Value the words you speak...they are an other's Truth

Laurie Kruczek in her blog I am only average raised being intimated and being overwhelmed...I feel sometimes like I am being dunked underwater, only surfacing when God pulls me up again. Maybe it is the long, drawn out discussions taking place... notations, authors, detailed references... all impossibly out of my conversational reach. I'm a smart girl, and I'm tough, but when all the advanced Quaker debate material starts flowing I think, "This just isn't what I expected. Can't we just simply talk?"...So I must have it wrong. I must be lost and have little chance of finding my blogging way. I honestly don't know if I have the qualifications to post about Quakerism. I am only average, and I wonder if that ever is enough.

I wrote to her, and now to you... never be put off from your journey, I have been around Quakers for 30 years and boy can some of us talk for all our respect for the power of the silence. One member of a meeting I attended was professor of theology, for example, but knowing what to argue isn't the same as having something speak to your condition. Nor is it the same of speaking from God within. Some of the more powerful ministry(apart from silence) often comes from those of us struggling to make sense of the world we live in and the people we share.

Read London (oops Britain)Yearly meeting Advices and Queries No 5. to know where I am coming from.

Take time to learn about other people's experiences of the Light. Remember the importance of the Bible, the writings of Friends and all writings which reveal the ways of God. As you learn from others, can you in turn give freely from what you have gained? While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found and what you value. Appreciate that doubt and questioning can also lead to spiritual growth and to a greater awareness of the Light that is in us all.