Lately I’ve been going through something of a spiritual slump. I’ve continued my daily prayer practices as usual, but they haven’t been leading me to any profound spiritual awakenings for some time. I don’t feel my heart stirring with inspiration or a compelling vision of where God is leading me at this moment in my life. I’m just sort of in a holding pattern.
I suspect I’ve needed some time to process some of the significant losses I’ve experienced in my life lately. Several people who have been important to my own spiritual life have either died or left or are close to death or soon to be leaving. Sometimes we just have to stand still for a while until the weightiness of our grief subsides and we have the spiritual energy to move forward in faith again.
What has been particularly meaningful to me during my current spiritual slump is the inspiration I’ve found from the rest of you. This faith community has sustained and inspired me when I’ve had little inspiration to offer.
Truthfully, I was dreading the Under This Roof campaign to raise money for replacing the sanctuary roof. After finally paying off the mortgage from the huge renovation project we undertook nearly 16 years ago, I wasn’t feeling confident about our ability to raise the $120,000 we needed to replace the roof and repair the plaster.
But the week after our One Body worship service when the Administration Team gathered to write thank you notes, I was elated to learn that we had already exceeded our project goal in three year pledges.
I know it is just a building, but your commitment to preserve this beautiful house of worship for future generations was inspiring to me. Thank you for helping to restore my confidence in our church.
As I’ve struggled with my own lack of a clear and compelling vision of where I see God leading our faith community, I’ve been deeply inspired by your willingness to enter into the ReVision communal discernment process. That is inspiring to me. People involved in worship planning both on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings have been exploring the essential elements of spiritual discernment and are helping build our church’s capacity for the work of discerning God’s intended future. That is inspiring to me.
Lately, I’ve been holding the verse, “My grace is sufficient for you” from 2 Corinthians 12:9. It has become a powerful word for me. It reminds me that I’m not the one who carries sole (soul) responsibility for the future of our church. It isn’t all on my shoulders and it doesn’t all depend on my insight and vision.
God’s grace is sufficient for me, for you, and for everyone. Sometimes I need to be surrounded by an amazing community of faithful people in order to remember that one foundational truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment