As we unpack boxes the kids ask: are we going to stay here a long time? We hope so . . . but we really don’t know.
It turns out that no matter where we are in our lives the future is always scary! Just like the past might need to be forgotten the future can easily terrify us. Does anyone like uncertainty?
Our spiritual fathers and mothers remind us often that transformation can only take place through difficulty. This is why it is important to tell the story again, so that we can remind ourselves of the difficulty, struggle, and trials that are part of the human condition. So that we can remind ourselves that we are in constant battle with a tendency to want to create a future of our own, our own power, our own will, our own preference becoming our god.
In telling the story again we are also reminding ourselves that a better future is possible if we remember that we are God’s people. Someone else is in charge and if we are willing to let go of our addiction to control and make things happen we’ll be able to live into the promised future. New beginnings are always an opportunity to change course, to develop healthier habits, and create a better future.
As we embark on this journey through the early stories that guide our faith I wonder what we can learn that will help us build a future? How are we being called to listen to God’s whispering our own story to us? A story of making room, creating a space, and welcoming those who are seeking. . . a story of holy hospitality!
Imagine our future if we return to the basic ethos that has paved the way to where we are today? God guiding us into a future, paved by the past, lived in the present, turned toward God’s call for us to restore lives and turn seekers into servants of the kingdom of God, made possible by Christ through Grace!
Can’t wait to begin telling the story again. See you tomorrow!