In preparation for taking down the Christmas tree, I sat quietly near it the other night. I shut off all the other lights in the room. I had the whole room to myself. It was peaceful. The light of the tree was brighter than I expected it to be.
I sat and thought about the Christmas season that had just ended as well as other Christmases. The many trees that have lit homes where I have lived and homes that have welcomed me like family. I thought about trees bursting with ornaments and trees we hoped would make it to Christmas. I reflected on the beauty a Christmas tree shares.
When the tree is put away, it looks so empty for a few days and then we return to “normal life”. Knowing that no matter how hard I try this will happen again this year, I wanted to sit with wonder by the tree one last time.
God of Wonders, Increase our sense of wonder that we may be awed by you and your creation. So often we think of wonders as big things. Remind us to be amazed by the little, everyday things in our lives like a Christmas tree in a silent room. Open us today to the wonders around us calling our names. And help us to keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts when the tree is gone. Amen.
While I still have hope in 2021 and the possibilities of this new year, it has been a hard first week. I heard the phrase this is not who I want my country to be, and I think that is a fitting description.
On hard days, it can be a challenge to find words for prayer. You know that prayer does not require words. Some days the words won’t come, and this is a prayer for those days.
God, What can I say today? I have no words. The words will not come. I am numb. I don’t know what to say. And at times, I have too many words and they are spilling out of me not always making sense. Hear my prayer of too many or too few words. Listen to my heart. Hear my thoughts. Inspire me to action when words are not working. Strengthen me to stand, sit, or get out of the way whichever is needed. And when a break is needed, help me to rest in you. Amen.
We can all agree that this Thanksgiving is not like ones we have known in the past. I am not going to tell you how to celebrate this year as you can find many other places and people who have shared information about what are the best choices to make for the holidays.
Instead I want you to be aware of your emotions as you navigate the coming days.
What are you grieving? Write or verbalize those traditions that are not happening for you this year and how you feel about these changes.
Where are you giving thanks? Write or verbalize the people, places, things for which you are giving thanks today.
Where are you finding joy? Write or verbalize the current times you feel joy or memories that bring you joy.
Where are you having moments of peace? Write or verbalize when you feel peace and allow yourself to linger in your feelings of peace.
Let yourself feel the emotions that this reflection brings up. Cry, laugh, scream, smile, and do what you need to do as you live with the emotions that come up this holiday.
Have you had a time in your life when you didn’t want to do something you enjoyed doing? A time when you lacked the energy and ambition to do something which normally feeds your soul? You might have noticed that the hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks. I have been struggling with this lately as I have had no interest in writing. Normally, I enjoy writing reflections on life and faith, prayers and words for worship, and book reviews and then I share those writing with each one of you. We are not here to analyze why I haven’t been writing as that is not the point of this time. Instead I want to reflect on how I started writing again in the hopes that this might inspire you when you are not able to do what you long to do.
1-Give yourself time. (We all need a break now and then even from those things we feel called to do. Give yourself permission to stop for a time. Breathe deeply and be patient with yourself).
2-Reflect on what is blocking your ability to proceed. (When you are ready, take an inventory of your days. How are you spending your time and how would you like to spend your time? When your inspiration returns is there time in your schedule to do what you love? And if your reasons for taking a break from something you love are emotionally or spiritually related, talk with someone you trust who can listen and affirm you).
3-Jump, run, or walk back into that task or activity you love. (After giving yourself time, try to come back. Go as slowly or quickly as is comfortable for you. Try it. If it doesn’t feel right, return to steps one and two until you are ready. And if it fits like your favorite pair of pants, then smile and be glad and keep doing what you love).
As with all things I write, I needed this today. I am hopeful that these words might support you through a tough time and remind you that you are not alone.
Join me in prayer- Creating God, You created us to be creative beings. Some days it is easy to be our creative selves and some days it is so hard. We delight in knowing you are here with us on the hard days as well as on our easy days. Inspire us to use the gifts you gave us for good especially for the good of others. Remind us to be kind with ourselves and with each person with whom we interact this day. In your holy name we pray. Amen.
Each day, I look for joy. Where is the joy in your day? Even on hard days, sad days, long days, rainy days, there may be joy if you keep your senses open for joy.
Too often, I think we want joy to be big and noteworthy. Waiting for big joy can cause us to overlook the small moments of joy that exist even when things are hard.
This week my Mom asked me to make her favorite Rice Krispy treats. She has been making this recipe since I was a kid. You boil one cup of Karo syrup with one cup of white sugar. When that is boiling, shut off the stove and add in one cup of peanut butter. Stir it up and then add in six cups of Rice Krispies. Dump the whole mixture into a greased 9×13 pan. Enjoy! In the midst of a hard week, we enjoyed a favorite treat.
