This really is a transition day that has developed over the centuries.  Today is the day to rid the house of fats, leavens and sweets as a way of preparing for the Lenten fast.  The transition comes in as we say at least a temporary good-bye to a certain life-style and move into a different life-style.

Fat Tuesday becomes, in a sense, a symbolic stripping of indulgence to make room for reflection and retrospection.  I always enter Lent with the best of intentions but I must confess that it is a struggle.

This year it is my hope to fast, not only from food, but also from activity.  Oh, yes, I go to work and soon I leave for Valparaiso, Indiana for a time of diaconal formation and training, but, I am being very careful what all is scheduled.  As we know, I can get all of these ideas and all of a sudden I am involved in more than I want to be, but I am praying that I can maintain the boundaries necessary for the quiet.

In the quiet I seek spiritual, emotional and physical healing and restoration.  May this be a time for prayer, reading, exercise and quiet.

I was afraid to use the term Lent in the title of this blog for fear people would immediately delete.  For many churches Lent has become trivialized, marginalized or completely eliminated because they say it is too gloomy and too much a downer.

I believe the trend away from Lent reflects our culture’s fear of reflection.  The marginalization comes from the fact that we do not want to look at ourselves for who we truly are and we would rather hind behind a facade of what appears to be joy but in reality becomes only noise.

Lent is a GIFT that the Church has given us over the centuries.  Lent is an invitation to step back from the culture and to look at who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ in the midst of this modern day culture.  Historically Lent has been a time of prayer, fasting and acts of Christian love.  The prayer and the fasting create a space for reflection so that transformation and transition might be allowed to step forth.  Acts of Christian love become a response to God’s forgiveness and renewal that take place in this season.

 God is calling me to extra prayer, reflection, repentance and service.  God is calling me to fast in ways that are much more than giving up foods.  God is calling me to greater authenticity during this Lenten season when I am going to be invited to look at the masks that are still left.  May be painful, but, at the other end is Easter.

There cannot be a rising without a dying.

So, for Lent:

• How might you set aside more time for prayer?
• What activity can be “given up” so that prayer becomes a part of the day?
• In what ways is God calling you to use the GIFT of Lent?

I am struck by those who (like me) keep asking, “How much longer must I wait for God’s direction?  Why doesn’t it happen now.”  I have asked these questions and I have heard these questions.  For those of us who want to keep moving, the thought of waiting is dreadful.  I am learning that God is beautifully and gently patient.  God will speak when the time is right and when it is most helpful to speak.

For me, it is becoming a matter of discerning when the Lord is speaking.  I am finding that God does not come with big dramatic statements, but rather comes with a gentle voice to speak the truth in love. 

I had this happen again recently as I have been praying for future direction and wondering why certain things weren’t happening in the way I thought they should happen.  As I sat in the silence my mind was attempting to process something while hopping around and suddenly I came to an insight that could only have been given by God.  It was a disconcerting insight, but, also very helpful.  At least I came to know WHY I was being asked to wait.

The Word, prayer and quiet.  I am being led to take more activity out of my life for awhile in order to have time for quiet and reflection.

If you feel that God is not answering you might want to check out if things are quiet enough for you to hear God’s answer or does the noise of activity get in the way.

Transitions sometimes slows the system way down.  When one is expending energy on successfully transitioning, any sudden changes or new challenges, cause the system to slow down as energy must be diverted to attend to the new issues.

This is why sometimes people become ill during times of transition.  Energy is drained, and, stress even causes a lower white blood cell count which reduces immunity.  If one is caught in the middle of more than one transition (which is often the case) the body becomes even more drained.

When going through transitions it is important to do everything possible to allow space for rest and recovery.  Right now, I am intentionally reducing my activity levels in order to have space to think, explore and rest.  For me it is essential.

I am also clearly telling people that I am going to take time to process any other changes that come along before I commit to anything.  I am using a metaphor that right now I am like a super tanker and I need 12 miles to turn around.  I will turn around, in some way, but give me as much space and time as possible.  Transitions are exciting but even good things can be exhausting.

