Click HERE to view Rev. Stacy Macris Ros’ guided meditation during the service.
Okay, so we’re talking about “Divine Ordering My Life.” Divinely ordering your life. We’re talking about Divine Order tonight.
So how many of you feel like you are very organized? You feel like you’re a very organized person? Okay, there’s a few. I’m going to get your names and numbers afterwards. [Congregants laugh] I might need a little project for you. How many of you feel like your life is in perfect order? Oh, no; no hands for that! Oh, okay; well, it’s good you’re here tonight then. I’ve got that for you!
And I’m sure probably some of you may know someone who maybe has a lot of disorder or chaos in their life. None of you, of course … but you might know someone whose life seems chaotic and full of disorder. Yes? Yes.
So what is Divine Order? How does it work in our lives? So Divine Order is one of our 12 spiritual powers or attributes that Unity’s co-founder Charles Fillmore wrote about in his book, The 12 Powers of Man., Also applies to women!
And here’s how he defines order: to organize; to balance; to sequence; to adjust. And the spiritual attribute of order is how we put all the pieces of our life together. It’s how we create our life. It’s how we manifest our life.
Divine order is really Mind-Idea-Expression. So, we create our lives from the simple to complex using this innate spiritual power of ours of Order. It’s how we organize our closets; it’s how we balance our bank account; it’s how we plan for a trip. So, we can order up chaos and disorder, or we can order up a calm, balanced life that flows harmoniously. But we create the order and then experience the outcome of what we’ve created.
Do I need to say that again? Because that’s heavy, right? We create the order and then experience the outcome of what we’ve created. Why? Because we’re powerful creators! We’re powerful creators.
So, Rev. Eric Butterworth — famous unity author/minister — said, “If God is the ocean, you are a wave in the ocean.” You contain everything the ocean contains. You’re not the entire ocean, but you contain everything the ocean contains. In other words, you’re an extension of the Allness of life. You’re an extension of the Infinite Wisdom and Creative Life Energy of the universe. You are the Divine in human form. That’s powerful!
And so, therefore, you’re divinely ordering up and creating your life. I know sometimes – or a lot of times — I know … I’ve been around Unity for almost 50 years now, since before I was born. [Congregants laugh] And so often we think of Divine Order as giving up our power to something outside of ourselves; giving up our power to a God or an entity outside of ourselves. So often we think of Divine Order that we’re throwing away our own divinity and we’re hoping for the best.
But remember, you’re a wave that contains everything that the ocean contains! So: GOD IS; IAM. That’s a powerful prayer! GOD IS; I AM. God is power; I AM power. God is love; I AM love. God is order; I AM order. And therefore, I can order, balance, organize, sequence my life to manifest the life I want to experience.
So, it’s important, because when we say, “It’s all in Divine Order; it’s all in God’s order,” metaphysically what that means is that it is all within me — that innate spiritual power is within me — to put my life in order, balance and harmony my life. Or whatever situation I have before me right now.
So, It’s important that we don’t say, “It’s all in Divine Order.” How many times do we kind of say, “It’s all good. It’s God’s timing. I guess it’s in Divine Order.” Sometimes we do this with this feeling of resignation or a hoping or a wishing or really not taking responsibility for the outcome or not wanting to take the action towards the life you want to create for yourself.
And yet, GOD IS; I AM. God is Order; I AM Order. And I can use Order to create the life I am desiring. What are you ordering?
You order up your life Just like at a restaurant; we need to be really, really clear. So, when you go to a restaurant, would you ever say to the waiter or waitress, “Just give me whatever”? No! Usually you say, “I want the chicken salad with the blue cheese dressing on the side; the sourdough bread, not the wheat bread, butter on the side; the strawberry jelly, not the grape jelly. And can you bring me one cream or not two for my coffee?” Right? Because whatever you ask for — whatever you order — is what you’re going to get. You’re going to get what you order!
And so, we can overuse or underuse this spiritual power, this innate spiritual attribute that we have. So, if we think about it in the context of your life, but also, say, a vacation. Maybe you’re planning your ideal vacation. So usually what we would do is we would make sure we have the airline ticket. We would make sure we have a hotel booked. Maybe we would book any special experiences or tours that we might want to go on. Right? There’s an order; there’s a flow; there’s a sequence of events to make that ideal trip happen.
But when we overuse our spiritual power of Order, it means that we have that trip so organized, it’s overstructured to the point of being unfun. Have you ever traveled with one of these people? [Congregants laugh] Yeah. And so, then, when something pops up that changes the itinerary — say rain or illness or just being exhausted from travel — what happens is: they most likely will have a meltdown, right? Because they’ve tied themselves up so tight — they’ve binded themselves and need to stick to that schedule — so they can’t re-sequence the events, the trip.
