New Year - New Beginnings
Happy New Year!
This new year is starting off with a new role for me. I’ve joined Pr. Sara Wirth and the people of Advent and St. Andrew Lutheran Churches to serve as their Deacon. The pictures above show Pr. Sara and me on Christmas Eve in each congregation (Advent on the left, St. Andrew on the right).
It has been a busy last few weeks. Pr. Sara and I began just weeks before Christmas. While each congregation had planning well under way, we had a lot to catch up on and a lot to learn very quickly. This was on top of all the regular Christmas preparations we were making for our families - buying and wrapping presents, planning menus, shopping and preparing for Christmas dinner (in my case for 12 people).
Now the season of Christmas continues and tomorrow is New Years Eve. This morning, I found myself sipping hot tea in front of the fire and taking a deep breath. I reflected on the past month and wondered about the coming year. For me there will be significant changes as I live into my new roles. I wondered about the way all of this would impact my spiritual life. Would I be able to continue my morning prayer routine? Would my faith life continue to deepen, or would it get swept up on the busyness of my new routines? After only working a little over two weeks, I can already tell that my long established prayer practices fly out the window all to quickly in the face of long “to do” lists. Sitting there this morning, I realized that I had only spent time in morning prayer a few times a week over this past month.
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed in myself. Reflecting back on the mornings of the past few weeks, I remember days when I sat but couldn’t focus - when my mind just filled with “to dos” and I gave up and went to work. Other days I didn’t stop to pray at all. Still, there were days that I did manage to slow down and breathe into the time well enough to be fed by God’s Spirit.
I’m reminded of what my friend and fellow spiritual director Pr. Dana Lee Simon often talks about - Self Compassion. I give my self permission to not do all the things I want to do.
But I realized that the only way I can do my new jobs (or live as a functioning adult in life), is to make time for prayer. I can’t do this job well unless my spiritual life is strong. That isn’t simply true because I have a leadership role in a church. It is true because I’ve shifted from living my life doing things “for” God to now doing things “with” God. My faith is no longer a belief system, a pattern of spiritual practices or list of good deeds. My faith is now a partnership with God. In this partnership there is give and take. Both God and I share and are heard by one another. But our relationship only works when I show up. Certainly God shows up throughout my work day, but I can’t fully engage with God until I put down everything else and be quiet enough to listen.
At first I tried to move my spiritual practices to the congregations - going in early to sit in the quiet sanctuary and pray. After a few tries, I realized that while I could pray at church, when I did so, I wasn’t bringing my whole self - I was bringing my professional “Deacon” self. I needed to keep my personal prayer practices personal - at home in front of the fire or in the back yard with tea- as I have been practicing these last several years. So that is what I did this morning and what I hope to continue into this new year. These are the things I’ve learned about my spiritual life this past month or so. Reflecting on them helps me figure out how to move into this next year in a way that allows my relationship with God to continue deepening.
Take a moment and reflect on your own spiritual life this last year and especially in the past few months. What are your spiritual practices? How do you engage God in the listening and sharing of a two way relationship? What do you want to keep from past years and what do you want to develop in this coming year?
I hope you give it some thought and I’d love for you to share it with me.
Have a blessed new year!