For me, searching for the joy in each day helps me navigate the hard days. I know there is joy to be found in a laugh, a smile, a moment of calm, a walk around the block. Look for joy as a way to renew your spirit today.
Late in 2019, I was introduced to “1000 Hours Outside“. This is the encouragement to increase the amount of time spent outside to lessen the amount of time spent in front of screens/inside. It was created to encourage taking children outside more and evolved to include adults too. I jumped into this idea with both feet on January 1st. I began to track my time outside. I printed the countdown sheet where I could cross off every hour until I reached my goal of 1000 hours. You will not be shocked to know that I did not make big progress toward my goal in the cold, wet days of January. And for those of you who love math, 1000 hours averages about 2 hours and 45 minutes a day. This has been a long year, so you may not remember that January 2020 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland was not a month that inspired me to sit outside or hike outside or be outside.
My excitement for this project turned to disappointment and discouragement. And, I quit. I took my countdown worksheet and I crumpled it up because I was so defeated. I recycled it. That isn’t the end of the story. This idea of getting outside more-of intentially choosing to be outside-stayed with me. As 2020 unfolded in ways none of us dreamed possible, I had more opportunities to be outside. We are now being encouraged to eat outside and be outside more and more. What could be seen as a massive failure-I have no idea how many hours I spent outside this year because I stopped counting in January-could instead be seen as taking someone else’s idea and making it work for me. Because this idea has stayed with me, I find myself feeling pulled to be outside more to sit and watch the clouds, or walk through my neighborhood or the local park, or even to do yardwork not because I love yard work and instead because I love how good it looks when the work is done.
I hope my failed attempt to keep track of how many hours I spent outside this year inspires you to look at something in your life that could be considered a failure or an unfinished project or something you never started because it would never end and you make it work for you. Do it in your own way. Try it. Let the ideas of others in and use them in ways that work for you.
God of All Creation, We can be too hard on ourselves for those things we call failures. Help us to reframe our ideas as opportunities. Use our creativity to create new paths instead of obstacles. Push us outside of our comfort zones to places where we might change and grow. When we do go outside, open us to experience the wonder of creation. We give thanks to you, God, for being part of your creation and being your beloved children. Amen.
When was the last time you used your sense of wonder? When was the last time you stared in awe at an object and were amazed by it? When was the last time you watched something and wondered how does that work? How long has it been since you saw two or three or four things and thought if I put them together they will create something new? For some of us and unfortunately for probably many of us, the demands of life impinge on our time to develop our sense of wonder. Many children do not let anything get in the way of their time to create and explore. In fact, this is how my nephew earned his nickname, Crafty Sam. One rainy summer day when he was visiting, he saw one of his three favorite objects a cardboard box. He asked for his two other favorite things Scotch tape and a pair of scissors. He sat down on the floor and got to creating. What his Aunt sees as a pile needing to be recycled is for him a collection of cardboard waiting to be transformed by his imagination. So, I sat down beside him and asked how I could assist. He held up a box and said this is going to be a clothes hamper. And like too many of us adults do, I began to doubt. That box is too small to be a clothes hamper. I don’t need another clothes hamper. And, I pushed those questions down and instead asked him what clothes would go into this new clothes hamper. And Crafty Sam said, “Obviously, small clothes like socks and underwear because it is a small hamper.” I sat on the floor and took followed his directions for the pattern he saw in his head. I guess I did a good job because that day I earned the nickname, Crafty Suz. That small clothes hamper created with only part of a shoebox, a pair of scissors, lots of Scotch tape, and a sense of wonder sits on my dresser. I have learned that if I place a pair of dirty socks in it as requested by its creator then I forget to wash those socks. So for creativity to meet practiciality, it is now home to my socks without friends which you might call socks searching for their partners. What can we learn from Crafty Sam, other children, the more creative types among us? Cultivate your sense of wonder. For you, that might be creating something from ordinary objects like Crafty Sam. You might take all the leftovers in the fridge and create a new, and hopefully delicious, meal. You could take that box of memories and make a scrapbook. Another idea is going outside and listening. Close your eyes and hear the sounds around you and imagine what you aren’t seeing. Or stare up at the sky for awhile and watch the way it changes when we simply pay attention. Let yourself daydream using the what ifs from your life, and if in that time you discover something you want to change, change it. I recognize that after reading this you are returning to regular life which left me pondering how to conclude in a way that encourages a sense of wonder combined with the necessity to do what must be done this day, and so as I contemplated how to conclude this time I thought I should leave you with a three step plan of how to include wonder in your daily life. And then I realized (and not as quickly as I should have realized) that I was falling right back into my old routines with no room left for my sense of wonder. So, I am not going to tie this up in a box and a bow for you with all the answers and instead I’m going to encourage you today and in the coming days to cultivate your sense of wonder-by looking, listening, feeling, tasting, and smelling the ways you can explore and experience that which exists around you. Creative One, Life gets busy and we hurry and rush and keep our eyes trained on the next thing that must be done. Slow us down. Distract us with a bird or a flower or a cloud in the sky. We feel this need to be productive at all times. Slow us down to listen to another person, to read a book, write a letter, look at a picture. Slow us down and remind us to be and to breathe. Amen and Amen.
