Renewed and Reconnected

It is early morning and I am sitting on the banks of my beloved river. The scene before me here in Newfoundland is one that holds the remnants of winter and the rising sun is glistening off the still partially frozen river. Despite the snow and the ice however one can still feel in the air the promise of Spring and the new life growing just beneath the surface.

Storytelling and Reconnecting

These last few days I have been thinking about the daughters of Laban who later became the wives of Jacob. There is not a great deal of detail about them in scripture, just small snap shots of who they were and the strength of spirit present among them. However, a number of years ago I read the “Red Tent”, a book that explored their story. While much of it is based on fiction and on thoughts about what perhaps life was like for them, it is an amazing story of strong, courageous women who were also keepers of the story. Every so often they would move into the red tent where they would tend to each other’s spirits and bodies; and tell the stories of their life together and of their faith.

I have been gathered now for three days with my sisters in what has become known in our family as the sisterhood summit. It is a time when we move out of our daily routines and gather in our version of  “the red tent”.  In this space we laugh, learn and love. It is a time of storytelling and reconnecting with one another and the ancestors whose spirits still shape our beings.

Renewed and Empowered

Whether is it a gathering of women or of men, there is something powerful about moving out of the world that shapes our regular lives into a space where one is accepted, loved and held. In the stories shared there are the seeds of eternal life and a connection with the universe that strengthens the soul. Sometimes what is shared is something that we can all repeat, a common memory, and at other times something new emerges and another piece of the tapestry is revealed. Being in this kind of space can provide rest and renewal that enables one to return to the world a better person and empowered to touch the world in a new way.

My prayer for each of you is that you will find your “Red Tent”.  In that place may you be renewed and empowered to move and grow and become.

Blessings
Valerie

© 2017 Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury, All rights reserved