through my coffee breaks!”

The foreman, sensing the young man’s integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening your axe?”

The young man replied, “No sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to “sharpen the axe.” In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?

A few years ago when I was at Unity Village participating in interviewing and evaluating the current ministerial students, I had an interesting experience. I felt very disconnected from the students I was interviewing. This had not been my experience prior to that time.

On that particular trip I struggled to stay focused on what the student was saying during each interview. I had to counsel myself several times that this student deserves my utmost attention and wrestle my attention back to being present.

After each interview is completed each of us on the team writes our observations on an individual report sheet. We do this immediately after the student has left and without conferring with each other. At the end of our report we each individually score the student.

Writing the individual reports was quite different for me this time. The words didn’t come easily. What had I actually seen? How well had they’ve responded in response to our questions? It was difficult for me to decipher all of this I just wasn’t focused nor did I feel a close connection during each interview.

As I lie in my bed the night before I came home I was asking for some understanding about why this had been so difficult. The next day it became clear to me, I hadn’t consciously prepared myself going in.

We all have our schedules and know whom we’ll be interviewing beforehand. Normally I would take several opportunities to hold each person in my heart for a moment here or there. I also went to the poster with their pictures and took a moment to extend love to them as I looked at their picture. I would see them as bright, vibrant, relaxed, happy, and easily moving through the interview process.

I did none of that this time. I just showed up and moved from task to task.

What was my lesson from this?

I may be able to get the task in front of me done just by showing up, but it goes much better when I’ve prepared.

Let me read to you from Matthew 24:43-44, “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready.”

I did not keep watch (i.e. prepare). We must be ready when the thief appears. And we accomplish that by preparing beforehand. The thief referred to here, metaphysically, in my case, is my wrong mindedness, the idea that I have everything under control (I can do this; I don’t need help with that; all I need to do is show up). While that wasn’t my conscious approach it had to be my subconscious approach or I would have prepared ahead of time. When we go unconscious a thief appears; the thief of inner peace, of focus, of clarity; confusion and/or struggle reign.

I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been. Loss of peace and an increase in struggle was the price I paid.

In other words, I didn’t keep my axe sharp.

As far as my experience on the L & O went, I believe my peace wouldn’t have been stolen had I remembered to practice what I know works well; prayer, meditation, extending love, and staying conscious of partnering with God in my thought processes instead of going it alone.

How about you? Do you ever try to go it alone? I had a plan but I skipped the practice sessions.

So I urge you to dial it up a little bit and bring the awareness of God into your mind a little more than usual, and this is a gentle process.

There is a continuum of being aware of the presence of God: As you move along that continuum, take baby steps and keep the self-talk gentle. You don’t have to make a big spectacular of it.

Matthew 6:6 says, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” In other words just go quietly about your business.

Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity wrote about this: “The inner chamber is that quiet place within the heart. We are taught to center our thoughts within, and then to shut the door; that is, to close our minds to all other thinking and think about God and his goodness and love; to pray to God in secret, in the secret place of the most high, and all things needful will be added.”

I suggest partitioning off a spot in your heart that is reserved as sacred space. Don’t allow the ups and downs, the challenges of daily life to override that spot. That’s your secret place of the most high. That’s your sacred place to talk with God and listen for a reply.

Keep one ear open to that spot just like you would a child in another room, or listening for the beep of the microwave oven, or the sound of your letter carrier at your mailbox…

“Speak to him, thou, for he hears, and spirit with spirit can meet--closer is he then breathing and nearer then hands and feet.” Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

This is what the poet says to help us remember how close and loving God is. Speak to God in the quiet of your heart just as you would speak to a dear friend; tell the Father how much you desire to know him and to feel his loving presence go how glad you are to receive his blessings and to do his will.

Then be very still and feel God’s love which enfolds you.

If you are willing, that’s what I ask you to practice this week:

·        Speak to God in the quiet of your heart

·        Tell God how much you desire to know Him, or how much you love Him.

·        And how glad you are to receive His blessings and do His work

·        …and then listen in silence to the still small voice.

Keeping a sacred place in your heart that you consult regularly will serve you well.