March 10, 2023

Episcopal Bishop Steven Charleston shared the following meditation this week:

Will I ever feel it again? That deep sense of calm, of serenity, of safety? There were times as a child that I felt enveloped by the small universe of my own creation, at peace with the Spirit who shared my farmhouse on the edge of everywhere. There were times as an adult when I felt I had discovered the heart of hope, a hilltop view of the wonders yet to come. Will I ever feel that way again? Yes: as long as I trust the sacred I leave the door open to a peace that passes understanding.

I sat with these beautiful and haunting words for a little while. I thought about the times as a child I felt "at peace with the Spirit", and I thought about the times as an adult I "discovered the heart of hope". I also thought about the times I've lost those feelings of safety, connection, and hope. I thought about this season of Lent and the wilderness times in each of our lives. And I thought about each of you and the very difficult things, sometimes impossibly difficult things, you have gone through, or are going through.

In the middle of a wilderness time, feeling safe and at peace can seem beyond us. The good news is that even when the peace that passes all understanding feels beyond us, we are not beyond it. My prayer for you this week is that wherever you are on your life's journey right now - the joy of it or the pain of it - you are able to leave the door to the sacred propped open. Peace and hope will be found again, just on the other side, and you will get there. This is God's promise.