“Pilgrimage demands preparation. There is much letting go that needs to happen. Packing bags means we need to discern what to carry with us and what to leave behind. This is one of the great gifts of pilgrimage; an invitation to discern what is essential.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within
What kinds of attitudes, beliefs, expectations and stories you tell about yourself need to be released to travel with only what is essential for your life?
Well folks, it’s on the Church’s Facebook page so here is the story. It isn’t long but it is important for Denise & me.
Y’all know what we have been dealing with the past year in terms of family, culminating in the death of our sweet Pixie. It goes back further than that but this is where we are.
When a pastor’s spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental batteries are drained and the same goes for his partner in faith, life, and ministry, one reaches a critical crossroads. We have been so focused on taking care of family and parishioners that we sort of forgot to take care of ourselves.
This reminds me of the class we took on Sabbath through Columbia Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Spiritual Formation program. We had to ask for extensions on our final papers because, you guessed it, we had flunked Sabbath!
Well, here we are… in desperate need of time for healing and sabbath rest. Since I cannot be the pastor that Carrollton Presbyterian Church needs, it isn’t fair to either of us for me to continue. I have resigned my position as pastor and my last Sunday is February 6th. Our prayers are with our CPC family and we are thankful for the many prayers so many of our spiritual companions on the way continue to offer.
Since it is a sabbath rest and we don’t want to flunk that class again, we will not be moving right away. Somehow packing up, selling a house, and moving doesn’t sound very restful 😉
We trust in God to guide us and show us the road we will travel. To take the first step without seeing the rest of the stairway is liberating, not frightening.
In the words of Thomas Merton—You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. (Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander)
p.s. I guess this was longer than I said it would be! Go figure 🙄😉🤣
P.P.S. To our Austin friends, Dad doesn’t know yet. We will be traveling up to Minnesota shortly after the 6th and tell him in person.
…the spiritual life can be lived in as many ways as there are people. What is new is that we have moved from the many things to the Kingdom of God. What is new is that we are set free from the compulsions of our world and have set our hearts on the only necessary thing. What is new is that we no longer experience the many things, people, and events as endless causes for worry, but begin to experience them as the rich variety of ways in which God makes his presence known to us. — Henri Nouwen
“What we have experienced and are still experiencing must surely convince us that the spirit is everything and that institutions count for very little. The best planned improvements in the organization of our society cannot help us at all until we have become at the same time capable of imparting a new spirit to our age.”—Albert Schweitzer
To walk in the presence of the Lord means to move forward in life in such a way that all our desires, thoughts, and actions are constantly guided by him. When we walk in the Lord’s presence, everything we see, hear, touch, or taste reminds us of him. This is what is meant by a prayerful life. It is not a life in which we say many prayers, but a life in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is done, said, or understood independently of him who is the origin and purpose of our existence. — Henri Nouwen
Words of humble and gentle wisdom from one of my early spiritual mentors. It was an incredible experience to hear Henri speak at the USAF Chaplains School in 1991. It was a three day course “Spirituality in Demanding Times.” Henri also shared his initial discomfort being asked to teach on a military base because of his anti-war stance.
An important book of his for me is The Wounded Healer. Henri helped me to embrace my own woundedness as a way of walking with so many through their own life experiences through the years.
Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing. — Wisdom from the Teacher (Thay) and friend of Jim Forest and Thomas Merton. I can imagine them all enjoying each other’s company over a cup of tea ♥️
Verse of the day
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.
– Colossians 4:6
Voice of the day
Grace shows up in all of us asking the hard questions to break new ground. Grace is generous and, when we lean into it, we can’t help but extend it to others.
– Candice Marie Benbow, Red Lip Theology (2022)
Prayer of the day
May my questions be generous and seasoned with grace.
When I opened up my email, this gift from Abbess Christine spoke to my heart and Denise’s heart. We were talking about our upcoming Sabbath rest and Denise had just said that we need to find our way home as we walk the Sabbath journey together. I love it when Godde does that ♥️☘️
“Returning home means remembering that there is a source of eternal love and compassion within each of us always available to us.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Online Self-Study Retreat ~ A Midwinter God: Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
What might it mean for you to find your way back home? How might that feel?
“The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life flow no longer into our souls.”—Elizabeth Cady Stanton