What do you need to trim from your life?  What steps can you take, immediately, to simplify your life.  Is everything of equal importance?  How can you make space in your life to allow for successful transition?

Discerning prayer is an essential part of the transition process.  Where is God calling?  

Talk about transitions and pivot points!  I went to the “1968” exhibit at the Minnesota History Museum and was bombarded with reminders of transitions and pivot points from my own life.  1968 was truly a pivotal year for me in many ways and I think it was good to sit back and reflect upon those times and life events when we were shaped and formed into who we are now.

Those of you not old enough in 1968 cannot fully understand why watching the film of the protestors at the 1968 Democratic National Convention was so meaningful for me.   It is hard to explain why the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert Kennedy were so hard on many of us.  As I walked through the museum display I was almost overwhelmed with the amount of transition and change that took place that year (evidently including the first of the bra burnings). 

It was from the events of 1968 that I pretty well formulated my views on non-violence and social justice.  I came to believe, even more strongly, in the dignity of the human being; regardless of color.  I came to realize that if some people take more than their share that there usually isn’t enough to go around.  These values crystallized for me through the events of 1968 and as I came out of the museum I was reminded how my personal mission and passions were shaped by pivotal events around me that year.  The events intersected with my forming values and set in motion certain actions that remain with me until today.  The 1968 exhibit helped me understand more about myself.

What have been pivotal events in your life and how did they shape you to be who you are today?

However, one must not forget the joy of leaving pain behind and moving on to something new and exciting.  Transition is also about creative energy, new life and adventure.  This was evident for me when we moved from homes that were in full sun to a home that was surrounded by 16 trees providing extensive amounts of shade.

I knew how to garden in full sun.  My vegetables thrived and I had brightly colored flowers throughout the yard.  Nothing that I knew how to do thrived in the shade, and, in fact, the plants I knew how to work with would have died in the shade.

So, I had to let go of what I knew about gardening.  I had to embrace a new way of working with color and needed to learn about plants that thrived in the shade and in an environment where the trees worked hard to get all of the available water for their own survival.

 I did mourn a bit.  Vegetables just weren’t going to make it at this new place.  I tried a variety of ways but none of them worked.  Suddenly Farmer’s Market took on new meaning.  I missed my prairie flowers but I learned about blooming shade plants and about utilizing the different shades of green available in green plants.

 It was a transition but it became exciting and energizing.  As in all things, there are two or more ways to respond to life.  Transitions can be painful but they can also be very energizing.

I had to take a group of psychological tests recently because of a new project I am becoming involved with.  The test showed me flat lined but did indicate that I may be prone to over reflection and rumination which may lead to worrying.  Anyone who knows me well will now respond with, “why did you need a test to tell you this information?”  However, I found this information to be most interesting when thinking of personality and transition. 

Contrast “over reflection” with those with little or no reflection and one can begin to wonder why?  Socrates is credited with the saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.”  I really agree with this and find it hard to understand why a person would want to avoid reflection.  I am content with life but I want to grow and I want to experience it in the abundance that God has promised.

Reflection leads to confession and the seeking of absolution.  I believe that a failure to reflect gives one a false illusion that one can still hide behind the bush in the Garden of Eden and not be seen.  Those who reflect are invited to come out from behind the bush to be fully present before God.

My guess is that it may be a combination of fear and laziness along with Satan’s subtle message that one is just fine behind the mask.  Yes, that is a harsh statement but I believe that many avoid reflection because they don’t want to see what is there and would rather hide.  Then, reflection is avoided because, quite frankly, it is a lot of hard work to reflect and change.  Finally, reflection is avoided because Satan as the Father of Lies convinces one that the truth is really the mask rather than what is behind the mask.

Spiritual direction leads one into the holy presence of God where God provides a safe place for reflection.  The Holy Spirit leads the process as God gently nudges one towards a pivot point of holy and sacred transformation known as change.  A spiritual director helps one hear the gentle reflection of the Holy Spirit.

For people like me there is the call to reflection and freedom without worrying.  For those who don’t reflect there is the call to a new adventure and discovery of self that leads to a sense of safety that leads to freedom.

