May 13, 2022

Dear Ones,

I came across a new-to-me Mary Oliver poem this week, and it is too stunning not to share. It's called Don't Hesitate:

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the

case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

In Bible Study this week, we spoke about how difficult the world can be. And maybe it's not that "this is an especially hard time", but simply that living a life with a heart open to the cares and concerns of the world (not to mention our own) means that our hearts will break, sometimes. Yet, over and over again it happens just the way Mary Oliver says it does: joy surprises us. The first green buds on the trees. Spring peepers. The laughter of a child. A favorite song on the radio. A sense of the Divine: a glimpse of the goodness of the world or an answered prayer.

This world will always break our hearts a bit. But if you unexpectedly and suddenly feel joy, don't hesitate! My prayer for you this week is that you find yourself, at least once each day, at the place where love begins again.

Blessings,
Jennifer