I love the way fall arrives. Every day there is a change, some signal that transition is happening. We anticipate the beauty that will come. We delight in the changes that we enjoy. We sigh (and maybe complain a little) about things we don’t embrace so easily: like an hour less of daylight!
Creation tries to teach us to receive it all, and trust that something right and amazing is unfolding. If I stop at the stream long enough I will see things falling away. Hedge apples drop to the ground. Leaves turn colors and float to some landing place. All the while, something new emerges. The deer is in pursuit, focused for the season. The squirrels prepare for winter, gathering up all they will need. Frost sneaks in the early morning hours and covers the earth, preparing for the winter on its way. All waiting for a child’s spirit to notice.
Perhaps God speaks in these transitions. Reassuring us that we are not alone in any season. Reminding us that way leads to way. Encouraging us to trust the Creator to keep guiding us along the path. Walk slowly and watch. Walk softly and listen. The whispers of the Spirit arrive in many ways.
Creator God, we welcome you to reveal yourself to us today. We invite the whisper of your Spirit to stir us from our slumber. We ask for the grace of your help – giving us wisdom in moments we most need it. Bring hope into our days and fill us with your Peace. Amen.
I was blessed with two of them. My “Dad”, is the one who raised me and taught me to love animals, take risks and that you don’t have to answer every question. I learned unconditional love from him because God showed me how to love when it made no sense. I would not be the person I am today if Dad had not been who he was.
Over time I realized that my dad’s suffering was what helped teach me unconditional love. And boundaries. And some stuff I’d rather not have learned. But there is so much more that I am so grateful to have learned! Things like: It is OK to bite if you get backed into a corner. You can always drive in snow; go slow and watch out for the other guy. If you want to eat you better damn well make sure you have a job. And sometimes your dreams get fulfilled in ways you didn’t expect, but that is OK, just go with it.
My amazing Dad!
My second blessing was my stepfather, who married my mom many years after I was an adult. He fell in love. She fell in love. They decided to make a life together. For all the years of their marriage (20+) he loved her so well. She loved him so well. I suppose without the stresses of raising children or paying mortgages, their marriage was truly a refuge and delight for later years. He was the most gracious man I’ve ever known. Never in a hurry. Always interested in what was going on in our lives. And he loved our mom.
Their marriage blessed me with extra siblings, and most of all it blessed me to experience what joy and delight can come when you least expect it. In the last year of his life there were a few health challenges. I was in their home for an overnight visit once when I woke up to someone singing. It was my mom. She was serving him breakfast on a tray, and she was singing to him as she entered the room, “Good morning! Good morning!” I could hear the love in her voice. I could see the appreciation and love on his face. They did their last season together so very well.
Mom and Dick, my amazing stepfather
I think dads have a tough job. When I finally “grew up” and experienced some big falls myself, I realized that my dad did the very best he could with his life. He was a very tough man. And broken, like all of us. His heartaches and life griefs were overwhelming. But he continued. It wasn’t always smooth or what he imagined, but he persisted until he took his very last breath. And then he was free.
I know Dad could have given up and stopped living at many different points in his life. But he didn’t. He kept going. And because he kept going, we did too. We kept learning about love and mercy and grace. We kept asking God to show us how to navigate the days, and God was faithful to help us. We all just kept living and doing the very best we could with what we had to live with – including our broken selves!
Both of my fathers are in heaven tonight. They have no pain or sorrow. And anything that was not resolved on earth for either of them, has been completely resolved in heaven. I’m so grateful they were both chosen to be my dad and stepfather. I’m so glad we lived all the way until their very last breath, and we lived fully. It is a gift I always cherish, and a gift that never stops bearing fruit.
A Night Prayer on Father’s Day Holy God, thank you for our dads. We never need them to be perfect, we just need them to be our dads. So please give all fathers an extra measure of your love, wisdom and care. Please remind them of your mercy and grace that is always available and give them courage to ask you for it. Most of all, as this day comes to an end, please cover all dads with your great compassion, and please cover all of their children with your steadfast love. Thank you, gracious God, for being our perfect father, and for giving us our imperfect and amazing dads. Amen.
