Good morning…
Yesterday I celebrated the spring equinox in a very meaningful way. The word equinox comes from Latin, meaning “equality of night and day.” Experiencing a balanced amount of light and darkness, our long winter officially tipped into spring 2021. Leaving the house at 6:45 am before the sun rose and not returning home until 8:45 pm long after the sun had set, I shared a special Saturday with a happy handful of volunteers from Julie’s Dream, the non-profit organization carrying on the legacy of our dear friend Julie Harlan. We gathered at Serenbe (a wellness community on the far end of the city) with teens and staff from PAWkids, another non-profit which seeks to embody the kingdom of God for poverty-stricken families from inner city Atlanta.
We began our day with a cold, outdoor yoga class (all of us with ten frozen fingers now totally understand why people do hot yoga).
While the kids warmed up at a rental home, a few of us ran to the store to buy two gallons of milk and all the cocoa mix we could find. Helping the littlest ones patiently stir milk on the stove the old fashion way was a highlight of my day, then we shared hot chocolate, warming the innards of everyone in the room. We were inspired by speaker and author Omar Howard, who passionately pours into those in our diverse community following his transformational years in prison. After lunch, the guys rode horses while the girls hiked the trails.
Petting zoo. Stone labyrinth walk. Snack time in the sun. Then interested girls rode horses before relaxing into free time.
“Nothing on our spiritual journey is ever final,” words from my spiritual mentor Betty Skinner rise now from my innermost being. “It is an ongoing process moving us deeper and deeper. It is a continuous change and movement from what is good (that place where most of us live, desiring to love and serve God) to what is better (an open and intense desire to hear God) to what is best (when all of our prayer becomes service and all of our service becomes prayer). Most of us stay in the good and never attain the better or the best because the inner work of change is so difficult, our fears are so great, and there are so few to love and guide us there.” (40)
Following a delightful fourteen hour day with Julie’s Dream volunteers and PAWkids staff and children, I understand more deeply the hard inner work of change for those who live into fearful situations each day and each night. I feel myself inching with our community of loving guides from good, to better, towards God’s very best, where all of our prayer becomes service and all of our service becomes prayer.
Then Ezra said to them, “Go [your way], eat the rich festival food, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be worried, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold” (Nehemiah 8:10, AMP).
…Sue…