I am in the middle of a major life transition. It is a transition that I never expected, but it is here. There truly was a long period of restlessness and then a triggering pivot point. As is the case, once a pivot point presents itself it requires action and one either freezes where one is or one moves on. It is a difficult choice.

I wrote about it a bit last month when discussing the book, Necessary Endings, acknowledging that pivot points are often times triggered by the sudden awareness of hopelessness in one’s current situation and a compelling action that says move or forever stay frozen. I had a number of you give feedback that the point about hopelessness really spoke to you and caused a great deal of reflection. I get that.

So, now, I have moved from restlessness to that period of alignment asking, “Where do I go now?” In some ways this time of alignment could be compared to being in the doldrums of the Bermuda triangle. There must be a time of sitting in order to determine the course and direction to go. One has this urge to move immediately but this is a case where the soul needs to catch up with the body.

Life has moved into a new setting but in the period of alignment one must take a close look at personal values, beliefs, options and calling. This takes time and, most importantly, it calls for the discernment of the Holy Spirit to know which direction God is calling. The period of alignment is a time of seeking the presence and the direction of God for the new life that is to come.

God very clearly laid on my heart, Jeremiah 29: 11, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (NRSV) This is an extremely comforting passage that calls one to recognize that, as in all the phases of transition, God is fully present. This is truly a time of submission as God leads one in a discernment that brings all things together for future mission.

As I sat with this passage I began to pray and wonder where God was leading. Then it came to me that this passage is given to the people in exile just after they had been told they would be going back to Jerusalem. After 70 years in exile many of the people did not know of Jerusalem as home so the prospects were quite frightening. They were to return home to a place that they had never been. It was a time of letting go of where they had been and a call to move toward where God is calling.

Well, as God continued to give me this Scripture, I sat with it and then was called into reading Ezra and Nehemiah to see how God led God’s people out of exile into Jerusalem. I asked myself, “How did God guide the transition of the people as they left exile and returned home?” What principles can I learn from the transition out of exile that could guide my life? In what ways was the move to Jerusalem similar to the movement toward alignment and new mission?

As I read through the text I kept looking for themes and patterns that would help me see how God leads people in transition. I am formulating what I call the basic biblical principles for the transitional period of alignment.

BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE PERIOD OF ALIGNMENT

Face Reality

The exiles were going to be returning to Jerusalem.  In the process, life as they knew it was going to be totally disrupted.  Nothing will be the same as they leave a place where they have lived for 70 years and move back to a home they never knew.  And, on top of it all, they received a staggering report from those who had gone to assess the conditions of Jerusalem.  The report stated that those who had escaped going into exile lived in appalling conditions:  “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” (Nehemiah 1: 3, NRSV) In other words, they were leaving a known life with order and going to a place that needed rebuilding.

The reality is that the people found that life was in a shambles.  What a reality to face.  Yet, that is most times the reality faced by someone who experiences a major pivot point.  The former life has collapsed and the future life has yet to take shape. What does one do?

This is true for people in life transition.  Responding to the pivot point in one’s life means that one has had to let go of something that had formerly been important.  Life, as it was, is now in a shambles and the life that is coming is not yet constructed.  The walls that one has known are no longer there and one feels vulnerable and nervous because one has no defenses left.

For me, this has involved clearing time to get all aspects of life in order.  I had been on a simplicity “campaign” for a number of years but now I have an insatiable desire to get things cleaned up and in order.  One cannot think, pray or discern in the midst of clutter.

Engage in Prayer

Nehemiah’s response to the news about Jerusalem is one that is a model for us all when facing a new direction in life: “When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”  (Nehemiah 1:4, NRSV).  Nehemiah models for us the sense of being overwhelmed by reality.  Nehemiah knew that God was leading the people out of exile but became overwhelmed as to what they were being led back into.  This is a state of shock.  A state of frozenness with little movement.

I would have to say that in all honesty my life transitions have been the same in that the transitions, including the current one, are absolutely overwhelming.  Sometimes I sit and I just don’t feel like moving.  I just need to sit and I believe the sitting to be good.  At this point, strong prayer involves strong listening.

