Dear friends,
One of my favorite aspects of Lent is our tradition of offering a daily devotional, with each day’s entry prepared by a member of our congregation. Even though I see them in advance, it is still a joy each morning to open my email to see whose devotion appears. I love the diverse perspectives and approaches we collectively bring to the Lenten theme.
This year we had 18 members and friends contribute devotions. As we approach the end of Lent, I went through and re-read them. They are amazing! In case you didn’t see them all, here are a few words of wisdom on our theme, “Making Space:”
- Knowing these furnishings, which had served me well, would make a difference in the lives of others shed a positive light on making space. —Bettina
- This space for reflection brought to light for me unnamed heroes, like Coretta, that walked beside Martin Luther King to bring about the Civil Rights Act. —Janet
- The congregation trusted me, gave me the space I needed to be creative, and ended up changing my life. —Rick
- That feeling of wholeness/That feeling of being complete/Lord I feel You!/Loved to be used by you. —Joe
- If Andy was able to make space to recover from this tragedy…what spaces do I need to make in my own life, a life of incomparably less pain? What petty grudges can I let go of? —Willie
- Open up and let God in/Like sunlight on your face/That glowing gleaming/All over warm feeling/Knowing that you’re loved. —Shelly
- It’s hard to feel spiritual when there’s a bug in your bra! —Fran
- I’m sure there is a place in my spiritual life for self-denial, but what if I got started by ridding myself of the things I would be delighted to see gone? —Matt
- One of my professors once said that we should strive for a “complex religion, but a simple faith.” —Shane
- I’ll show you God’s majesty in nature, which can be easy to forget about when we’re so busy with work and home organization projects and school and everything else. —Nicola
- I can turn to what is holy – Jesus or the Holy Spirit, God or Goddess, sometimes with none of these unknowable forms but a breath – and know that I am watched over, that I am guided. —Sofia
- When our minds are still and balanced are we not more open to all possibilities and the Divine?—Wendy
- Can I help create space for more voices, which undoubtedly make for more inclusive debate and decisions that are better for more people in the end? —Heather
- In order to have time to reflect, to pause, to breathe, I need to remove all the clutter around me and within me. This is my “making space” promise to myself. —Ruth
- We, humans, take pride in “our” accomplishments. That is when we need to “make space” to Thank God. It is by his grace that success is found.—Myrna
- I pray and hope that we can all find that better part of ourselves, put away our space-savers, and welcome the immigrants in our midst. —Mary
There were also wonderful photographs by Art, Fran and Nicola. Thank you all for your gifts of wisdom, insight and beauty.
Peace, Debbie