When I meet with those who are in crisis, or are scared, or are facing hard things, I often pray for a calm heart and a calm mind. This Psalm, particularly this translation, has been guide for me at times when I’ve needed to be reminded that God is, indeed, a loving presence in times of trouble. May this Psalm be a reminder to be still, and may the Holy Spirit be with you calming your heart and your mind to know God’s love.

Psalm 46 from Psalms for Praying, an Invitation to Wholness by Nan C. Merrill

The Beloved is our refuge and our strength, a loving presence in times of trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

There is a river whose streams make glad the Holy City, the holy habitation of the Most High. The Beloved is in the midst of it, it shall not be moved; Our loving Creator is an ever-present help.

The nations may be at war, countries left in ruins, yet is the Voice of the Almighty heard, melting hearts of stone.

The Beloved is with us, the infinite Heart of Love. 

Come, behold the works of the Beloved, how love does reign even in humanity’s desolation. For the Beloved makes wars to cease, breaking through the barriers of fear, shattering the greedy and oppressors, refining hearts of iron!

“Be still and know that I am Love. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!”

The One who knows all hearts is with us; The Beloved is our refuge and our strength.

Amen. Peace be with you.

Ruth

When I was in college I took a plant propagation class, also informally known as the lab science for liberal arts majors. I loved being in the greenhouse so much and looked forward to that class more than any other that semester. I loved the variety of plants and propagation techniques we studied, the way the potting materials smelled, the way the air enveloped me as I stepped inside the greenhouse, and being around so much green in the dead of winter. It was exciting helping something grow and I truly felt disappointed when a plant didn’t thrive under my care. Tending to our plants required time, attention, and a bit of knowledge and humility. Different plants needed different conditions to really thrive and when I missed the mark, didn’t water enough or watered too much, it was easy to see. There were all these variables to contend with and I enjoyed getting to know what variables were optimal for which plants. We each had individual projects and I was looking at variables in forcing paperwhite bulbs to bloom. Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus), look like small clusters of daffodils, with delicate white blossoms, and have a sweet fragrance. As an indoor bulb they are completely delightful to have in the middle of winter. I tinkered with temperature, potting mediums, and moisture levels in getting my bulbs to bloom, which made me appreciate and notice things about those hardy bulbs I hadn’t before. But paperwhites are pretty easy and, in the end, no matter the variables, I still ended up with that intoxicating beauty blooming inside while the winter dragged on.  I think about those bulbs around this time of year when spring is technically soon, but all Minnesota gardeners know our days of working in the dirt and enjoying flowers are still months away. The purpose of a Paperwhite, it seems, is to be the bulb of promise that tides us over until the promise of spring is realized. 

“The purpose of Lenten practices is not to make us better through 6 weeks of self help work. The purpose of Lenten practices is to help us pay attention to God’s work in us and in the world as we prepare to hear the good news that God’s grace and resurrection power has the final word over death. ”

Paperwhite season often lines up with the season of Lent. Lent, which means spring, is the six week period leading up to Easter and is seen as a time of preparation for Easter (when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ). Christians prepare for Easter in different ways, but most have some sort of Lenten practice as we make our way toward the cross, death and resurrection. Some choose to give something up, some take on acts of service, some commit to daily prayer and scripture reading, some commit to acts of justice and advocacy, some gather for midweek worship and reflection. The purpose of Lenten practices is not to make us better through 6 weeks of self help work. The purpose of Lenten practices is to help us pay attention to God’s work in us and in the world as we prepare to hear the good news that God’s grace and resurrection power has the final word over death. Like tinkering with the variables of those paperwhite bulbs, we can fast and pray and serve, but the beauty that results is because of God’s grace revealed. We can, and should, tinker with practices but it doesn’t change what God does, just how we pay attention to it.  As I’ve been rereading Christopher Heuertz’s beautiful book, The Sacred Enneagram, this Lent I will be tinkering with three contemplative practices he lays out as gifts to help me pay attention to the divine:

Solitude. Silence. Stillness. Heuertz writes, “Giving ourselves to solitude, silence, and stillness not only nurtures the inner spirituality our souls long for but also quiets the mind in a way that offers us the chance to make major corrections to our behaviors that are otherwise obscured by life’s noises. It helps us reconnect with God through deep and focused communion. It helps us face the series of minor deaths required in our pilgrimages home.” 

Like temperature, potting mediums, and moisture levels, I’ll be tinkering with these  practices and noticing how they help me pay attention to, and center, myself in God’s grace. And then I will give thanks as the intoxicating beauty of God’s grace revealed in the resurrection breathes new life into us once again. 

Peace, Ruth

Wondering about some practices of your own for Lent? Here are two suggestions:

https://sojo.net/articles/lenten-reflections/40-ideas-keeping-lent-holy

https://sarahbessey.substack.com/p/40-simple-practices-for-lent?fbclid=IwAR0_PkA2byxWkO59p7B3_sJbPDI4PjRlD-GM22MLcwO_rGgGxxkh_8iwWoY

Last week I had a moment. Probably the kind of moment that happens multiple times a day but this time something was different. Here’s what happened. 

While I was driving my teenager to her practice, we had a great conversation. The kind of conversation that, as a parent, feels like we got to a deeper level than the usual “did you get your homework done?” We stopped on our way at the co-op to pick up her favorite bread and a cup of coffee for me. And a cookie. A cardamom cookie. MY FAVORITE.  I dropped her off and carried on my way when a song I like came on the radio (Beastie Boys “Pass the Mic,” if you must know, and yes, I turn it up loud in the car). 

Good conversation, coffee in hand, cardamom cookie, beats coming through the speakers. Not a big deal, right?  

But for a moment all felt delightful. And while I probably have delightful moments throughout the day, what was different this day was that I noticed the delight.

The next day I listened to This American Life and the topic was...delight. 

The host for the day, Bim Adewunmi, interviewed poet Ross Gay who spent every day for a whole year writing down what delighted him. He specifically set out to be curious about what delighted him. Gay said, “I was learning as I was going. And frankly, I was learning how much some of these things delighted me. The question is always, why does that delight me? What does it do to a person to study delight? Delight and curiosity are really tied up. You have to be OK with not knowing things. You have to be actually invested and happy about not knowing things.”  In their conversation Bim Adewunmi reflects that what Gay discovers is “the mechanics of how to find delight every day as a discipline. Because delight doesn't just arrive, you need to actively go looking for it.”

As I listened to the whole episode I decided, no, I felt called to start paying better attention to delight and even start actively looking for it. My starting point was the day before and that conversation, cup of coffee, cardamom cookie, and the Beastie Boys. I wrote it down as delight #1. 

Delight is all around us but it takes special eyes, special ears, and sometimes a special pace to notice it. Delight can jump up in our faces like an eager, jumpy dog, but I suspect that most often delight is a subtle thing, asking us to turn on our curiousity in order to discover it. Can we live at a pace that allows us to raise our heads to see delight when it is in view? Can we live at a pace that allows us to hear the bird song, the laughter of a friend, the Holy Spirit calling us on the breeze? Can we live at a pace that gives us enough space to be curious about feeling of delight when it wraps itself around our shoulders? 

What if this was your spiritual discipline? What if, every day, or every week, you kept track of what delights you? What if the work your soul is calling you to right now is the work of noticing, being curious about, or actively looking for delight? What might surprise you? How might you be changed by this discipline? I’m keeping track. I’m on day three of delights and I can’t wait to see what’s next. 

(public service announcement for when you are having a down day: listen to act two of this episode because your heart will melt. The interview with poet Ross Gay is act one.)

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/692/the-show-of-delights