Moving Slowly in This Time of Transition…

Spring is coming! At the celebration of our founder’s life yesterday, we were excited to hear about the first sighting of bluebonnets in the hill country, as one attendee drove into Austin for our gathering.

And even knowing the usual ups and downs in temperatures will occur in the next month, all of us were relishing the softer, gentler, sunshine of spring in February!

While it will be a few weeks before the wildflowers put on their annual lavish show, the early arrivals signal a time of transition. Similarly, many Christians are celebrating tonight before observing Ash Wednesday tomorrow and the transition into the season of Lent.

“…you don’t come to God at 180 miles an hour.” –Parker J. Palmer

Sharing wisdom rooted in many faith traditions, Parker Palmer reminds us we don’t meet or connect with the Holy One speeding through the day. Now is a time to rest in the silence and remember our connection to the Divine and each other, so we don’t miss the gifts of this life. Now is a time to slow down and savor the show nature is beginning to put on as spring approaches.

May you find moments to pause, deepen, and savor your connection to the Holy One. And may you take time to notice and give thanks for nature’s signs heralding the approach of spring.

One Afternoon

“I spent a lifetime in a garden one afternoon.”
—Craig D. Lounsbrough

Transitions

“Transitions are almost always signs of growth, but they can bring feelings of loss. To get somewhere new, we may have to leave somewhere else behind.”
–Fred Rogers

Return, Return

Remember.
You were built for this,
the ancient path
inscribed upon your bones,
the persistent pattern
echoing in your heartbeat.

Let this be the season
you turn your face
toward the One
who calls to you:

Return, return.

Let this be the day
you open wide your arms
to the wind that knows
how to bear you
home.

—Jan Richardson, an Ash Wednesday blessing, Circle of Grace