"We often remain exiles, left outside the rich world of the soul, simply beacuse we are not ready. Our task is to refine our hearts and minds. There is so much blessing and beauty near us that is destined for us, and yet it cannot enter our lives because we are not ready to receive it. The handle is on the inside of the door; only we can open it." - John O'Donohue from Anam Cara
So, here we go - Luddite that I am I have succumbed to the pressure of our excellent Office Manager, Cheryl Miller, and taken the leap, and begun a blog! Now wherever I am in my month, or in the world, I can stay in touch with all of you - another small step forward in our quest to stay in communication with one another, and to deepen the relationship between Minister, staff, church leadership, and church members - Thank you, Cheryl!
Many of my Christian friends and colleagues - and a few of my UU colleagues (and parishioners!) as well - are deeply engaged in their Lenten practices in these weeks leading up to Easter. I have had many deep and meaningful conversations with them (and you) in preparation for our Palm Sunday and Easter celebrations. I've also been thinking a lot about my one of my favorite feel-good movies: Last Holiday.
http://www.lastholidaymovie.com/
In Last Holiday a shy and retiring young woman, played by Queen Latifah, believes that she is dying, and becomes determined to use her last weeks on earth to experience all the things she was saving up for "some day". In this wild and wonderful exploration that includes great food, good company, skydiving, snowboarding and a trip to Eastern Europe she discovers that she is, indeed, a beautiful woman full of heart - "a woman of distinction and courage."
There are so many things we put off doing, things we save for "some day". We are practical, intelligent, responsible people who know our own limits and the limits of those we love. There is value in this . But we forget, or have never been told, that our limits are often limits of our own making: They are not absolute truths, but variables - they can and do change. Easter is a wonderful time to contemplate which limits serve us and help us to feel empowered and fulfilled, and which limits have become the rock we push up the hill, over and over again.
I am here to tell you that you are a beautiful person full of distinction and courage. What you can dream for yourself and your family you can do. You are beloved on this planet, and you do not have to settle, or stay in the box you were told to stay in in order to be accepted and loved. You are free to reinvent yourself. You are free to transform. You are free to become the jester when you've been raised to be the serious one. You are free to take a trip that's all about a mystery you've always wanted to explore, whether it's in the next town over or around the world. You are free to say no when you mean no, and Yes! to something you've always thought was beyond your reach. Don't wait, do something splendid, now, today, something that shines your particular light on our aching world.
It is the spring. We are reborn. We rejoice in life anew. I wish you courage in your new endeavors, and joy, and most of all room to grow and change and the desire to allow even those you most count on to grow and change as well. Bloom, and flourish, in the light and the life of our interdependent web of existence.
See you soon,
Rev. Jennifer.
