Instead of saying very much in this edition, I simply want to share with you an excerpt from Thomas Moore’s classic ‘Dark nights of the soul’.
‘Life constantly ferries us to a new level of maturity. Each of us is like a boat passing through a long series of locks that lifts us up to take us down to a new plateau. We go from one phase to another, each change a challenge. Becoming an adult, getting married, going through divorce, getting old, changing jobs or careers, becoming a parent, giving birth – in our own way we all go through passages that leave a lasting mark. These deep-seated shifts shake us up and reframe our world. For that reason, they can be threatening. We may resist the needed change. We may get married without dying to the single life, or become a parent while trying to preserve our old childless way of life. We may fear the dark night that presses, but we will be better off to go through it.’
We are not what we once were. Mark and I are nearly 5 years here and certainly we both can say we are always learning. As Thomas Moore says, life is always bringing up situations that ask for responses from us. How we handle each new challenge will determine how much we grow. Growing pains are not very nice, but we recognise that without them we would stay the same and that is not an option. Each change is a challenge and sometimes quite painful, but if we embrace it we will be different.
I include this lovely picture of Sara’s prayer project here too -because it is a creative reminder of the wind of God in change. We are moving into a new session in church life. There has been a lot of hard work going on and a few new ministries are kicking off. I want to thank you for being the best parish ever and I really want to invite you to embrace courage and opportunity as together we build God’s Kingdom for His Glory.
Love
Diane