Dear Ones of St. Columba,

I planted my dahlias late this year, for oh so many reasons. The result, predictably, is that they were later to bloom. Some years I have had plenty of bright, gorgeous flowers to cut and arrange all over my house as early as July. This year here we are in mid-August and my favorite flowers are just getting started with their blooming. I'm so happy to see them - there is something that blooms in me when something that I planted in the ground turns into something else in that way that growing things do. I don't always know how to describe the deep joy and satisfaction that my flower garden brings to me. I cherish the fleeting moments I get to spend, finally, trimming and cutting and arranging these bright shameless flowers that I've been waiting weeks to see.  

My dahlias have me thinking - what else is blooming this summer? Summer is a time to relax, for some of us, and a time of stress for others. For many of us our routines are disrupted in ways both exciting and anxious. Kids are out of school and must be occupied, cared for, and enjoyed. Vacations are planned and done, or we watch with envy as others take vacations and the work continues. In the midst of all of this, what is growing, blooming, taking hold in your heart and mind and soul, as the great green growing time of summer winds down and we head toward fall, and harvest? Perhaps you have learned something about yourself or our world that has changed you. Perhaps you have missed your routines and long for their return. Perhaps you are looking toward fall with eagerness for crisp air and pumpkin spice lattes, or maybe part of what you have learned is that you could live in summer forever. 

As we savor these last weeks of heat, and wait for the smoke to clear so our Pacific Northwest skies can return to their trademark late-summer blue. I hope you will join me in paying attention to what is blooming. Both in the world around us, and inside of our hearts and souls. I'd love to hear about what you discover, and share in the harvest with you.

I am so grateful to be your priest, on this journey with you.

with care and gratitude,

Alissa