Or we can underuse our spiritual power of Order. So, in the vacation example it could be: “Aw, I’m just going to drive and wherever I end up … and maybe I’ll get a hotel there.” I actually had a friend who drove cross-country that way. “Or I’ll just hop a plane; hope I can find something.” But, to me, that is chaos. Right? I mean, you put yourself potentially in an unsafe situation; you probably pay more than you would have if you’d booked it ahead of time.
So it’s about making sure you plug into — really touch into — that innate spiritual attribute of Order.
I was, for the Southwest Region of Unity Church’s Teen Ministry (middle school, high school ministry and the adults that supported them) the Regional Consultant for five years. And we have a camp for elementary school kids and our middle-school, congregants, as well, in California; a week every year.
And at one point in time, I had a colleague who did the youth side while I did the teen side. And so, for the elementary camp, she had a schedule … but everything else was, “I’m going with the flow. Everything’s in Divine Order.” But the teenagers who were the counselors and adults supporting that camp had no idea what was going on! It was driving them crazy! And those poor teenagers … Because they were teenagers, they didn’t realize they were internalizing all of it: “I must not be good at this. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
But, see; we have to have a plan. And then it’s okay to change the plan, because we can use our spiritual power of Order to once again adjust and flow in an orderly fashion. But you need to have the plan, because it’s that Order that ignites our lives.
And what’s so interesting to me is that Order is found everywhere, especially in nature. So, you know I just moved here from California and I love the saguaro cactus. I love those cacti! I liked them before, but now I love them. They are fantastic!
And so, I heard the story of the saguaro cactus — how they come to be. And when I first heard this story, I thought, that is Divine Order. So maybe you already know about the saguaro cactus, but if you’re new to Arizona, or haven’t heard about it for a while, the saguaro cactus grows only a few inches for the first 10 years of its life. And it needs a tiny … or it needs what’s called a “nurse tree.” So a palo verde or a mesquite tree. And the nurse tree actually protects the young cactus from summer sun and winter frost.
And as the saguaro cactus grows, the older nurse tree often dies. Isn’t that interesting? So, there’s one interesting process. But then, in late April through early June — so there’s only like six weeks — the top of the saguaro’s trunks and arms sprout these large white flowers. They’re so beautiful, right? And the individual flowers: they only open at night and close in the afternoon.
And so, the pollination has to happen during that time. And the pollination is carried out only by nectar-feeding birds, insects and bats. And the bats that are best are from Mexico, and they fly up only a certain amount of time during the year also.
And so, then when the fruit and the seeds are eaten by coyote or cactus wren, the seeds pass through their digestive system, and the seeds are distributed throughout the desert. However, if the fruit is eaten by a dove or a quail, well, they completely consume the seeds, and they don’t get distributed throughout the desert.
So, it’s estimated that a saguaro can produce 20 to 40 million seeds during its lifetime, but only one or two become adult saguaro cactus. Am I the only one amazed by this? [Congregants laugh] I mean, do you hear all the steps of Order that have to take place? The specific months; the specific time; the specific weather; the specific animals; the other plants to create one saguaro cactus. Amazing!
And the Bible; it says, “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven,” meaning there’s an order to life. And if there’s something we are wanting to manifest, sometimes it might take a little longer than we’d like. But there’s an order and a season to it all.
And I want to make sure that I just make a little note here. Then when something bad, challenging, happens in our life — a health challenge; say breast cancer, any kind of cancer — did you order that? No! You can order your reaction to it. And I’m not even judging that reaction, because there could be a whole spectrum of reactions to that that are all okay.
You order your reaction to it, but it’s spiritual malpractice to say, “Well, I guess it was in God’s plan or God’s will,” or “Well, I guess God has something for you to learn.” Please don’t ever say this. When I went through my health challenge, I got some of these comments. No! Sometimes life lifes. You do not create bad experiences to learn, or because there’s a strategic chess-playing God out there. No! No!
Rev. Linda Martella-Whitsett writes in her book, Divine Audacity, “God is not a superhuman personality that imposes order. Rather, God IS order, the organizing principle revealed in the pattern and sequence inherent in all of life.”
You order your life creatively with your thoughts, words, actions and strong emotion. And yet, you’re not the entire ocean. Did I just, like, whiplash you all? You are it. And yet, there’s an ocean, right? The Allness: God.
So, this past Sunday … You know, I’m also the youth minister here. And this past Sunday, one of our Sunday school volunteers: she told me that before she came in to volunteer, she got quiet. She said, “I’ve been learning the art of listening.” So, she got quiet and she was listening. And she picked up Charles Fillmore’s book, Prosperity. So, then she comes in to help out. We had a party this last Sunday in Youth Ministry, and so she was going to help with that. But then, suddenly, I needed her in the classroom. She wasn’t meant to be there, but I said, “Hey, do you mind jumping in? I need someone in the class.” And she said, “Sure!”