In the sitting I have wept and prayed as I felt so overwhelmed by it all.  The prayer has led to the Word and the praying and sitting are helping me to see that God is fully present in all things and God is leading through this time of alignment.  My time in the Word and in prayer is deepening and calling me to sit before God.  But, like Nehemiah, we both pray and build.  The time of prayer is a time of sitting; sitting before God in the contemplative silence, knowing that God is present and will direct.

The Benedictine principle of ora et labora (“pray and work”) lends itself well in this stage.  To pray is work and to work is pray and learning to listen to God through contemplative prayer and sacred reading of Scripture leads one to a new situation.  Nehemiah and the people engaged in both prayer and work as God directed and organized the rebuilding of the walls.

As the person in transition engages in rebuilding personal walls and structuring a new life, ora et labora becomes a rhythm of healing.

Seek New Vision

In the prayer of Ezra, we hear how the reality of sin has led the people, and us,  into slavery and we hear how the reality of a loving God leads us out.  In Ezra 9:9 we read: 

                For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

This statement of faith applies to those of us in transition as well.  We are in slavery to old ways or we are in slavery to that which is comfortable.  God does not want us to live in slavery.   It is God’s desire that we have new life and live in freedom.   It is God’s desire that the house of God be set up in our hearts, it is God’s desire that the rubble be cleared and the ruins rebuilt and that our boundaries be re-established in a healthy way.

The rebuilding will look different to each person because God rebuilds our lives around our unique gifts and context.  As one moves through the period of alignment, one’s vision begins to form as one discerns one’s gifts and context and seeks the direction of God.  There comes a point when gifts, vision, mission all align and the ministry begins to happen.

Patiently Wait

The vision will come, but, it may not be immediately.  The period of alignment can take a long time as one waits to see what God has in store.  Many times I have received from God, “wait patiently on the Lord.”   The Book of Psalms (NRSV) carries a strong theme of waiting:

Psalm 27.14:

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Psalm 31.24:

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.

Psalm 38.15:

But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 39.7:

“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

Psalm 40.1:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Waiting is not easy.  This is why it is so important to surround ourselves with those who can wait with us, who can pray with us, who can encourage us.  The days and nights seem long but the promise of God is to hear our cry and to answer.

Build Structure

In a time of transition it is important to provide structure and order.  As the people return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah is led by God to form work teams and to begin a systematic assessment and repair of the walls.  Nehemiah speaks (2:17 NRSV):

“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.’”

When transitions begin the rubble lies everywhere.  In order to feel safe, one must clear the rubble and then systematically rebuild the structure of ones life.  Routine, quiet, order and peace allow for healing and prayer that brings clarity.

The rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem clearly lay for us the importance of good boundaries in our own lives.  Boundaries need to be established and order maintained.

Lay A Foundation

“and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”  Ezra 3:11 (NRSV)

The creation of structure assures that the parameters of life will then provide safety from those who would seek to hurt and harm those who once lived without borders.  Once the walls are in place one can begin the rebuilding from within.

Note that they began rebuilding the foundation of the Temple.  The Temple is the dwelling place of God and becomes the center of life and living. 

For those in transition, the spiritual foundation is an absolute key to moving on.  The foundation is in Word and Sacrament as God shapes and transforms while guiding the discernment and alignment process.  Benedictines speak of groundedness and stability.  As Word and Sacrament wash over us we are shaped and formed in the ways in which God is calling.  It is a strong comfort to know that God is in the midst of it all and is there to lead, guide and uphold.

Combining structure and prayer at this points begins to provide a solid foundation for what is to come.  If the foundation is not in place, the alignment for mission will shatter.  There is no mission apart from God.

Moving On

There will come a time of launching.  When the alignment takes place it leads to a launching , but, it is a launching that takes place as one sits in the lap of God.  Once the city is rebuilt; then what? 

This is where a spiritual director can be very helpful.  A spiritual director sits with the one in transition and helps listen for God’s direction.  It is very helpful to not walk this process alone.

