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Dear Church Family,
The regularity of clear skies has been increasing, though not promised or dependable. We continually pray for those fighting the fires in our region, and long for resolution and restoration. Hopefully as we enter into all things autumn, the sight/smell/taste of the smoke will dissipate and we are able to notice the crisping of the leaves, the changing of colors, the shifts in temperature as the world changes little by little. The experiencing of the seasons is a gift this side of the mountains offers, which I didn’t notice as much growing up in Seattle (summer and then the rainy season 🙂). The metaphor of the seasons is also a deep well for our lives - Spring to Summer to Fall to Winter can be the metaphor that spans a lifetime, but it also lends itself to the smaller recognition that nothing stays the same from day to day, but that each change offers its own gifts, though often not without surprising disruptions. Even though the seasons are somewhat dependable, they are full of unknowns - will it be like last year? Will we get snow this year? Will there be enough water? Will there be floods? Will the crops get damaged in a freeze? Will what seems dead bloom again in the spring? So many questions even as we embrace the gifts that come with the seasons.
The author/poet/farmer/prophet Wendell Berry died this week, and I have deeply appreciated seeing people share their favorite poems in remembrance of the impact he left on this earth. One has caught me in my reality and in my imagination, when it comes to the dependable nature of the unknown. From his poem ‘Our Real Work’:
It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.
Whether or not you are a fan of poetry, you likely can recall the seasons in your life you grew up or matured the most - likely a mixture of hardship and joy, challenges that confounded you, perhaps pride and/or surprise at your survival and accomplishments through tough times. Whether you liked it or not, you were transformed, perhaps scars remain to hint at the story. When I read this poem, and consider the times God has felt most real, it is in these times of unknowing - when the challenges and choices felt like too much. My faith journey has memorable mile markers in those places when I didn’t know which way to go, and seeking God’s presence was the only real comfort. We all find ourselves there now and again, whether we are intentionally seeking God or not, disruption comes. Sometimes reading scripture is the most disruptive - being challenged to expand my idea of justice, mercy, and love on God’s terms, to live those out in costly ways in the world I actually inhabit, not just hold them as an ideal. It should be said that the harvest, the fruit, that comes from the work in those seasons is rich, and memorable, and worth talking about. I’d love to hear how God has met you in your seasons of unknowing, how you grew and what you learned.
May you draw closer to God amidst the questions and doubts that bubble to the surface. May you know the tender love of God amidst ‘our real work’ - on the journey of the unknown, may you find comfort in the learning and a new song in the season ahead. “And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what really matters.” (Philippians 1:9-10)
Blessings,
Pastor Becca
