On codes and chemistry and endeavoring to comprehend and commune with the Creator

When I was a young chemist…ha! When I was a junior in high school, eeking my way through the science of atoms and elements and moles that were, in fact, beasts to be slain…I discovered that I could kind of cheat my way through with a completely clear conscience.

The trick I learned was to learn the formulas. Find out the secret codes that real chemistry students knew, convince one of the insiders to decode the formulas for me, and then store the classified information in my noggin. Hold it…hold it…hold it…until exam time.

At exam time, the moment the papers were distributed, I would scribble down all the formulas I had surreptitiously stored in my mind and then rummage around the test to find places I could apply the codes—the ones I had managed to comprehend and commit to memory. It was a brilliant plan. I couldn’t tell you a single one of those “codes” now, but what I learned was that I could get by; I could be resourceful; I could ascertain enough information to “make the cut”; and, by gum, I could rely on my short-term memory. All of these lessons have served me well in life.

And, by the way, I scored 80% on my Chemistry Regents exam; certainly not my highest grade ever, but considering my relative cluelessness about the subject matter, I count it among my most significant scholarly accomplishments.

I won’t dare say I have found a way to cheat my way to spiritual enlightenment (!), but I will say that the right resources sure do help a wretch like me. Case in point, The Guide to Prayer, a collection of prayers, hymns, readings and retreat plans edited by Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck. I received the GTP as a gift from Northeastern Seminary when I graduated from there in 2004. Unlike the multitude of other devotional books that haven’t held my attention, I find myself returning to this one, again and again. My spirit is repeatedly enlightened by its contents, by its kaleidoscopic manner of graciously ushering me in the direction of the Source of all wisdom and strength. I highly recommend it.

A recent nugget gleaned from GTP (which coincidentally contains the term ‘code’):

“Obedience is indispensable. Not to a static code, however helpful it may be at times. But obedience to God, who is present with us in every situation and is speaking to us all the time. Every obedience, however small (if any obedience is ever small), quickens our sensitivity to him and our capacity to understand him and so makes more real our sense of his presence.”—From The Captivating Presence, by Albert Edward Day