Good morning…
“I am so sorry to have missed our final meeting on Monday,” she wrote after yesterday’s post, Our Seasonal Life. “I have been meaning to email you to thank you for the semester and for the timeliness of the book in my own journey (Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak).”
“Had I been able to be there on Monday, my input about what was meaningful to me about the book would have been the reminder that life comes in seasons,” she continued. “It seems that it’s not always a gentle cycle, and certainly not predictable like Atlanta’s mild seasons. I love reflecting on the seasons of our kids’ lives…. PRUMC Preschool, Sarah Smith Elementary, NYO sports, Lovett, college, etc….. and it encourages me while going through the difficult and sad ’season’ of caring for and losing parents.”
She concluded: “I had to smile when reading your post from this morning about seasons. There are blessings everywhere, and I’m learning to just be open to them and allow it.”
Right away I emailed her back: “Yes, the seasonal outlook on life helps me to savor each day. As I look outside of myself to enjoy nature’s rhythms, I fear much less the inevitable losses and changes hiding on my horizon. Breathing in God’s panoramic view, I grow to trust that winter skeletons always pop with spring. And spring’s moist, booming blooms droop quietly in summer’s heat, hungry for the fresh chilliness of fall. I love watching leaves burst with creative colors before falling into autumn’s open arms. The blowing breeze says silently, “Make peace with letting go.” I find myself living more in unison with the God who is with me always. Season after season. Year after year. This moment, the next and the next.”
I offered a final thought: “I have missed you in our living room, but you have certainly been right where God has needed you to be, with your parents as you learn together the art of letting go.”
“How can we honor our God with our lives, the God who gives rain in both spring and autumn and maintains the rhythm of the seasons, Who sets aside time each year for harvest and keeps everything running smoothly for us?”(Jeremiah 5:24, MSG).
…Sue…
