Each autumn I find myself steeped in memories. With every season, we live with the anticipation knowing God is with us. Even as we enjoy or grieve what has passed, there is hope for the crunch of a fresh Honeycrisp apple, pulling on a favorite sweater, and enjoying the moment at hand as the briskness of the fall settles in.
Every summer I begin by hoping I will be refreshed and renewed by the time September rolls around. Yet, with the demands of daily life; with the condition of the world; with work and family, there must be intention in my seeking respite.
The beauty of the stories of Jesus is that they reflect the human condition today. Loving one another is hard with family and with strangers. The stress of a continued pandemic and all its variants, the daily rise in gas prices, earth crying out for help, injustice unchecked, and a war leads me to want to blame and shame someone.
Quieting ourselves, we sense Jesus setting us a table. Jesus out on the shore preparing what gives us nourishment. Watching for those moments we need assistance. Listening when we ask for help. Providing what we need instead of what we might want.
I can stop and pray. In any instance and any stance.
There is beauty in the “in between”. The time when the sky is black, and stars begin to sparkle. When the ice begins to melt, and the waters open. The song of the bird and the sunlight fully illuminated.
The season of Advent leading to Christmas comes with darkness. It can feel heavy with tender memories, unmet wants and dreams. It also comes like dawn. As the season progresses so do the colors and the light. Light that cannot be overcome. Light that comes to us as God incarnate in a child.
I am thankful for my Ignatian spirituality. In this time of such discontent and unknowns, the constant of God being in all things settles me.
Realize that Sacred moments will be revealed when we pause. When we Abide as God wants us to Abide. Connected to the vine and sustained with Love.
We are all loved by God. That is unchanging. Anywhere and everywhere. For everyone. Knowing this may help in the healing.
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