I am in the middle of a major life transition.  It is a transition that I never expected, but it is here.  There truly was a long period of restlessness and then a triggering pivot point.  As is the case, once a pivot point presents itself it requires action and one either freezes where one is or one moves on.  It is a difficult choice.

I wrote about it a bit last month when discussing the book, Necessary Endings, acknowledging that pivot points are often times triggered by the sudden awareness of hopelessness in one’s current situation and a compelling action that says move or forever stay frozen.  I had a number of you give feedback that the point about hopelessness really spoke to you and caused a great deal of reflection.  I get that.

So, now, I have moved from restlessness to that period of alignment asking, “Where do I go now?”  In some ways this time of alignment could be compared to being in the doldrums of the Bermuda triangle.  There must be a time of sitting in order to determine the course and direction to go.  One has this urge to move immediately but this is a case where the soul needs to catch up with the body. 

Life has moved into a new setting but in the period of alignment one must take a close look at personal values, beliefs, options and calling.  This takes time and, most importantly, it calls for the discernment of the Holy Spirit to know which direction God is calling.  The period of alignment is a time of seeking the presence and the direction of God for the new life that is to come.

God very clearly laid on my heart, Jeremiah 29: 11, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (NRSV)  This is an extremely comforting passage that calls one to recognize that, as in all the phases of transition, God is fully present. This is truly a time of submission as God leads one in a discernment that brings all things together for future mission.

As I sat with this passage I began to pray and wonder where God was leading.  Then it came to me that this passage is given to the people in exile just after they had been told they would be going back to Jerusalem.  After 70 years in exile many of the people did not know of Jerusalem as home so the prospects were quite frightening.  They were to return home to a place that they had never been.  It was a time of letting go of where they had been and a call to move toward where God is calling.

Well, as God continued to give me this Scripture, I sat with it and then was called into reading Ezra and Nehemiah to see how God led God’s people out of exile into Jerusalem.  I asked myself, “How did God guide the transition of the people as they left exile and returned home?”  What principles can I learn from the transition out of exile that could guide my life?  In what ways was the move to Jerusalem similar to the movement toward alignment and new mission?

 As I read through the text I kept looking for themes and patterns that would help me see how God leads people in transition.  I am formulating  what I call the basic biblical principles for the transitional period of alignment.

BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE PERIOD OF ALIGNMENT

Face Reality

The exiles were going to be returning to Jerusalem.  In the process, life as they knew it was going to be totally disrupted.  Nothing will be the same as they leave a place where they have lived for 70 years and move back to a home they never knew.  And, on top of it all, they received a staggering report from those who had gone to assess the conditions of Jerusalem.  The report stated that those who had escaped going into exile lived in appalling conditions:  “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” (Nehemiah 1: 3, NRSV) In other words, they were leaving a known life with order and going to a place that needed rebuilding.

The reality is that the people found that life was in a shambles.  What a reality to face.  Yet, that is most times the reality faced by someone who experiences a major pivot point.  The former life has collapsed and the future life has yet to take shape. What does one do?

This is true for people in life transition.  Responding to the pivot point in one’s life means that one has had to let go of something that had formerly been important.  Life, as it was, is now in a shambles and the life that is coming is not yet constructed.  The walls that one has known are no longer there and one feels vulnerable and nervous because one has no defenses left.

For me, this has involved clearing time to get all aspects of life in order.  I had been on a simplicity “campaign” for a number of years but now I have an insatiable desire to get things cleaned up and in order.  One cannot think, pray or discern in the midst of clutter.

Engage in Prayer

Nehemiah’s response to the news about Jerusalem is one that is a model for us all when facing a new direction in life: “When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”  (Nehemiah 1:4, NRSV).  Nehemiah models for us the sense of being overwhelmed by reality.  Nehemiah knew that God was leading the people out of exile but became overwhelmed as to what they were being led back into.  This is a state of shock.  A state of frozenness with little movement.

I would have to say that in all honesty my life transitions have been the same in that the transitions, including the current one, are absolutely overwhelming.  Sometimes I sit and I just don’t feel like moving.  I just need to sit and I believe the sitting to be good.  At this point, strong prayer involves strong listening.