So she jumped in. And when she was there, there was a little boy in the class who had a really, really hard time sharing. He was really upset that he had to share. Sometimes we’re all a little upset we have to share, right? So, he was having a tough morning. And then afterwards, when mom came to pick him up, this volunteer was saying, “You know, I just read Charles Fillmore’s book, Prosperity, and really, sharing is a prosperity concept. It’s about ‘not enough.’ ‘There’s not enough toys in the world. I might not be able to have all the toys in the world.’”
And, for mom, it was an “Aha” moment. She said, “Wow, thank you. I have never thought of it that way before. I can approach this now in a totally different way.”
Do you see the Divine Order there? The ocean – Mind, Principal, Presence, God — was heard by a wave, the individual that got quiet. Soaked in what needed to be heard. And then the space opened up to where this particular wave – individual — was needed. So you can see where Divine Presence worked its way out in an orderly manner.
So when it comes to Divine Order, it’s about listening; to being open to Presence; how Presence wants to move you; which shore you need to wash up to today; or gather with the Allness of the other waves. It’s about knowing that you’re here to serve; to express God as you in a way that brings blessings to the world through Divine Order.
And so I was thinking about on this eve of Independence Day the sequence of events that had to happen which led to the USA being its own country. There’s a lot! So, will you all just review fifth grade history with me for a moment here?
So we’re celebrating 1776, right? July 4th, 1776? But it starts in 1765; the Stamp Act is passed, which places a tax on paper — including playing cards, which I feel like it’s sort of like TV’s of today, right? — the colonists.
Then in 1767, the Townshend Act: more taxes on tea.
1770: the Boston Massacre takes place.
1773: the Tea Act is passed.
1773: also, the Boston Tea Party takes place.
1774: the Coercive Acts are passed by Parliament, forcing people in the colonies to obey laws.
1774: the first Continental Congress opens up in Philadelphia.
1775: we have the battles of Lexington and Concord.
1775: also, the second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
1776, Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, a publication that says that colonists should claim their independence.
And then on July 2nd, 1776, Congress votes to accept the Declaration’s final wording. But it’s not until two days later — July 4th, 1776 — that it’s signed.
And then … I mean, that’s 11 years!
But then it’s 1783: the Treaty of Paris, which officially ends the American Revolution and officially names the United States of America as a new country. Eighteen years! How many steps did it take?
Sometimes it takes as many steps as it takes to get to our dream. So when you’re thinking, “Why is this Divine Order thing taking so long in my life? Why can’t I just manifest what I want right now?” If the founders or the colonists had stopped taking the steps forward, we might right now be a British colony or part of the Commonwealth. Or worse yet, maybe a Canadian. [Congregants laugh and gasp] We’re going to see if Rev. Richard Maraj is watching tonight … [Congregants laugh]
But remember that the Divine in Divine Order is the divine power in you, organizing and moving forward the life you want to create and make happen. You are the vessel. You are the vessel that must harness the power to make order and demonstration happen. You are the vessel.
So don’t sit on your affirmations! [Congregants laugh] Get out and do the work!
Corinthians says, “But all things should be done decently and in order.” So asking yourself right now: “Where does my life feel a little maybe out of balance? Maybe there’s an area of my life that feels out of order, chaotic or overwhelming. What adjustments can I make to help a certain area in my life feel more orderly?”
Maybe it’s organizing that pile in the corner of your room. Or maybe it’s organizing your week on Sunday evening, so your week flows better. Maybe it’s creating a shopping list, so you don’t go to the grocery store and you’re haphazardly shopping. Maybe it’s creating a budget. I threw that one in for my financial planner husband. [Congregants laugh]
But think of a situation in airing your life where you need more order or balance. Do you have it? Take a breath. And I want you to hear these words as your own. Repeat them silently to yourself: “Using my spiritual power of Order, I visualize this situation unfolding in organized harmony and perfect balance.” Breathing that in and seeing it in your mind’s eye and feeling that answer unfolding before you.
And now affirming again to yourself: “Using my spiritual power of Order, my life unfolds in organized harmony and perfect balance.” And breathe into that again.
You, my friends, are a powerful creator! And when you activate your spiritual power/attribute/innate gift of Order, then life’s answers are there for you. And life unfolds in a more peaceful, balanced and orderly, creative way. And as a divine being, that is what you are worthy of! You are worthy of a life of your greatest and deepest, biggest dreams and desires.
That is my blessing for you, everyone! Happy Independence Day! Blessings!