It is like swinging on a trapeze. The future lies before us but as we hold on to the handle and swing through the air, we have no idea what lies ahead.
It is hard to believe that we have, once again, made our way to Bethlehem and now we turn our faces toward a new year. 2021 was another year of hardship, uncertainty and learning. Each of us has a story to tell and memories to share. While we have waded through another year of Covid and things were not as we would have wanted, for me this was a year of blessings. In the church we have continued to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to proclaim a new way of being. We have learned to do things differently and to, not only survive, but thrive.
Despite the challenges this faith community began to vision the future and recommitted to the mission and ministry that we have built, striving always to be an open, inclusive and welcoming community. In doing so
we have celebrated new families who have found a home among us;
we responded to the needs of the wider community, walking with many as they laughed and cried, discerned and questioned;
we have journeyed together in faith and deepened our own sense of being through worship, meditation, study, prayer and fun; we dreamed together and created a new ministry position that will enhance the work that we do; and
we have cared for one another.
On a personal note I was able to finally see my oldest child move from a place of bondage into freedom, to witness the blossoming of a person who has embraced their authentic self. In the summer, gathered as family, we celebrated a family wedding and officially welcomed our new son-in-law into the fold; and I was blessed as I watched our youngest continue to grow and change and find love in her life.
And now we are on the threshold of a new year with all of it’s possibilities and promises. Jane R Pretat writes “It’s as if we were caught in a darkened vestibule between an old way of being and a new…. the doors of the past close behind us. The doors of the future are still unopened. Too often we forget that only by enduring our time in the liminal space between those doors, waiting for an opening, can we eventually move freely across a threshold into the future.”
The Future Lies Before Us
The future lies before us, as we stand on the threshold and we do not know what this new year will bring. The question before us is “Are we ready to step out in faith and open ourselves to whatever spirit has to offer?”
Joyce Rupp likens this space to swinging on a trapeze. She writes
“Once the handle is released there is nothing to hold on to until the handle on the other side is caught. We are no more sure of what lies beyond the threshold than the trapeze artist flying into the open in-between space knows for sure she will catch the other handle. Liminality requires acceptance of mystery and a heart full of trust. The challenge is to give ourselves fully to the process of change.”
So my prayer for each of you this day is, as you stand on the threshold of this new year, that you will open yourself to the presence of mystery and step into the year with a heart full of trust.
Blessings
Valerie