In the sitting I have wept and prayed as I felt so overwhelmed by it all.  The prayer has led to the Word and the praying and sitting are helping me to see that God is fully present in all things and God is leading through this time of alignment.  My time in the Word and in prayer is deepening and calling me to sit before God.  But, like Nehemiah, we both pray and build.  The time of prayer is a time of sitting; sitting before God in the contemplative silence, knowing that God is present and will direct.

The Benedictine principle of ora et labora (“pray and work”) lends itself well in this stage.  To pray is work and to work is pray and learning to listen to God through contemplative prayer and sacred reading of Scripture leads one to a new situation.  Nehemiah and the people engaged in both prayer and work as God directed and organized the rebuilding of the walls.

As the person in transition engages in rebuilding personal walls and structuring a new life, ora et labora becomes a rhythm of healing.

Seek New Vision

In the prayer of Ezra, we hear how the reality of sin has led the people, and us,  into slavery and we hear how the reality of a loving God leads us out.  In Ezra 9:9 we read:

                For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

This statement of faith applies to those of us in transition as well.  We are in slavery to old ways or we are in slavery to that which is comfortable.  God does not want us to live in slavery.   It is God’s desire that we have new life and live in freedom.   It is God’s desire that the house of God be set up in our hearts, it is God’s desire that the rubble be cleared and the ruins rebuilt and that our boundaries be re-established in a healthy way.

The rebuilding will look different to each person because God rebuilds our lives around our unique gifts and context.  As one moves through the period of alignment, one’s vision begins to form as one discerns one’s gifts and context and seeks the direction of God.  There comes a point when gifts, vision, mission all align and the ministry begins to happen.

Patiently Wait

The vision will come, but, it may not be immediately.  The period of alignment can take a long time as one waits to see what God has in store.  Many times I have received from God, “wait patiently on the Lord.”   The Book of Psalms (NRSV) carries a strong theme of waiting:

Psalm 27.14:

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Psalm 31.24:

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.

Psalm 38.15:

But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 39.7:

“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

Psalm 40.1:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Waiting is not easy.  This is why it is so important to surround ourselves with those who can wait with us, who can pray with us, who can encourage us.  The days and nights seem long but the promise of God is to hear our cry and to answer.

Build Structure

In a time of transition it is important to provide structure and order.  As the people return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah is led by God to form work teams and to begin a systematic assessment and repair of the walls.  Nehemiah speaks (2:17 NRSV):

“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.’”

When transitions begin the rubble lies everywhere.  In order to feel safe, one must clear the rubble and then systematically rebuild the structure of ones life.  Routine, quiet, order and peace allow for healing and prayer that brings clarity.

The rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem clearly lay for us the importance of good boundaries in our own lives.  Boundaries need to be established and order maintained.

Lay A Foundation

“and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”  Ezra 3:11 (NRSV)

The creation of structure assures that the parameters of life will then provide safety from those who would seek to hurt and harm those who once lived without borders.  Once the walls are in place one can begin the rebuilding from within.

Note that they began rebuilding the foundation of the Temple.  The Temple is the dwelling place of God and becomes the center of life and living. 

For those in transition, the spiritual foundation is an absolute key to moving on.  The foundation is in Word and Sacrament as God shapes and transforms while guiding the discernment and alignment process.  Benedictines speak of groundedness and stability.  As Word and Sacrament wash over us we are shaped and formed in the ways in which God is calling.  It is a strong comfort to know that God is in the midst of it all and is there to lead, guide and uphold.

Combining structure and prayer at this points begins to provide a solid foundation for what is to come.  If the foundation is not in place, the alignment for mission will shatter.  There is no mission apart from God.

Moving On

There will come a time of launching.  When the alignment takes place it leads to a launching , but, it is a launching that takes place as one sits in the lap of God.  Once the city is rebuilt; then what? 

This is where a spiritual director can be very helpful.  A spiritual director sits with the one in transition and helps listen for God’s direction.  It is very helpful to not walk this process alone.

May the encounter of the Incarnation bring you blessed transition from death to life and blessed future.

Steve