Stirrings of the Waters*
(thoughts, observations, hopes, and/or movements of the Spirit)
Dear all,
In the office there’s a calendar that has creative and often strange holidays. Today, May 25, is “Sing Out Day,” which is nice after months of not singing out. I, after several years, still don’t know what “Sparkle Circus Day” is or how to celebrate it. What this calendar does for me is to remind me that every day is a holiday – read: “holy day,” – and that our imagination is the only limitation to what we may find to celebrate. Indeed, the workings of the Holy Spirit may open our hearts and minds to a new appreciation of the beauty of the world, our community, and our lives.
Perhaps a suggestion to the publishers of this calendar is that we intersperse Christmas several times throughout the year. Singing “Joy to the World” in the middle of June may be a bit out of the ordinary, true. Still, we could use a little Christmas right now: a reminder that the grace of God has brought joy to our lives, that the Messiah has appeared and that peace and goodwill are available to all of humanity, that you are loved and touched by that love in the life of an infant, of a child, of the Son of God. There’s no reason we couldn’t be hearing angels sing in the greening and warming of the earth, in the beauty of blooming flowers and singing birds, in the sounds of outdoor activities and people enjoying them.
The psalmist suggests that we stop, that we pause in our busyness, and “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
My prayer for you this month is that you would be blessed in the exquisite beauty by which you are surrounded, that the Holy Spirit enlivens your hearts, and that every person with whom you have contact finds in you a friend, a blessing from God, and a guide to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our risen Messiah. Amen and amen.
Grace and peace,
Rick
*Refers to John 5:2-9, especially verse 4, concerning the pool at Bethesda within which, according to legend, when the water was stirred by an angel one might enter and be healed.
