Happy New Year, TSJ Peeps!
The holidays have come and gone. Former routines are being resumed as much as possible. The delights of family gatherings have mostly been cleaned up.
And we face a new calendar year with all kinds of mixed emotions – from ho-hum it is just another year – to wondering what exciting things await us.
A new year offers hope and promises discovery.
And of course we bring into each tomorrow accumulated memories and lessons from all of our yesterdays.
Today’s blog letter is to keep you up-to-date about TSJ headquarters.
“The Boys” and I have moved and are very happy to have a place to call home and to welcome other fellow travelers on this earth journey. I am excited to share our new “headquarters” with many others who are on the journey of life, seeking a path to wholeness.
Sometimes we have to talk over a cup of coffee or tea or simply sit back and chat or quietly reflect together about the pieces of our lives that seem lost or broken before we can imagine or envision wholeness.
At times so much seems wrong it is hard to breathe in what is right. Together we do it better.
Moving is a messy matter!
It is true both figuratively and literally. It messes with you emotionally/mentally and physically/spiritually. And it does not have to be a major move. Even moving back to work can be exhilarating and depleting for most people.
Still, we are created to create. We like new. We like adventure. And each day we create ways to move forward.
As humans, we find wholeness best by having one foot firmly on the ground of physical being and one foot in the spiritual realm of openness to seeking and discovering who we are and Whose we are!
And I must confess I am fully planted in both realities right now.
One moment I find myself asking, “Am I in heaven?” as I look out the back windows to the ponds and paths that Tom and I walked together dreaming our dreams.
Another moment I am overwhelmed by “not knowing where anything is.”
Then there are hours of unpacking things from the past and shopping for things that are new. While this is my current reality it is also a spiritual reality for all of us all of our lives.
And then there are those overpowering moments when I feel excited and think, “I can’t wait to go home and tell Tom about this!” This happens more often than I would expect and stops my heart every time.
So for all of us the past and the future are meeting in this first week of 2016.
I have never ever been more convinced that life here on earth is a shared journey. Every moment is a moment filled with possibility and potential (if combined with action). And those moments add up to hours…days…weeks…months and years.
I thank God for you- one and all. So many of you have helped me unspeakably and sacrificially. I welcome the new year to walk with you, too, through the hills and valleys of things to come.
I wonder what will unfold in the next moment..next year? I wonder.
I do not know what will come, but at some deep and mysterious level, I know it will be both messy and right at the same time.
Solomon, SJ and the lavender lamb (Lovey) are all happily here too. They have remained symbols of God’s constant Love, of peace, promise and playfulness, and of how life gets expressed throughout our developmental stages – from birth to old age. Life looks different from different ages and stages.
Most of all, however, my wooly wonders serve as reminders that we are Shepherded throughout the year over hills and through valleys ranging from mild ruts and knolls to steep mountains and valleys.
Mr. Wooly Wisdom (Solomon) often reminds me God’s Love is like a thickly braided rope. Many strands make it enduring and strong. We make up those strands.
Together we can all hold on in tough times and let go in fun times like kids grabbing the rope and swinging over a pool to land with a splash.
Cheers from others make make even fun more doable and more exciting. Ask any athlete how much it means to have that kind of shared energy!
That, my friends, is what we do through a lens of life coaching at TSJ! We can hold on when necessary and let go for a splash of fun – made all the better when we are surrounded by others of courage and love.
Happy shepherding! May we reflect the Love and Care that our God-Shepherd shows us.
Playing in new pastures…reveling in the wonder of it all.
Holding on . . . and letting go. What an adventure we are on …
Margie
