Let’s give it up for month two baby!!!!! Someone please queue the song “Where’d All the Time Go?”
by Dr. Dog because sheesh !!!!!! It’s going so fast!!!!!!
But for real though, I am in shock that we are already stepping into November. This past month has challenged me to stop and think deeper about all the information we are consuming through classes, retreats, and various conversations throughout the week.
There was one passage we read that I keep returning to:
For Equilibrium
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what's said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of God.
This blessing by John O’ Donohue catches my eye because of its reference to laughter and the joy that I find from laughter, but I return to this blessing so frequently because of the way it so beautifully encapsulates all of the things I hope for. The idea that there is freedom to lean in to who I will become, a mindset that brings a new sense of holy reverence, and a prayer for deeper listening are all things that I am running towards. They are also the things that the Lord is slowly but surely providing! Isn’t he so refining??
Another thing that I really resonate with is the name of this blessing: Equilibrium. The simple meaning of equilibrium is when two opposing forces or influences are balanced. Equilibrium is something that I am wishing I had a little bit more of in this month. There are just so many different directions that I am being tugged in and I try to keep all in the balance. I have loved the growth and the excitement that comes with a very full schedule, but I also feel this deep ache of wanting nothing more than for it all to slow down and not let the small moments of the Lord’s presence pass me by in the midst of the busyness.
The pace of life this month has left me searching for equilibrium, and as the balance constantly shifts I see that the change is building capacity for more that is to come. Jesus steps in and disrupts our lives forever, and I want to continue to make space for Him.
I see Him so clearly in the 11 other people I get to do life together with, in the goodness of my host family, and through the encouragement coming from the people I love who are far away in physical distance but close in heart!
My hope is that we all take this new November as a chance to see Him surrounding us in our lives and making space for the fullness that is to come!
All the love !!!
Lauren Lamont