Crafty Suz assisting Crafty Sam in making a creation.
This is an adaptation of a reflection I shared in the daily call for prayer and inspiration which is led every weekday morning for volunteers and staff of Coastal Hospice.
What a different place and space we find ourselves than when the Spiritual Counselors began hosting these calls a few months ago. Whatever you believe about COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter and the stock market and our elected officials and how we best educate our children and so many other things, we are not where we were a few months ago. Things have changed and each one of us has changed. Don’t hang up because you think I am going to tell you how to think about a specific topic on the news. I’m not. Instead I’d like to encourage you to think about how you react to another person who has a different view than you hold. Because we are a healthcare organization, I’m going to focus on our reactions to COVID-19. Even on this call, I am going to make an educated guess that we have different responses and feelings to where we currently are with this virus. Some of us might think that everything should be opening up and people should be able to make their own choices with what to do. Others of us might think that we should have continued with stay at home orders in this state for a longer period of time. Like all of you, I have my own feelings on this based on my life experiences. Again, I want to say I’m not trying to change your mine on this. What I would like to call to your attention is how you react to someone who feels differently. How do you respond to someone who has a different view? What emotions bubble to the surface when someone is doing something that you disagree with? My reflection today is a call for kindness. We don’t have to agree. We can be kind. We don’t always understand what is going on in someone else’s life. We can be kind. We may worry about the future or not have a care in the world. We can be kind. I may not like what you do. I can be kind.
As you go about your day and into the weekend, don’t rush to judgment, bite your tongue when necessary, and believe in the good of other humans. Response with kindness in your thoughts, your words, and your actions. Lest you think this is Susannah calling us to all be Pollyannas, being kind is hard work. So be kind to each other and especially yourself!
Hear these words from Colossians 3: 12, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”
God of Love, Fill us with your love this day, so we may be kind to ourselves and each other. And when that proves to be difficult, give us strength to try again. We are thankful to be called your beloved ones. Teach us your kindness. Amen.
However you celebrated Easter Sunday, I am guessing it didn’t look like a typical Easter Sunday for you. Here’s a bit of good news. Easter is not over. While we may not be gathering to celebrate in person, the resurrection has happened and is happening. Signs of rebirth and renewal are all around even amid the sadness.
This Easter Season I encourage to you to notice and name the places and times you see resurrection, renewal, new energy, goodness at work in the world. Look for tiny Easters all around and you will see them.
God of Big Surprises and Ordinary Days, walk with us through this Easter Season. Open us to see you in each other and your creation. Remind us of your promises while surprising us as we experience new things. Our lives are not what we expected, Holy One, and we ask that you use us in this time to share your love with others. No matter what tomorrow brings, we will trust in you and give thanks. We know you are making all things new, and so we will wait and be ready. In the name of Jesus who lived and died and lives with you, we pray. Amen!
Holy Week has long been one of my favorite weeks of the year. As a pastor, I loved gathering at the table with the congregation on this Holy Thursday. I was reluctant to write a prayer for today as this day will not include gathering around the communion tables at our churches. And then I realized I need this prayer because things are different. I need a reminder that Jesus will be there at all our tables dining with us no matter where we are. So wherever this Maundy Thursday finds you know that you are not alone because Jesus is with you and we are all together in spirit as we join in this sacrament at our own tables.
Loving God, Eveything feels different today. We aren’t in our churches or Fellowship Hall gathered around the communion table ready to hear the familiar words and taste the bread and drink from the cup. We miss that time to gather. We miss that sacred time to be together. We miss being called to come to your table.
And yet, maybe this unique Thursday is another opportunity to meet Jesus. We can meet him at our tables for one or two or three or twelve. We can meet him in our homes with whatever food and drinks makes up tonight’s communion.
So we ask your blessing on this food and drink that it may be for us the body and the blood of Jesus. We ask your blessing on us that we may be Jesus for each of us and for those in need.
We come to our tables asking for forgiveness for those who we have wronged. We come to our tables with hearts heavy for those we will not see tonight-send your healing to all who are ill. Send your spirit of peace for all who are weary. Send your love to all who are lonely. Come, Holy Spirit, come and be with us tonight.
In remembrance of you and your love for us, Jesus, we gather around our tables tonight praying for the time when we can gather together again. Hear our prayer, Gracious God. Hear our prayer. Amen.
