Dear One's of St. Columba's,

These snow days have been a continual reminder for me of how much I dislike uncertainty in my days.  As my husband, Luke and I have tried to plan our days and our week together we have mainly thrown our hands in the air and said, “who knows”. I go back and forth in my life seeing this comfort in control and predictability as a positive thing or a negative thing.  I mean, isn’t control just an illusion after all? But isn’t this also one reason why I am an Episcopalian, so together as a community, we can find God in the everyday rhythms and seasons of our lives?

My daughter, often, has strangely specific requests based on past experiences.  For example, she once ate blueberries on the couch while handing me blueberries to throw to Luke.  Now whenever she has blueberries she wants to go to the couch and have me throw them to Luke. I believe this is my daughter’s way of creating rhythm and ritual in her life.  I believe as humans we need this to feel grounded.  It is why permanent housing is so important and why we create rituals around birthdays, holidays, and of course, our own religious traditions.  These experiences ground us and help us to feel safe in a world that is ever changing and often unpredictable.

In Family Systems Theory there is a belief that a system desires to return to a state of equilibrium.  This equilibrium is not necessarily good or bad, but more what we are used to and what is comfortable to us.  If you grew up in a family where the tv was always on in the background, that may be comforting and grounding to you while it might drive your partner crazy.  I have found it helpful in my own life to see the places where I return because I am seeking that equilibrium, but not necessarily seeking God’s healing or hope for my life.  What old patterns am I going back to just because they are comfortable?  And what old patterns really do help to ground me and help me to go out in the world open to bringing hope, peace, and joy?  

So this week, as we hope our temperatures warm up so that we can go back to our “normal” lives let’s take a minute to reflect on the discomfort of unfamiliarity or lack of control.  How do we respond when things in our lives need to look different or be different then what is familiar?  How do we invite God into our chaos and hope for a different ending to the same story?  How are we open to a new way of being or living that may disrupt our own equilibrium?  One thing I do love about our church is that no matter the chaos and unpredictability in our own lives we can count on people gathering around the Table and receiving the bread and the wine. We can count on Easter.  We can count on God showing up and telling us we are God’s beloved.

with gratitude, 

Meghan