Dear Kaleid Ladies,
Good morning to you all! How is your home today? Do you find yourself in a rhythm or are you out of sorts? Either way, welcome to your day. Welcome to this 24-hour gift of time and breath.
We invite you to notice. As you breathe--as you inhale deeply and as you exhale fully--what are you sensing in yourself this morning?
It is likely that you are aware of new needs, new joys, new insecurities, and new perspectives. We all are. We are, painfully and beautifully, very much alike in this time of being very much separated from one another.
For all of us, this Lenten season has been far more forced, far more corporate, far more heavy than any of us could have imagined. Americans are used to being agents of rugged individualism, even in our suffering or deprivation. But right now we are corporately--globally--entering into the Lenten reality of wilderness. And while it is hard, it is a unique kind of gift, too.
For Israel, the wilderness was a passage of transformation. They went from being slaves to being children, learning to trust God’s presence, guidance, and provision.
For Jesus, the wilderness was a passage of preparation. Before Jesus engaged the pain of the world with the power of God-Love, He embraced physical deprivation and received deep spiritual strengthening.
As we consider this wilderness season--this pandemic during Lent--let us also recognize that our own tangible wilderness experiences are the sacred spaces of spiritual formation. What is the invitation?
Breathe in deeply and exhale slowly. What is the invitation to your heart in this wilderness season this day?
Is God inviting you out of slavery? Is the Spirit offering you the opportunity to be a child today?
Is God inviting you toward spiritual receptivity? Is the Spirit bathing you with greater strength even by way of your physical limits?
Is God inviting you into something beyond yourself? Is the Spirit reminding you of the corporate nature of creation, creatures, or the Church?
In closing, let us pray:
Lord, we mark time with hours, days, months, and years. You mark time in ways we cannot comprehend. Help us learn to mark time with worship, praise, and prayers rooting our lives in the living tradition of your beloved community. Amen.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;
May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;
May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;
May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.
Blessings,
The Kaleid Team
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