The joy of the birds must be exuberant. A morning song of certainty that every rising of the sun holds new life. I was walking to the river as the birds made their melodies, and my neighbors were ahead of me. You know – the people we call “neighbors” but I really do not know them yet at all. I’m exercising; they are appreciating the gift of the day, a centering perhaps. My gym shorts feel a bit informal in contrast to their flowing garments in all colors of the rainbow. We are all as we are; it’s Monday.
My neighbors pause at the river, as I will. We pass one another there and I utter the only greeting I can say without thinking, “Namaskar”. I only know it because of the grace of my other neighbor who taught me how to say something in addition to “Namaste”. The greeting is a little awkward; unexpected, I think. We don’t know each other.
The river is quiet, and someone is already fishing. I offer gratitude for the grace of a morning walk, for the songs of birds and the dance of the river. My heart could stay a while, but my head moves me along. It’s Monday.
The route home brings our paths together again. “Namaskar” my mouth speaks and my spirit, by now, has been seen. “Namaskar!” they greet me. The smiles and joyful words I do not understand tell me: all is well. We have a small conversation where it is clear I do not know the language. Their English helps us along, but is limited.
We learn one another’s names. Well, we learn them for a moment. I suspect we will have to learn them again and again! The humility of grace is that today we could see one another, and it was enough. Actually, it was more than enough. Peace and gratitude are flowing, and the day has barely begun.
Prayer God thank you for the community you are creating wherever we are this week. Whether we meet in person or in prayer; on the street or in our homes – help us to see each other and your presence among us. We humbly and boldly ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit to guide us through this day. Like the birds, help us to sing with joy. And give us courage, Lord, to dance when we are invited.
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. – I Peter 2:1-5
I can still remember my mom explaining a mystery ache in my body with these words, “you’re having growing pains; it will pass.” I’ve recently heard colleagues explaining some of our COVID prevention strategies as “growing pains” while we continue learning new ways to do life and live with the virus. “Growing pains” seems to be a persistent theme.
Growing in up in our salvation has growing pains too. There are seasons of doubt and suffering. There are moments are sharp joy and revelation. We stumble when we forget to let light shine in where darkness has entered. And sometimes we just crawl our way through one day at a time, a few inches at a time.
Still, we are being built into a spiritual house; we are growing and maturing through all of these seasons and moments. Talk to someone in their 90’s who has been walking with Christ for many years and they will quickly tell you: the growing never stops. The pains of a season will cease and the challenges we face in our journey today will fade. We mature and grow. New stretching and learning will be required, but something miraculous keeps unfolding. The Scriptures are full of stories about ordinary human beings slowly growing into living stones, that are part of a spiritual house…a holy priesthood that the Lord is maturing. That means you too.
There is a quote by Teresa of Avila that I kept on my dashboard during a long season of growing pains. It helped me every day.
Let nothing disturb you Let nothing frighten you All things pass God does not change Patience achieves everything. – Teresa of Avila (1518-1582)
God, thank you for your grace in not giving up on us. Thank you for continuing to teach us and grow us up so we reflect more and more the person you created us to be. We trust you, our Creator and Savior, to keep building us into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. Amen.
The struggle is real. Do you ever feel like you are fighting something or trying to navigate life with a constant, nagging “thing” that just won’t let you go? It may be fear or a habit or some dysfunction. It might be an illness or something in your environment. It could be anything; we all have our stuff! Even though we may have knowledge and awareness of this, that doesn’t make it go away. It just means we may be able to put in perspective. And every day is different. Yes, the struggle is real. It doesn’t mean something is wrong with us; it does mean we are human.
Paul wrote all the time about his struggles. I especially appreciate when he talks about his “thorn”. We don’t know what it was and it doesn’t matter. If you’ve ever had the struggle then you get it.
Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for poweris made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. – II Corinthians 12:8-10
Some of our struggles don’t go away but they do lose strength and power as we lean more heavily on Christ to bear that burden. It is a practice and a way of living that keeps us grounded. When we experience the Spirit of God working through our lives in spite of our struggles then we see the true power of God in our lives. Recovery groups have this practice down really well.
Our surrender and just letting God help us is a daily practice. “Lord Christ, come quickly to help me. Your grace carries me. You are my strength and help. I place myself in your hands of mercy today.”
If you would like to explore a recovery group here is a link to find a group anywhere in the nation. Many of them are available on zoom now too. https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/find-local-aa
Life in the Deep End 