This was a devotion I wrote for a Lenten devotional booklet
published by Faith Lutheran Church, Waunakee, Wisconsin
I am sifting, sorting, and packing, in preparation for a move to the Pacific Northwest. It is a chance for us to live close to one of our sons and grandsons, as well as a chance for this life-long Midwesterner to live between the mountains and the sea. While I am excited about the move and grateful for the last 16 years here, though, I am also feeling ungrounded.
My Buddhist friends tell me that
the Sanskrit word, “samsara,” (their word for the craziness of being human)
literally means, “wandering around.” As Christians, we too know this state,
having been banished from the garden near the very beginning.
In this wandering around, what
grounds us? Many things – meditation and prayer, scripture reading and singing,
yes, but also walks in the woods, digging in the garden, watching the sunset,
breathing deeply of the air God gave us even before our exile. And this – being fully present to another
person, without judgement and without agenda – being present with our whole heart
in any situation for the sake of another person. In our world of continual wandering, nothing
can be more radical (or more grounding) than that – unconditional love.
So, as I move to a place that is
far away from here, it is my intent to continue living out this prayer from
another wanderer – I pray that, according
to the riches of God’s glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in
your inner being with power through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
(Ephesians 3:16-17, alt.)
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